Australia needs to embark on an urgent mission to formally document more than half a million undiscovered plants and animals before they are lost to science and the planet.
The Australian Academy of Science says some $824m will be needed over the next 25 years to complete a mammoth task becoming more urgent as the climate crisis puts more species at risk of extinction.
Economic research commissioned by the academy and released today argues every dollar spent on the taxonomy mission could deliver between $4 and $35 in benefits.
Australia is estimated to have 750,000 different species of plants, animals and insects, but about 70% are either undiscovered or have not been formally described in the scientific literature.
The academy’s proposal would see all of Australia’s species properly documented and recorded over the next 25 years.
https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...nt-australias-undiscovered-plants-and-animals
The Australian Academy of Science says some $824m will be needed over the next 25 years to complete a mammoth task becoming more urgent as the climate crisis puts more species at risk of extinction.
Economic research commissioned by the academy and released today argues every dollar spent on the taxonomy mission could deliver between $4 and $35 in benefits.
Australia is estimated to have 750,000 different species of plants, animals and insects, but about 70% are either undiscovered or have not been formally described in the scientific literature.
The academy’s proposal would see all of Australia’s species properly documented and recorded over the next 25 years.
https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...nt-australias-undiscovered-plants-and-animals