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NSW State of Environment Report reveals major holes in biodiversity laws

The state government scores an F in the NSW State of the Environment Report on a number of critical areas. 

This report finds extreme weather conditions—drought, flood and fire—plus the key threats of habitat destruction, invasive species and climate change, have put severe pressure on our environment. Business-as-usual management and conservation efforts will not be enough to save many species.

“We now see the clear mandate for the new Environment Minister: to take urgent action. There is work to be done. The threats to nature and failures of Government policy are clear for all to see,” Nature Conservation Council Chief Executive Chris Gambian said. 

“Government decisions have major impacts on the environment. Land clearing has exploded in NSW since laws were weakened in 2017. Habitat loss is the major threat to many plants and animals, including the now endangered koala.

“These findings are damning, and we need more than good intentions or rhetoric to turn things around, we need a new framework where nature can be genuinely prioritised in decisions and policy.

There is clear and growing evidence that the Biodiversity Conservation Act is failing to protect nature and an overhaul is needed. The government committed to reviewing these reforms and that commitment is overdue.

“The extinction crisis in NSW was clear from the last State of the Environment Report in 2019.

"Things are getting worse, so we must take a radically different approach to nature conservation, and that needs to include ending deforestation, protecting threatened species habitat and tackling climate change.

“We are glad to read that Minister Griffin will focus on improving land management with a view to curbing the rate of extinction in NSW.

"To turn this crisis around we need an end to native forest logging, stronger land-clearing laws and more natural flows in our rivers.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Jacquelyn Johnson 02 9516 0461

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