How Much Would it Cost to Save Every Threatened Species in Australia?
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
A group of concerned scientists have crunched the numbers and come up with a figure that would save all 1,700 threatened species.
From the turquoise waters of the Great Barrier Reef to the vast and varied landscapes of the outback, Australia is home to over 1,700 threatened species, including koalas, wombats, numbats, tinker frogs, pygmy possums, and many more.
The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists - an independent group of scientists and professionals, working to secure the long-term health of Australia’s land, water and biodiversity - has been fighting to stop deforestation, reverse the effects of climate change, and prevent endangered species from dwindling to extinction. The Group has a proven track record since 2002 of influencing legislative reform to improve environmental outcomes for water resources, biological diversity and natural landscapes.
Recently, after six years of research, The Group of 60 scientists published a 24-step action plan (Blueprint to Repair Australia’s Landscapes) for what it would take to save the country’s threatened wildlife - and they even put a dollar amount to it: $7.3 billion annually for the next 30 years. Does that sound like a lot of money? Not really. Particularly when you learn that the amount is less than two-thirds of the annual funds the federal government funnels toward fossil fuel subsidies.
Or, put another way: “The cost is less than 0.3 percent of our GDP. Given that nearly half of our GDP depends on nature, that’s a pretty sound investment,” Martine Maron, an environmental science professor at The University of Queensland, told the National Press Club.
“The key finding of our blueprint is that Australians don’t have to choose,” said Jamie Pittock, a professor of geography at the Australian National University. “We can afford to have both a healthy environment and a productive economy.”
