Theme: Sustainable
Dimension: Protect, repair and manage the environment
Metric
Proportion of decline in Australia’s threatened and near threatened species from the “Threatened Species Index”
Why does this matter
Biodiversity — the variety and variability of living things including animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms like bacteria — is central to the health of natural ecosystems. A loss of biodiversity threatens the capacity of our environment to sustain and provide clean air, water, medicines and is contributing to the emergence and transmission of disease.1
Has there been progress
Australia’s threatened and near threatened species populations are continuing to decline, at an average rate of 55 per cent in relative abundance in 2019 compared to the 1985 baseline for the 278 species represented.2
1 World Health Organisation (WHO) (2015) Biodiversity and Health, WHO website, accessed 28 June 2023
2 Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) (2023) The State of Play: Australia’s Threatened Species Index for 2022, TERN website, accessed 28 June 2023