Leslie Massey
Indigenous people in Australia have a spiritual connection to their lands and territories, and their economies, personal identities, and cultures are often deeply intertwined with the biodiversity of their surroundings. However, the harm caused to biodiversity in Australia through invasive species, government subsidies for environmentally harmful activities, and climate change is having a profoundly negative impact on Indigenous Australians.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Invasive species | Cats, dogs, pigs, and goats are some of the invasive species that have a significant impact on Australia's biodiversity, threatening the survival of native species and ecosystems. |
| Climate change | Rising temperatures, drought, and sea level rise impact the livelihoods and cultural practices of Indigenous communities, such as those in Kakadu National Park and the Torres Strait Islands. |
| Government subsidies | The Australian government spends significantly more on subsidizing activities harmful to the environment than on biodiversity conservation, potentially exacerbating the loss of biodiversity. |
| Conservation efforts | The baseless statistic that "80% of the world's biodiversity is found in Indigenous territories" may undermine Indigenous-led conservation efforts by simplifying the complex relationship between biodiversity and Indigenous territories. |
| Indigenous knowledge | Indigenous peoples have a deep spiritual connection to the land and a wealth of knowledge about environmental changes. Their observations and solutions are crucial for addressing biodiversity loss and climate change. |
| Food and medicine | Biodiversity provides Indigenous communities with bush foods and medicines, and the decline in biodiversity can lead to food and medicine shortages. |
| Materials and economy | Biodiversity is a source of materials for tools and artifacts, and it also supports economic activities such as ecotourism. |
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What You'll Learn
Invasive species
Australia has a significant issue with invasive species, which are the most common pressure on species listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). In 2018, invasive species affected 82% of threatened taxa in Australia, with 267 invasive species (207 plants, 57 animals, and 3 pathogens) listed as detrimental to Australian threatened taxa. Invasive species are a primary cause of extinction in Australia, and their management is a significant economic burden.
Feral cats (Felis catus), feral pigs (Sus scrofa), and feral goats (Capra hircus) are considered significant threats, with each species endangering over 100 threatened species. Feral cats, in particular, have contributed to the extinction of many Australian native mammal species since European settlement. They are known to prey on a large number of Australian mammal and bird species, including threatened species. Feral pigs also have a detrimental impact on natural landscapes and are considered pests in cultural landscapes, as their rooting directly damages the ground, vegetation, and plant species richness, affecting vehicle access to traditional lands.
Invasive ants are another issue, with Australia spending more than $60 million annually on eradication programs for several ant species due to their potential harm to native animals and people. While Australia has had success in eradicating tropical fire ant infestations from Indigenous land, the presence of invasive ants in certain regions continues to pose a risk.
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Government subsidies
Australia is one of 196 countries that have signed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The GBF was established in recognition of the threat that biodiversity loss poses to the liveability of the Earth, human health, food production, and economic systems. The Australian government has committed to phasing out government subsidies for activities that are likely to harm biodiversity. These activities include mining, native forest logging, and fossil fuel projects.
According to a report by the Biodiversity Council, the Australian government spends around 50 times more on subsidising activities that harm the environment than it spends on helping biodiversity each year. This amounts to around $26.3 billion per year, which is about 4% of the federal budget. In contrast, the government invests approximately $475 million per year in biodiversity efforts, such as threatened species recovery and feral animal control.
The report identified various government subsidies that are likely to have a medium to high adverse impact on biodiversity. These include the $7.5 billion per annum fuel tax credit, the $1.9 billion Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct, the $1.5 billion energy bill relief, and the $600 million gas-fired Kurri Kurri Hunter Power Project.
The Biodiversity Council has recommended that the Australian government commission a detailed independent assessment of biodiversity-harmful subsidies to understand their monetary value and impact on biodiversity better. They have also urged the government to reform or eliminate these subsidies and redirect the savings towards biodiversity conservation.
While the Australian government has made commitments to phase out harmful subsidies, there appears to be a lack of action. For example, the recent release of Australia's National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) omitted GBF Target 18, which specifically addresses the identification and elimination of biodiversity-harmful subsidies.
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Climate change
Indigenous people in Australia have a strong relationship with the natural world, and their health and well-being are dependent on the health of the land. They have long observed environmental changes and have a deep understanding of nature and stewardship, which is essential in tackling climate change. The loss of biodiversity and environmental degradation caused by climate change directly threaten the lives, survival, development, knowledge, and health of Indigenous people.
In Australia, coastal communities in the north, such as those dependent on Kakadu National Park, are particularly vulnerable to climate change-induced sea-level rises. These rising sea levels have the potential to worsen existing threats to the environment, such as invasive species. Climate change also affects the Torres Strait Islands, with rising sea levels, increasing air and sea temperatures, and changes in ocean acidity posing significant challenges.
The Australian government's actions have also contributed to the harm caused to biodiversity and Indigenous people. The government has been criticized for spending significantly more on subsidizing activities that harm the environment than on biodiversity protection. Additionally, the government has been slow to eliminate subsidies for activities destructive to biodiversity, such as mining and native forest logging.
Furthermore, climate change-induced temperature increases and droughts in desert regions have created unbearable living conditions for Indigenous people, threatening their connection to their homelands and culture. The situation is so severe that some media outlets have referred to these individuals as "climate refugees."
To address these issues, Indigenous people in Australia have called for urgent action against climate change. They emphasize that solutions can be found within their knowledge systems and landscapes.
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Food and medicine shortages
Australia's Indigenous Peoples, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, have a spiritual connection to their land and territories, which forms a critical part of their culture and identity. They rely on the land for bush foods, medicines, and materials. However, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation caused by invasive species, industrial activities, toxic waste, and climate change are severely impacting their way of life, and food and medicine shortages are among the most pressing concerns.
Invasive species are the most common pressure on threatened species in Australia. Cats, for instance, are a major threat, with the combined population of feral and domestic cats exceeding 6.5 million. These cats are present across almost the entire Australian landmass and are known to eat over half of Australia's mammal species, including 50 threatened species. Feral cats in the bush kill an estimated 2,414 million animals annually, mostly native species. Feral pigs are also considered one of the worst invasive species, impacting plant species richness, increasing erosion and water quality, and influencing soil chemistry and microbial life. These invasive species directly affect the availability of food sources for Indigenous Peoples.
Feral herbivores, such as goats, also pose a significant threat to biodiversity across large areas of Australia. They impact native vegetation through grazing and browsing, soil compaction, and competition with native herbivores for food. This, in turn, affects the availability of food for Indigenous Peoples and can lead to shortages.
Climate change is another critical factor contributing to food and medicine shortages for Indigenous Peoples in Australia. Coastal communities, such as those in the Torres Strait Islands, face rising sea levels, increasing temperatures, and changes in ocean acidity. These changes not only directly impact the biodiversity of these regions but also affect the availability of food sources, such as fish and other marine life, that Indigenous Peoples rely on. Additionally, climate change-induced droughts in desert regions are causing concerns about water supply and quality, further exacerbating the challenges of food production and access.
The Australian government's subsidies for activities harmful to the environment, such as native forest logging and fossil fuel projects, have also been identified as contributing to biodiversity loss. While the government has committed to phasing out these subsidies, there are concerns about the lack of immediate action. The government's spending on activities harmful to biodiversity far exceeds its investment in conservation and threatened species recovery, which further exacerbates the challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples in maintaining their food and medicine sources.
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Land degradation
In Australia, invasive species are a primary threat to biodiversity and are driven by human activities. Feral pigs, for example, damage the ground and vegetation, increase erosion and water quality issues, and slow down regeneration. Feral goats also pose a serious threat to biodiversity across Australia's rangelands. The impact of these invasive species is felt acutely by Indigenous communities, who may experience food and medicine shortages, cultural site access issues, and a decline in the health of their ecosystems.
Feral cats, including both domestic and wild cats, have a detrimental impact on Australian biodiversity. With a population of over 6.5 million, these cats are present across almost the entire Australian landmass. They prey on native animal species, including threatened ones, and are responsible for millions of animal deaths annually. This loss of native fauna has a direct impact on Indigenous communities, disrupting their food sources and cultural practices that are intimately tied to the land.
Climate change further exacerbates the challenges faced by Indigenous communities in Australia. Rising temperatures, drought, and sea-level rise are making certain regions uninhabitable, forcing Indigenous people to leave their homelands. Coastal communities in northern Australia, such as those in the Torres Strait Islands, are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and the associated impacts on their natural and cultural values.
The Australian government has been criticized for allocating significantly more funds to activities that harm the environment than to initiatives that protect biodiversity. This discrepancy undermines conservation efforts and exacerbates the challenges faced by Indigenous communities in preserving their way of life.
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Frequently asked questions
Indigenous people in Australia rely on the country's biodiversity for food, medicine, and materials that are integral to their economies, personal identities, and cultures. Therefore, they are among the first to be impacted by biodiversity loss. They also have a spiritual connection to their lands and territories, and their knowledge systems are interconnected with their environment. As a result, their lives, survival, development, knowledge, environment, and health conditions are all threatened by biodiversity loss.
Sources of biodiversity loss in Australia include invasive species, such as feral cats, pigs, and goats, as well as government subsidies for activities that harm the environment, like native forest logging and fossil fuel projects.
The Australian government has committed to phasing out subsidies for activities that harm biodiversity, such as mining. However, they have been criticized for a lack of action, and it has been estimated that they spend 50 times more on subsidies for environmentally harmful activities than on helping biodiversity.
Indigenous people in Australia have long-standing concepts of respect for nature and stewardship, with generations of knowledge and expertise in observing environmental changes. Their solutions to biodiversity decline focus on practical on-ground actions, such as burning and manipulating target species for hunting and gathering.
