Australia has unique and endangered plants but are we failing to conserve them?
The state of the World’s Plants & Fungi Report 2023 was released at a global meeting in Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England. This report assesses the world’s plants and countries conservation efforts. Two hundred scientists from over 100 institutions from around the world, provided information towards the assessment. Australia was recognised as the country that has the highest proportion of plants that are endemic to our country. Approximately 9 in every 10 species (88%) are only found on the continent of Australia. Followed closely by New Zealand, (69%) South Africa (67%) and Brazil 56%. The Biodiversity Council stated that Australia needs to do more to conserve native plants, especially those listed as endangered and vulnerable to prevent their decline.
Associate Professor of Plant and Ecology and Conservation Scientist Rachel Gallagher from Western Sydney University stated that “By international standards, Australia performed very poorly in conservation assessments, with only 39% of Australia’s unique species having a threats and conservation status assessment being undertaken.” Whilst South Africa & New Zealand have assessed 87% of their unique species.”
These threat assessments are crucial in using the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, to plan and prioritise conservation actions, however they are not completed for all plant species. That’s the problem, without this comprehensive assessment, many plant and fungi species could be at risk of extincition, and without this knowledge conservationists don’t have the information on where to direct their preservation efforts.
According to Professor Gallagher, the New South Wale’s state floral emblem, the Watarah despite being protected under extensive illegal flower collection, still remains unassessed. When taking into consideration of Australia’s per capita income and standard of living in comparison to countries like Madagascar, one would think We would have a higher assessment record, who has assessed 42% of its national special.
Plants are a very important part of our ecosystem, they are critical for the production on clean air, carbon capture climate moderation and food and habitat for may other species including humans. Plant conservation isn’t expensive but with a little bit of investment and the involvement of the local community could see turn around.
Conserving plants is necessary to ensure the ecosystems can function as many species depend on the plants in their natural habitat. Plants are under threat as climate begins to warm. Now more than ever, we need to assess the risks and reduce the impact that could affect these endemic plants.
Conservation will need to focus on preventing the clearing of native habitat, controlling weeds, pathogens and invasive pest species such as feral deer, goats and pigs but also to effectively manage fire and flood effects that will increase due to climate change. There needs to be a greater investment in restoring degraded habitats.
I’m very interested in volunteering for local plant conservation projects in Brisbane. Articles like this show how important it is to protect our native species before it’s too late. Thank you for raising awareness!