Australia could mend much of its degraded landscapes by directing A$7.3 billion ($4.8 bln) in funding per year, equivalent to 0.3% of GDP, a group of scientists said in ‘first-of-its-kind’ in-depth investment analysis on Wednesday.
Over 30 years, A$7.3 bln in 2022 figures across 24 actions could repair much of the past two centuries of degradation, said NGO the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, alongside experts from academia, government, and business.
“These actions … set us on the path to achieve our national goals on a scale and scope never done before. This is the most comprehensive assessment of its kind in Australia,” the group said in research that included a 112-page technical report and an Excel sheet breaking down recommended investments to single dollar figures.
The research aims to guide the government towards delivering the resources needed to achieve the country’s goals, which include net zero emissions by 2050, restoring 30% of land by 2030, and growing beyond a $100 bln agricultural sector.
The group wants to challenge the notion that landscape repair is too big a task, with pragmatic actions that can generate income over decades.
“Targeted, long-term financial investments in the actions identified would unlock new and significant returns for forward-thinking businesses.”
FINANCE
Investment of A$7 bln annually would shore up degraded landscapes while enabling them to provide a range of good and services, the report said:
Source: Wentworth Group
The research broke down each figure from five core investment types of soil, native vegetation, threatened species, inland water, and coastal environments in detail across 24 actions. For example, per year:
- Conserving the condition of degraded salt marshes: A$22 mln
- Restoring 1.3 mln hectares of degraded native vegetation: A$104 mln
- Addressing soil acidification: A$118 mln
Government financing of conservation needs to be complemented by an increase in private and philanthropic investment, the research said.
The range of financing mechanisms could include using private sector markets, public investment for stewardship programmes, and funding Indigenous land managers, the report said.
In 2023, the Australian government established the legal framework for a national voluntary nature repair market to attract private finance.
2055 TARGETS
Actions can be undertaken in a way that increases agricultural productivity on farmland, supports jobs, and increases resilience to extreme events, the report said.
The assessment focused on achieving objectives by 2055 across the five core investment types:
- Repairing the productive base of agricultural soils
- Restoring healthy native ecosystems to a minimum 30% of their pre-1750 extent
- Fixing fragmented rivers
- Ensuring the survival of threatened species
- Improving the condition of estuaries
“We do not propose to return these assets to a past state. Rather we identify opportunities to invest in renewing the health of degraded landscapes to support a broad range of objectives.”
Actions need to be applied at regional scale, while recognising the role of Indigenous leadership and knowledge, it said.
Australia’s landscape has declined systemically, the report said. In the past few decades, 8 mln ha of habitat, likely to have supported listed threatened species and communities, has been cleared, the report said, citing research published in 2019.
CARBON REVENUE
Carbon market revenue from regenerating native vegetation on private land could generate 7% to 15% of the investment needed, the Wentworth Group said.
“At an average price of A$35 to A$75 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent, rising at 2% per annum plus inflation from 2024, native vegetation actions on private land could generate A$0.5 to A$1.1 bln per annum in carbon market revenue within 30 years.”
“Restoring native vegetation across 13 mln ha would abate almost 1 bln tonnes of CO2-equivalent, equivalent to offsetting 18% of Australia’s net emissions over the next 30 years.”
Further opportunities for reducing CO2 in the atmosphere through biodiverse means could come from restoring river corridors, strategic savanna burning, and ocean management.
By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com
*** Click here to sign up to our twice-weekly biodiversity newsletter ***
