Australia to Set Aside 30 Percent of Land Mass for Conservation

Australia to Set Aside 30 Percent of Land Mass for Conservation

Australia's Environment Minister said on Tuesday it will set aside at least 30 percent of its land mass for conservation. Tanya Plibersek said the plan will help protect plants and animals on the continent where many animals are found nowhere else.

Australia has lost more mammal species¹ than any other continent. And an Australian government environmental report released² in July showed that the country has one of the worst rates for species loss among the world's richest nations.

That report showed the number of species added to the list of threatened species or in a higher class of risk grew on average by eight percent from the former report in 2016.

Plibersek said, "The need for action to protect our plants, animals and ecosystems⁴ from extinction⁵ has never been greater."

Plibersek said the conservation areas will increase by 50 million hectares under the 10-year plan, which will be reexamined in 2027.

The recently elected federal⁶ Labor⁷ government has set $146 million to help protect Australia's threatened native plants and animals.

Australia is the sixth largest country by land area in the world. And it is home to animals found nowhere else. Those animals include koalas and platypus⁸. But their numbers have been falling due to extreme weather events and humans moving into areas where they live.

Koalas along much of the east coast were listed as endangered in February. This was after nature experts estimated⁹ Australia has lost about 30 percent of its koalas over the past four years.

Australia suffers extreme weather events on a usual basis. Such happenings include the deadly wildfires in 2019 and 2020 in the east that killed 33 people, billions of animals, and burned a huge area.

The non-profit group World Wildlife Fund-Australia has welcomed the government's conservation efforts. But it is also urging officials to invest¹⁰ in recovery¹¹ plans for every threatened species.

Rachel Lowry is the group's chief conservation officer. She said, "Australia has more than 1,900 listed threatened species. This plan picks 110 winners. It's unclear how it will help our other 'nonpriority' threatened species."

Words in This Story

conservation --– n. the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources

mammal – n. a type of animal that feeds milk to its young and that usually has hair or fur covering most of its skin

species – n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants

ecosystem³ – n. everything that exists in a particular environment

extinction – n. the state or situation that results when something (such as a plant or animal species) has died out completely

prioritize – v. to make (something) the most important thing in a group

1 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

2 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

3 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

4 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

5 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

6 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 platypus   

n.鸭嘴兽

参考例句：

• The platypus spends a great deal of its time looking for food. 鸭嘴兽要用大量的时间去觅食。
• One of the mascots was the platypus.吉祥物之一是鸭嘴兽。

9 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

10 invest   

v.投资；投入(时间等)；授予，赋予

参考例句：

• I have decided to invest in a new car.我已经决定买一辆新汽车。
• The best time to invest is now.现在是投资的最佳时机。

11 recovery   

n.恢复，痊愈；追回，寻回，收复

参考例句：

• The doctors said that his recovery was a miracle. 医生们说他的复原是件奇事。
• The quick recovery was truly in response to medication.这次迅速康复确实是对药物治疗的反应。