A wallaby sits among burnt trees at Kosciuszko National Park in Providence Portal, New South Wales, Australia January 11, 2020. (REUTERS File Photo)
Australia will set aside at least 30% of its land mass for conservation to protect its unique plants and animals.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek launched a 10-year-plan on Tuesday. It includes objectives to reverse the decline of 110 priority species and prevent any new extinctions of plants and animals.
"Focusing on these species and places will also deliver flow-on benefits to other threatened plants and animals in the same habitats," Plibersek said.
"After a decade of neglect, the need for action has never been greater - we'll keep fighting to protect our native plants and animals."
Australia is home to unique animals like koala, platypus and bilby, although their numbers have been dwindling in recent years. Koala numbers across Australia dropped an estimated 30% in three years, a study in 2021 found.
World Wildlife Fund Australia welcomed the plan but said it did not go far enough.
"Australia's wildlife and wild places have been on a dangerous downward spiral," chief conservation officer Rachel Lowry said.
"Australia has more than 1,900 listed threatened species. This plan picks 110 winners. It's unclear how it will help our other 'non-priority' threatened species such as our endangered greater glider for example," she said.
Lowry said the plan should also be accompanied by an "ambitious vision" for rewilding Australia.
"To truly regenerate Australia we need to move beyond just preventing further extinctions and restore what we've lost," Lowry said.
