Australia wants to protect more than half of its oceans, more than any other country

Australia is expanding the Heard and McDonald Islands marine reserve, exceeding its own ocean protection goals.

• The Heard and McDonald Islands marine reserve, in the middle of the Southern Ocean, will quadruple its size.
• This was announced by the Australian government which, in doing so, far exceeds the objective of protecting 30 percent of its oceans.

It's official:there Heard and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve, in the middle of the Southern Ocean, will quadruple its extension, going from approximately 71 thousand to 310 thousand square kilometers. He confirmed it the Minister of the Environment of Australia, Tanya Plibersek.This means – he underlines – that the country will come to protect the 52 percent of its oceans:much more than the commitments made at the international level and than any other state is doing.

The Heard and McDonald Islands marine reserve is expanding

There Heard and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve It is the last three areas of the planet not yet touched by human activities.This is not surprising, considering his remote location:among the closest cities - so to speak - is Perth, Australia, which is 4,100 kilometers away.Also the climate it is inhospitable to say the least, with temperatures that never exceed ten degrees and rain and snow for three days out of four.The islands, populated by penguins, seals, birds and invertebrates, are home to the only two active volcanoes in Australia:Mawson Peak, at 2,745 meters above sea level, is also the highest peak in the country.

In short, the marine reserve is a "naturalistic paradise", to borrow the words of one coalition of environmental organizations.Who, through a note, warmly welcome the government's decision, while underlining how even more can be done.In particular, some canyons and underwater mountain ranges continue not to enjoy sanctuary status, despite being critically important habitats.

Australia exceeds its ocean protection targets ahead of schedule

Two years ago, the Australian government had formalized the commitment to protect 30 percent of its land surface and 30 percent of its marine areas by 2030.The extension of the Heard and McDonald Islands reserve, underlines the Environment Minister, leads to far exceeding this target.Because, by doing so, the country manages to protect 52 percent of the oceans that are part of its territory.

A stance that has great value but it's not enough, alone, to be able to say that the country's biodiversity is safe.A powerful one scientific report published in 2022 he had revealed disastrous data.Australia has seen more mammal species go extinct than any other continent, the Great Barrier Reef has suffered four bleachings in ten years, near urban centers the conditions of waterways, beaches and coastal areas are far from good.

The 30 by 30 Alliance, which is pushing for the achievement of the objectives set for this decade, maintains that the major weakness is of a financial.So far, the Australian government led by Anthony Albanese it would have allocated only 0.1 percent of public spending to nature.But we should get closer to at least 1 percent.A theme, that of investments (public and private), which will also be at the center of the Cop16, the Convention of the Parties on Biological Biodiversity scheduled to take place in Cali, Colombia, from 21 October to 1 November.