Biodiversity Council welcomes policy commitment of 1 per cent of federal budget for nature

The Biodiversity Council has welcomed the policy commitments announced by the Australian Greens today to invest 1% of the federal budget in nature protection, establish a $5 billion fund for Protected Areas, and establish a Commissioner for Country.

Currently, less than 6 cents in every 100 dollars of federal government investments hit the ground for biodiversity programs, despite federal government commitments to end extinctions and protect 30 percent of Australia’s land and seas by 2030.

Director of the Biodiversity Council, James Trezise said:

“This is a strong plan that gets to the scale that is needed to protect and restore nature across Australia.

“Investing in conservation isn’t just good for the environment and threatened species, it's good for regional economies and supporting land managers and regional jobs.

“Surveys by Monash University’s Behaviourworks Australia show that 95% of Australians support investing more of the federal budget in nature.

“Investing in nature restoration is popular, effective and delivers multiple benefits to regions and communities.”

Co-Chief Councillor Professor Hugh Possingham from the University of Queensland said:

“The reality is Australia is a global leader in mammal extinction and the big threats driving biodiversity loss - habitat destruction, invasive species, fire and climate damage - are not abating.

“Most companies set aside at least 5% of their budget to repair and upgrade the infrastructure that enables them to persist. Nature is Australia’s infrastructure, so a 1% spend on nature seems like the bare minimum”

“The $5 billion Protected Area Fund announced by the Greens is 20 times the current government’s promise and in line with what is required to meet our international agreement to protect 30% by 2030.

“Coupled with investments to restore degraded landscapes and grow and manage Australia’s protected area network, investing 1% of the federal budget in nature protection is a strong investment in Australia’s future.

Co-Chief Councillor and Yuin man Dr Jack Pascoe from The University of Melbourne said:

“It is good to see this commitment to creating a Land and Sea Country Commissioner to better embed Indigenous knowledge and wisdom in environmental decision-making processes.

“Indigenous rangers and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander custodians are critical for caring for biodiversity across the continent and are directly responsible for managing half the landmass

“Their knowledge and work are critical to enable the Australian Government to meet national and international commitments to prevent extinctions, recover species and conserve land and seascapes.

“We have been among many groups calling for the establishment of a Commonwealth Land and Sea Country Commissioner role to be an independent, authoritative First People’s voice to protect Australia’s biodiversity.”

Lead Councillor Professor Nicki Mitchell from the University of Western Australia said

“This investment brings us in line with countries such as the USA that have demonstrated that adequate funding can deliver species recovery with sufficient confidence that species are removed from threatened species lists.

“Australia does some of the best conservation research in the world, and we often know what is needed to recover a species.

“Providing 1% for nature would be a game changer for the 2200+ species currently on our threatened list, and crucially, could prevent more species and ecological communities being added.

“It would also employ many more people in nature conservation, which relies heavily on volunteers, and simultaneously strengthen regional communities across Australia.”

Lead Councillor Professor Sarah Bekessy from RMIT University said:

"It’s estimated that for $2.34 billion per annum we could safeguard threatened species across our lands and seas.

"Coupled with investments to restore degraded landscapes and grow and manage Australia’s protected area network, investing 1% of the federal budget in nature protection is a strong investment in Australia’s future."

Lead Councillor Professor Brendan Wintle from The University of Melbourne said:

“These promises could be paid for by cutting environmentally harmful subsidies that currently cost the government $25 billion each year.

“1% of budget, or 7 billion dollars per year is a very small price tag for conserving the nature on which we all depend.

“Last year we spent 35 billion dollars just caring for our cats and dog pets, surely we can afford 7 billion dollars to conserve all of our 2000 plus endangered species and restore our degrading ecosystems.

“Restoring degrading ecosystems will be essential to achieving our goals for limiting the impacts of climate change. Solving one problem will help solve many more."