A new strategy to save Australia’s threatened species will not be enough to correct the government’s “appalling record” on protecting the country’s unique and at-risk wildlife, according to leading conservation groups. Ley said the government wants to see “protection of a more diverse range of species, including reptiles, amphibians, freshwater species, marine species”. The Australian Conservation Foundation and the Wilderness Society said a lack of funding and inadequate national environmental laws undermine the strategy. Stasak said: “The previous five-year strategy failed to deliver, largely because of inadequate funding and weak national environment laws. A “direct action statement” from the threatened species commissioner, Dr Sally Box, said it was the first time a strategy would include priority places and marine and freshwater species.

Source: The Guardian May 21, 2021 03:13 UTC