A new report into the deteriorating state of Australia’s environment reveals just how bad it really is
As you may have heard, Australia’s once bustling ecosystems are showing signs of collapse, and the nation’s environment as we know it is in a critical state.
Climate change, habitat loss, invasive species taking over, pollution and mining, have all had a part to play in this decline – a decline which has scientists seriously concerned.
Australia’s Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, will hand down all of the information contained in a brand new analysis.
Dubbed the state of the environment report, it was completed back in 2021, but its release was delayed by the former federal government due to the upcoming election at the time. Read more.
Now that it’s finally being published for all to see, it perhaps becomes clear why the leaders of the time wanted to keep it hidden for as long as possible.
In at least 19 instances, Australian ecosystems are now showing signs of collapse.
While scientists acknowledge national and state governments have tried to address the decline, it says there wasn’t enough funding to make a lot of difference. A lack of coordination across jurisdictions just led to a lack of decisive action.
Plibersek says the five-yearly report is a “shocking document,” telling “a story of crisis and decline in Australia’s environment, alongside a decade of government inaction.”
The report quoted the World Economic Forum in stating Australia’s environmental degradation is now considered a threat to humanity. They say this could “bring about societal collapses with long‑lasting and severe consequences”.
So what are some of the report’s key points?
- Since 2016, 202 animal and plant species have been listed as threatened
- Australia has lost more mammal species than any other continent
- More than 100 Australian species are either extinct or extinct in the wild
- More than 6.1m hectares of primary native forest have been cleared since 1990 – an area more than six times the size of Melbourne.
- Marine heatwaves have caused mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016, 2017 and 2020
Released every five years, this recent state of the environment report is concerning.
Scientists stress the natural world, as the source of food, water, air and raw materials, is not separate from the human world, and shouldn’t be viewed this way.
They say the impacts of this will affect us all and it is in our own interest to understand, protect, and restore the health of our environment.
