Australia to Set Aside at Least 30% of its Land Mass to Protect Endangered Species

A wallaby sits among burnt trees at Kosciuszko National Park in Providence Portal, New South Wales, Australia January 11, 2020. (Reuters)
A wallaby sits among burnt trees at Kosciuszko National Park in Providence Portal, New South Wales, Australia January 11, 2020. (Reuters)
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Australia to Set Aside at Least 30% of its Land Mass to Protect Endangered Species

A wallaby sits among burnt trees at Kosciuszko National Park in Providence Portal, New South Wales, Australia January 11, 2020. (Reuters)
A wallaby sits among burnt trees at Kosciuszko National Park in Providence Portal, New South Wales, Australia January 11, 2020. (Reuters)

Australia will set aside at least 30% of its land mass for conservation in a bid to protect plants and animals in the island continent famed for species found nowhere else in the world, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said on Tuesday.

Australia has lost more mammal species than any other continent and has one of the worst rates of species decline among the world's richest countries, a five-yearly environmental report card released in July by the government showed.

That report showed the number of species added to the list of threatened species or in a higher category of risk grew on average by 8% from the previous report in 2016.

"The need for action to protect our plants, animals and ecosystems from extinction has never been greater," Plibersek said in a statement.

By prioritising 110 species and 20 places, Plibersek said the areas managed for conservation will be increased by 50 million hectares. The 10-year plan will be reviewed in 2027.

The recently elected federal Labor government has pledged A$224.5 million ($146 million) to help protect Australia's threatened native plants and animals.

Australia, the sixth largest country by land area in the world, is home to unique animals like koalas and platypus although their numbers have been dwindling due to extreme weather events and human encroachment into their habitats.

Koalas along much of the east coast were listed as endangered in February after nature experts estimated Australia has lost about 30% of its koalas over the past four years.

Australia has been battered recently by frequent extreme weather events including the devastating bushfires in 2019 and 2020 in the east that killed 33 people, billions of animals and burned an area nearly half the size of Germany.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-Australia welcomed the government's conservation efforts but urged authorities to go further and invest in time-bound recovery plans for every threatened species.

"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," said Rachel Lowry, WWF-Australia's chief conservation officer.



UK's Oldest Man, WWII Veteran, Donald Rose, Dies at 110

WW2 veteran Donald Rose, 110, poses for a photo at the National Memorial Arboretum, ahead of a memorial event hosted by the Royal British Legion to mark the 80th anniversary of V-E Day, in Alrewas, Staffordshire, England, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (Jacob King/PA via AP, File)
WW2 veteran Donald Rose, 110, poses for a photo at the National Memorial Arboretum, ahead of a memorial event hosted by the Royal British Legion to mark the 80th anniversary of V-E Day, in Alrewas, Staffordshire, England, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (Jacob King/PA via AP, File)
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UK's Oldest Man, WWII Veteran, Donald Rose, Dies at 110

WW2 veteran Donald Rose, 110, poses for a photo at the National Memorial Arboretum, ahead of a memorial event hosted by the Royal British Legion to mark the 80th anniversary of V-E Day, in Alrewas, Staffordshire, England, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (Jacob King/PA via AP, File)
WW2 veteran Donald Rose, 110, poses for a photo at the National Memorial Arboretum, ahead of a memorial event hosted by the Royal British Legion to mark the 80th anniversary of V-E Day, in Alrewas, Staffordshire, England, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (Jacob King/PA via AP, File)

Britain’s oldest World War II veteran, Donald Rose, has died at the age of 110.

Rose participated in the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, and was part of the division that liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in northern Germany.

In a statement Friday, the leader of the Erewash Borough Council in the north of England, James Dawson, announced Rose's death, calling him a “war hero.”

“Erewash was privileged to count him as a resident," he added, The AP news reported.

In May, Rose joined 45 other veterans as guests of honor at a tea party celebration hosted by the Royal British Legion at the National Memorial Arboretum, to mark 80 years since Victory in Europe Day.

Rose, who was born on Christmas Eve in 1914 following the outbreak of hostilities in World War I, said at the event that he did not celebrate VE Day at the time.

“When I heard that the armistice had been signed 80 years ago, I was in Germany at Belsen and, like most active soldiers, I didn’t get to celebrate at that time," he said. “We just did what we thought was right and it was a relief when it was over.”

Originally from the village of Westcott, southwest of London, Rose joined the army aged 23 and served in North Africa, Italy and France, according to the Royal British Legion. He received a number of medals and was awarded France’s highest honor, the Legion d’Honneur.

Rose is also believed to have been the UK’s oldest man.