Australia’s main environment laws have long been regarded as not fit for purpose. But efforts to strengthen environmental protection have met huge pushback.
Articles on Extinction
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Pig-sized hippos and elephants the size of horses once roamed the lush forests of Cyprus – until humans arrived.
Rewilding is helping to save species from the brink of extinction. But reintroducing species to islands or fenced havens have limitations. What if we could use flat topped mesas as well?
It’s fun to imagine secret dinosaur survivors living today, hidden in a remote corner of Earth. But the truth of who made it through the extinction event 66 million years ago may surprise you.
It feels harmless to share a photo of a rare species. But social media can drive great damage to nature, from poaching to baiting to trampling.
Koalas in trouble, land clearing at speed – nature in New South Wales is not well. Now the government is proposing significant changes to its ineffective biodiversity laws.
We all know the Barrier Reef – but Australia also has three other World Heritage reefs, Ningaloo and Shark Bay in Western Australia and Lord Howe Island off the New South Wales coast.
Australia’s ancient Wet Tropics are enormously rich in species. But these tight-knit ecosystems might be at risk from cascading extinctions
Scientists have long wondered if the wooly mammoth went extinct due to high levels of inbreeding.
The plant has been propagated worldwide, but every surviving specimen of Encephalartos woodii is a male clone – and without a female, natural reproduction is impossible.
A recent find of an ancient giant bird’s skull has revealed much about its life among the vanished lakes and wetlands of inland South Australia.
When Labor took office, it promised to reverse nature’s decline. But that looks more and more like greenwashing
Faced with a darkly satirical vision that hardly seems sensationalist, the audience might wish for compassionate thinking to combat ecological disaster and precarious resources.
Once sold as ‘penny turtles’ around Australia, the Mary River turtle’s plight galvanised local community efforts to save it from extinction.
An end to extinctions. An environmental cop on the beat. Labor promised a great deal on the environment. But yesterday, they backed away from the main challenge.
Even with the best intentions, policies from different government departments can clash.
We’ve brought some species back from the brink – but more and more are being threatened. Here’s why
Australia has already lost so many wonderful mammal species. Do we want the southern greater glider to suffer the same fate?
Wildebeest herds churning dust. Sturgeon seeking spawning grounds. Shorebirds flying from Siberia. These iconic animal migrations could soon be a memory.
Migrating animals are vital to the health of ecosystems worldwide but a new report says they are in grave danger.
Top contributors
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Professor of Conservation Biology, Charles Darwin University
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Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University
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Professor of Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University
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Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Node Leader in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures, Flinders University
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Professor in Conservation Science, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Wildlife Conservation, Australian National University
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Distinguished Professor of Ecology, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University
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Associate Professor in Vertebrate Palaeontology, Flinders University
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Professor in Conservation Science, School of Ecosystem and Forest Science, The University of Melbourne
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Professor, Urban Ecology and Biodiversity, The University of Melbourne; RMIT University
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University Fellow in Biodiversity, Charles Darwin University
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Professor of Environmental Management, The University of Queensland
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Lecturer in the School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University
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Honorary Research Fellow, University of Sydney
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Distinguished Research Professor and Australian Laureate, James Cook University