The following article highlights the fact that we face an ever increasing extinction crisis but fails to recognize that a concerted effort costing billions of dollars and traversing three decades has failed to take a single species off of the endangered listing. The encompassing dilemma we now find ourselves in, with a diminishing pool of funds and increasing suite of endangered species, who gets the dough? With an appalling tarck record in endangered species recovery I think the question we should be asking is how do we spend the dough. It would appear that there is a genuine lack of understanding when it comes to the dynamics of threatening processes. In Australia many conservation biologists tend to shoot first and ask questions later and soak up valuable resources along the way for little or no return. Species generally decline at the expense of another species that has erupted, so we attack the likely suspects without understanding the cause of the initial eruption. Rather than engage in expensive and unsustainable pest control ( which soaks up over 90% of the annual conservation budget) we should be focused on aspects of ecosystem function that enhance their health and resilience. When tracking problems associated with threatened species decline, In both marine and terrestrial environments recent research indicates that all roads lead to the top. On a global scale Top predators have been pivotal in ecosystem restoration with the Yellowstone wolves taking the lions share of attention. Bramble cay melomys aside, we could do a lot more for our endangered species by liberating our own wolf in areas where that is currently possible. Living in SE Queensland I have witnessed the recent and accelerated decline of numerous native species, this has been commensurate with an increase in dingo control. Triggered by the Fraser Is. indecent in 2002, It is deeply saddening to witness this scenario unfold, 1080 is like a drug, once in use higher doses are required to combat the eruptions that invariably follow. Liberating the dingo to its pre 2000 status would actually cost nothing and save a substantial pest control bill In my opinion ecosystem restoration and endangered species recovery should always start from the top.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 05:06:02 +0000
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