Australia is taking steps to protect its most vulnerable critters.
In a landmark court proceeding, the nonprofit Wilderness Society successfully argued that the federal government had not fulfilled its obligation to bring four species back from the brink of extinction, according to the Guardian. The endangered native species are the greater glider, the ghost bat, the lungfish, and the sandhill dunnart.
The Australian government is legally required to take steps to protect species that the environment minister decides are threatened. However, as the Guardian has reported, these recovery plans do not always lead to concrete changes.
In the court proceeding, the government finally acknowledged that it had not properly executed some recovery plans in the past and committed to working to ensure the survival of endangered species in the future. The government has also clarified that recovery plans don't expire until species are safe.
"Today is a win for threatened wildlife across Australia," Wilderness Society biodiversity policy and campaign manager Sam Szoke-Burke said in a statement. "After decades of neglect by government after government, we took to the courts to fight for Australia's pride and joy — its diverse and world-important environment."
Ensuring that species don't go extinct is crucial to protecting biodiversity. Human activity, such as pollution and habitat destruction, can contribute to biodiversity loss. When species die out, it disrupts the food chain and makes it harder for nature to adapt to change.
It's in humans' best interest to conserve biodiversity. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, biodiversity not only increases people's health and happiness but has also even contributed to advancements in modern pharmaceuticals.
Fortunately, humans can take steps to conserve the variety of plants and animals with which we coexist. An action as simple as planting a native lawn can help boost local biodiversity. On an astronomical scale, scientists could even attempt to preserve species by creating a biological repository on the moon.
Australia's breakthrough is one step in the right direction. "The resolution of this case provides much-needed certainty for Australia's iconic plants and animals, some of whom have been waiting for over a decade for a legally required recovery road map to give them a better chance at surviving extinction," Szoke-Burke said.
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