Experts: Australia has only six years left to restore ecosystems, avoid catastrophic climate change

Australia has just six years to restore its ecosystems, warn a collective of nature experts, urging governments to swiftly “lift their game” and invest in restoring our waterways and lands to prevent biodiversity collapse and catastrophic climate change.

The Restoration Decade Alliance (RDA), a network of Australian restoration organisations that includes Greening Australia, OzFish, WWF-Australia and Landcare, emphasise that to see the improvement needed, all people must be educated to understand and help restore ecosystems and protect natural spaces, and Indigenous Australians empowered to lead, assist with and advise on efforts.

The RDA have released a position statement, A national approach to nature positive restoration in Australia, that emphasises the alarming loss and degradation of ecosystems in Australia and highlights ways that governments, industries and communities can help turn this around.

Degraded land in the process of being restored through revegetation. Photo credit: Jesse Collins.

RDA spokesperson Associate Professor Patrick O’Connor said, “Australia needs to lift our game.”

“We must show the rest of the world that we recognise that restoration action is key to creating a ‘nature positive’ world – where nature is recovering at a greater rate than it is being degraded – and help prevent climatic collapse.”

The RDA believe that the most pressing of these agreements is the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework, that has 23 global targets for urgent action by 2030.

“Target 2 – to have 30% of the world’s degraded land and water areas under effective restoration by 2030 – is crucial,” said Assoc. Prof. O’Connor.

Instead, the recently revised government strategy, Australia’s Strategy for Nature, refers to a more modest target: to have ‘priority degraded areas’ under effective restoration by 2030. The RDA urges the federal government to rapidly identify ‘priority areas’, including Australia’s land and waterscapes, to avoid further delays.

Government backing is needed to rapidly identify ‘priority degraded areas’ and kickstart concerted efforts for restoration. Photo: Toby Peet.

Assoc. Prof. O’Connor said, “With only six years left, a rapid assessment of priorities for both terrestrial and aquatic areas is needed. While longer term planning should continue, this rapid assessment must inform an urgently needed national implementation plan that can inspire all Australians to expand their current efforts to help meet the 2030 global target.”

“The inspiration element of this process is critical as restoration is not merely a top-down process. It is strongly driven by grass roots motivation from landholders, community groups, including Indigenous groups, businesses and agencies. But without government backing, motivation will flounder.”

“Indigenous communities have a key role to play in restoring Australia’s ecosystems, as they are often aware of the needs of healthy Country, have strong knowledge on ways to integrate the management of lands and waters and already have cultural mechanisms to convey and share knowledge and fill knowledge gaps.”

As holders of multigenerational traditional and sacred knowledge about Country, the leadership of First Nations Peoples is key to unlocking the true potential of restoration efforts in Australia. Photo: Jesse Collins.

While the Federal Government is initiating a Nature Repair Market in an effort to attract private investment to restoration in Australia, the RDA urge government to substantially boost funding to build capacity for restoration at the required scale.

Read A national approach to nature positive restoration in Australia.

What is the Restoration Decade Alliance (RDA)?

The Restoration Decade Alliance (RDA) is a collective of 26 Australian restoration organisations and networks who are collectively working to protect and restore ecosystems – including OzFish, WWF, The Nature Conservancy, Greening Australia, Landcare, Gondwana Link, Bush Heritage Australia, ABC Foundation, SER Australasia, Great Eastern Ranges, ANPC, AABR, LFA, GEA, ACRN, ISC, SNI, WRT, ASBP and more.

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