A national plan for ecosystem restoration is needed
OzFish Unlimited, as a member, of the Restoration Decade Alliance is calling for the development of a national plan for ecosystem restoration.
Chief executive Craig Copeland worked with most of Australia’s restoration practitioners and international experts at the 10th World Conference on Ecological Restoration (SER) which was held in Darwin this week.
“Our waterways need urgent attention because there are so many problems that have to be fixed,” he said.
“By restoring habitat we can all make a difference to protect our native fish and create a better environment for everyone.”
Roughly half of Australia’s gross domestic product is dependent on nature, and ecosystem degradation has been shown to have direct and significant impacts on human health and social and cultural wellbeing as well as biodiversity and productivity losses such as in fisheries.
“Despite ongoing efforts, our ecosystems are continuing to deteriorate, and biodiversity is disappearing at an unprecedented rate in Australia and worldwide,” says Dr Tein McDonald, Convener of the Restoration Decade Alliance.
“We need to urgently accelerate and amplify our collective efforts to reverse ecosystem degradation and decline at the vast scale needed for nature and people.
“The Restoration Decade Alliance was formed to help meet these challenges, but we cannot do it alone.
“To date, restoration efforts in Australia have typically been short-term, disconnected and relatively small scale.
“This is inadequate to address the scale of the challenges we now face, but it’s not too late to turn things around.
“All levels of society and sectors – government, industry, First Nations and local communities must work together to restore our ecosystems..
“We encourage the government to take the lead by developing an ambitious National Restoration Plan that serves as a clear roadmap for effective restoration and unites and empowers the whole-of-community.”
The RDA understands that genuine, early and continuous involvement of First Nations Australians is foundational to the success of the development and implementation of this restoration plan for Australia.
The restoration plan is required to provide a framework to guide ecosystem restoration in Australia to ensure all investments are optimised to drive nature-positive outcomes.
“People in communities across Australia have a high willingness to take action on the ground,” said Dr Kristin den Exter, Partnerships Manager, National Landcare Network.
“What these communities need is a supportive framework, greater investment and attractive incentives to scale up their efforts.
“Alongside this, we need to do better at communicating the benefits of reviving culture and restoring biodiversity, celebrating the wins so that people are motivated by a message of hope.
“We have a chance to secure a sustained stewardship of Australian ecosystems and leave a legacy that lasts beyond this UN Decade.”
The Restoration Decade Alliance is also recommending that any government advisory panel tasked with identifying restoration targets and priorities should include independent ecosystem restoration experts with long and successful experience in the restoration sector to optimise potential for successful outcomes that align with Australia’s national and global environmental and climate commitments.
The full conference statement can be viewed at the following link and a discussion paper will be released in the near future. https://restorationdecadealliance.org/statement-from-ser2023/.
