How Australia Could Restore 30% of Its Degraded Land for Less Than It Spends Harming Nature
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📰 The quick summary: Australia has the knowledge and tools to restore 30% of its degraded ecosystems, and doing so could cost less than a third of what the government already spends on nature-harming subsidies each year.
📈 One key stat: Restoring 30% of Australia’s 418 million hectares of degraded land would cost around A$7 billion a year over 30 years, which is less than a third of the A$26 billion the government currently spends annually subsidizing nature-harming activities.
💬 One key quote: “Most of Australia’s native species still exist. The knowledge is there. And we know restoration at scale is possible.”
1️⃣ The big picture: Nature in Australia is under serious pressure, with many unique mammals, birds, and insects struggling to survive and entire ecosystems collapsing. In 2022, Australia signed a global pledge to protect and restore nature, with the international goal set at restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030. Australia’s own domestic plan, however, lacks a clear numerical target, defined terms, or a method to measure success. Scientists estimate that 418 million hectares of Australian land qualify as degraded, meaning a 30% restoration target translates to 125 million hectares. Researchers argue that, despite the scale of the challenge, restoration is possible if policymakers make bold commitments and hard choices about which land gets protected.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: Restoring nature at this scale is achievable, and Australia already has the scientific knowledge and proven tools to prioritize and carry out large-scale restoration. Projects like Gondwana Link in Western Australia show that linking habitat fragments, controlling invasive species, and reintroducing traditional fire regimes can rebuild functioning ecosystems. At an estimated A$7 billion a year over 30 years, the cost of restoring 30% of degraded land is actually less than a third of what the federal government currently spends each year on subsidies that actively harm nature. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, encoded in language, ceremony, and oral tradition, offers invaluable guidance for restoring Country in culturally and ecologically meaningful ways. Because most of Australia’s native species still exist, there is a real window of opportunity to reverse decades of decline and rebuild biodiverse, functional landscapes.
3️⃣ What’s next: Policymakers need to commit to a clear numerical restoration target and define what success looks like in measurable terms. Hard decisions about protecting threatened ecosystems, even those on land sought after for farming or development, cannot be avoided. Integrating Indigenous land stewardship, scaling up habitat connectivity projects, and redirecting subsidies away from nature-harming activities are all critical parts of turning the pledge into action.
Read the full story here: The Conversation – Australia has pledged to restore nature. But could we ever bring back lost ecosystems?
