Michael Vardon on why urban forests keep losing the argument — and how a bit of accounting could change the odds. And he begins by looking at the loss of a much loved 80-year-old raintree in Cairns.
ecosystem services
Australia quietly released the national ecosystem account last week. Now we need to use them
Nature in Australia stored almost $60 billion worth of carbon in 2021–22! How do we know? Because this value was recorded in the country’s second set of ecosystem accounts just put out by the ABS. And they are open for everyone to see. You can look up your favourite ecosystem to see how it is doing in terms of its extent and condition, and the ecosystem services it provides. Here, Michael Vardon explains why these accounts are important and how we should be using them, and laments at how little attention they given.
For ‘peats’ sake, can we please get serious about protecting our peatlands
Wetlands are under threat all around the world but there’s one particular type of wetland that provides a disproportionate ecosystem service in the form of carbon storage that is in dire need of increased protection. We’re talking peatlands, and new research is suggesting it’s way past time we got serious about looking after them.
Have we learnt nothing? Don’t put all your (biodiversity) ‘eggs’ into a single (market) ‘basket’!
Before we commit all our ‘biodiversity eggs’ to the ‘market basket’ and leave saving Nature to the market traders, could we quickly reflect on what’s been done in the past to save biodiversity? How did we attempt to protect Nature before markets were put forward as our road to salvation? What are the lessons? Those lessons would include attention to governance, resourcing, inclusion and justice. Ignore these dimensions and there’s little prospect that a market-driven approach is going to achieve anything better.