New research reveals Australia has listed more threatened species in the past two years than the previous ten, uncovering the true impact of the Black Summer Bushfires ahead of a return of similar conditions in 2023-24.
According to exclusive findings from Conservation Volunteers Australia, powered by Provocate®, there was a net increase of about 150 threatened species nationally in the two years since the landmark 2021 State of the Environment Report, compared to about 130 between the SOE 2011 and 2021 editions (released every five years).
Conservation Volunteers Australia CEO Phil Harrison said it was not surprising, given SOE 2021 reported the Black Summer Bushfires killed as many as one billion native animals – and burnt 10.3 million hectares of native bushland.
Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek recently linked "almost all" recent threatened species to the fires.
However, Mr Harrison questioned whether governments were adequately prepared to prevent a repeat in 2023-24, which faced a "triple threat" of disaster, housing and climate challenges, starting with an early return of bushfire season.
A practical example is the Federal Government's decision to quietly axe the nation's natural disaster volunteer portal – a 'mud army' for the recovery and resilience of native wildlife and their habitats, and a key tool for both preparedness and response to what will be a challenging summer.
"Last month Australia quietly passed 2000+ total threatened species for the first time in our history," he said.
"The future of Australia's threatened species continues to get worse, not better. This is backed by our finding the share of species now listed as critically endangered – the last step before extinction – has doubled the past decade.
Mr Harrison said about half of threatened species also lived in urban areas, alongside 96% of the population.
"As our need for more urban homes grows, so do theirs. As little as 1 metre x 1 metre (1m2) in an unused corner of backyard or balcony could help fill critical missing links in urban wildlife habitat immediately.
"Particularly with smaller "building block" species like birds, bees, butterflies and other insects driving the rapid rise in threatened species in recent years.
"One-by-one we can all make a difference in our own backyards – and the world around us."
Mr Harrison said Australians could start planning their own nature block today by heading to mynatureblock.org.au and
