Leadbeater's possum- think the current estimate is around 1,500 individuals,
"predicted" extinction in 15-25 years [perhaps faster given developments below
? - which are noteworthy] - not immediate extinction, but on a trajectory
headed that way....
Colin
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"We now see a government in a
developed nation taking calculated actions to drive an endangered
species to extinction." (Lindenmayer & Possingham)
"To the best of our knowledge, and despite state and
national threatened species legislation, this is the first time an
Australian government has taken calculated actions to substantially
reduce the viability of an IUCN-listed endangered species with full
knowledge of the likely consequences."(Lindenmayer & Possingham)
No Excuse for Habitat Destruction
page 680 10 MAY 2013 VOL 340 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org Published by AAAS,
Letters section
IN THE PAST, MOST LOSSES OF SPECIES HAVE BEEN THE RESULT OF ignorance or
an unfortunate catastrophic event (1, 2). We now see a government in a
developed nation taking calculated actions to drive an endangered
species to extinction.
To counter biodiversity loss, the most widely used strategy is to
establish reserves. Hence, a system of protected areas was established
in 2008 for Leadbeater's possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri)-- the faunal
emblem of the Australian state of Victoria. This reserve system is
based on a population viability analysis that uncovered the best
strategy for cost effectively securing the species (3). The strategy
consists of no-logging reserves embedded within government-owned forests
that are otherwise primarily for wood production(4). Yet in the past 2
years, government-sanctioned changes in legislation (5) and substantial
watering down of protocols for habitat protection (6) have resulted in
clearfell logging of those reserves (in which most of the trees are cut
down) and destruction of known habitat for Leadbeater's possum.
Clearfell logging renders the animal's forest habitat unsuitable for at
least 150 years (4).
Global analyses have revealed that the formal reserve systems of many
developing countries are being degraded by logging, land clearing,
mining, and other practices (7). A poor understanding of ecological and
conservation requirements, together with management inaction, leads to
species becoming threatened or extinct in such countries.
These considerations provide no excuse in the case of Leadbeater's
possum; the species has been the subject of more than 30 years of
detailed research (4). Government-sanctioned legal logging of the
reserve system will significantly increase the chance of extinction of
Leadbeater's possum. To the best of our knowledge, and despite state and
national threatened species legislation, this is the first time an
Australian government has taken calculated actions to substantially
reduce the viability of an IUCN-listed endangered species with full
knowledge of the likely consequences.
DAVID B. LINDENMAYER(1) AND HUGH P. POSSINGHAM(2)
(1)ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, Fenner School
of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra
ACT 0200, Australia. (2)ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental
Decisions,The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
References
1. M. Mangel, C. Tier, Ecology 75, 607 (1994).
2. G. C. Caughley, A. Gunn, Conservation Biology in Theory and Practice
(Blackwell Science Cambridge, MA, 1996).
3. D. B. Lindenmayer, H. P. Possingham, Conserv. Biol. 10, 235 (1996).
4. D. B. Lindenmayer, Forest Pattern and Ecological Process: A
Synthesis of 25 Years of Research (CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, 2009).
5. Proposed Variation to the Code of Practice for Timber
Production 2007 (Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria,
Australia, 2011).
6. Survey Standards: Leadbeater's Possum Habitat Zones
(Central Highlands Forest Management Plan) (Department of Sustainability
and Environment, Victoria, Australia, 2013).
7. M. B. Mascia, S. Pailler, Conserv. Lett. 4, 9 (2011).
Sources:
ANU Fenner School oof Environment and Society website - The Survival of
Leadbeater's Possum
Guardian newspaper, 26 May 2013 - Government-backed logging 'pushing rare
possum towards extinction'
David Lindenmayer, The Age on 29 May 2013 - The gathering tragedy in our forests
David Lindenmayer, The Conversation, December 2012 - Sending Leadbeater's
Possum down the road to extinction
Lisa Caripis, The Conversation, May 2013 - Victorian law change abandons native
forests to loggers
Lindenmayer and Possingham, Science, 10 MAY 2013 Letters - No Excuse for
Habitat Destruction
Image Leadbeater's Possum by D. Harley/Flickr Creative Commons CC-by-nc-nd 2.0
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