In Australia a plan to save 110 endangered animal species

Australia has announced a new ten-year program to try to stop the extinction of 110 animals and protect 20 natural areas.

• The ocean nation's flora and fauna will be protected by a new law promoted by the Canberra government.
• Australia wants to reach the goal of zero extinction of plants and animals in the country over the next ten years.
• Local environmental associations said they were satisfied with the novelty, but would have liked the funds allocated and the number of protected species to be even greater.

Parrots, wallabies, turtles, frogs and even sharks: Australia wants to protect the animals that live in its territory and now has a law to do so. 110 animal species, including some endemic species that live only in Oceania, and 20 places will become special observations as part of a federal anti-extinction program known as Threatened species action plan.The plan was approved by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and outlines a ten-year journey to conserve and recover flora and fauna at risk today.

Australia's biodiversity

Australia is one of nations with greater biodiversity to the world, but according to data from the Canberra government itself, more than a hundred species have become extinct since British colonization.The state has lost more endangered mammal species than any other country or continent.“If we continue doing what we are doing, we will say goodbye to even more plants and animals going extinct.Also koalas are now endangered on the east coast of Australia”, the minister warned in the document presenting the legislation.

The ambitious conservation plan is based on a document published by the previous government and includes the commitment of the current executive, chaired by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, to ensure that 30 percent of land and marine areas are transformed into reserve and conservation areas by 2030.The rule provides that the  number of priority species to be safeguarded is increased from 100 to 110, while the locations go from six to 20.

The opinion of environmental associations

Australian environmental groups have welcomed some aspects of the plan, such as the declared goal of zero extinctions in the next decade, but they criticized the government's choice to choose only a few species and classify them as priorities.According to the associations they are almost 2 thousand are already listed as threatened by national laws, but now the funds and efforts will be concentrated only on those indicated by the new plan.The Australian Green Party has said the targets will be unattainable if the government continues to exploit coal mines and open natural gas plants.

Plibersek said the plan is more ambitious and focused than previous versions and that the Designation of priority species does not mean that other plants and animals will be neglected.Among the plants and animals listed as threatened are the venomous gray Queensland snake, the small Parma wallaby – threatened by forest fires and the increase in predators – and the wingless grasshopper, which is sensitive to drought. Fires and extreme weather phenomena have increasingly affected Australia in recent years, putting the population and animals at risk.

There are also among those to be protected fish, insects and reptiles, while in the new protected areas there are six islands, including Bruny (near Tasmania) and Norfolk, an Australian territory between New Caledonia and New Zealand.Scientists have estimated the appropriations needed to address the extinction crisis in a billion dollars a year; the approval of the plan is the first step to save the flora and fauna unique in the world found in Australian landscapes.