Australian Conservation Foundation report finds city has lost 84 Adelaide Ovals worth of threatened species habitat in 2 decades
A report has found habitat equal in size to 84 Adelaide Ovals has been cleared in the city over the past 20 years, amid calls for an urgent cash injection to help animals threatened with extinction.
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About 150ha of threatened species habitat has been cleared in Adelaide over the past two decades, a report shows, amid calls for a cash injection to save animals hanging on by a thread.
The Australian Conservation Foundation report shares the plight of 22 threatened plant and animal populations in Adelaide.
It says urban areas are the last refuge for 39 species across Australia.
According to the report, more than 7.7 million hectares of habitat was lost across the country over the past 20 years. In Adelaide, the cleared habitat is the size of 84 Adelaide Ovals.
The grey-headed flying fox and Australasian bittern, both found in Adelaide, were among the country’s most affected species.
The flying fox population has declined from many millions Australia-wide in the 1930s, to a few hundred thousand today.
It is uncertain how many bitterns remain, with estimates varying from 3500 to 247.
Flinders University Professor Corey Bradshaw said climate change threatened the Botanic Gardens flying fox colony’s future.
“We’ve had several heatwaves since 2010 and lost a substantial proportion of the colony. “We’re going to see lots of mass die-offs – we could lose the colony entirely.”
Many of the state’s native bird species have been threatened by mismanagement of the Murray-Darling Basin, Prof Bradshaw said, along with the removal of large trees.
He said the city needed better linkages between parkland habitat, stronger legislation to guard against native vegetation clearance and policy changes to select street trees for habitat.
A cash injection for environmental agencies and councils throughout the country would help ensure environmental damage was accurately measured and addressed, he said.
“Reporting damage or change is very difficult because we don’t have the monitoring networks in place because of lack of funding to be able to tell what’s changing,” Prof Bradshaw said.
“We’re kind of driving in the dark without headlights and that’s a dangerous combination considering we’re already in this precarious place in terms of extinction rates. Funding is desperately needed at both the council and state levels.”
TheAustralian Conservation Foundation is calling for a $4.5 billion National Environmental Fund to support the long-term protection and recovery of threatened species and ecosystems across Australia.
It also wants stronger environment laws and an independent regulator to conduct environmental assessments and focus on monitoring, compliance and enforcement.
A spokesman for Environment Minister Sussan Ley said the Government was investing $200 million in bushfire wildlife and habitat recovery on top of its “already significant” funding for species protection, environment restoration, Landcare and environmental science programs.
“The Minister’s response to the interim report into the review of the EPBC (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation) Act in July included her intention to explore market-based solutions for better habitat restoration that will significantly improve environmental outcomes while providing greater certainty for business,” he said.
michelle.etheridge@news.com.au
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