In October 2021 the Australian government signed the Kunming Declaration, joining other countries in the commitment to reverse biodiversity loss. ACF welcomes the Australian government’s support for marine protection, but are disappointed, given the state of terrestrial biodiversity, that Australia's contributions at COP15 so far lack the ambition recognised as necessary in the Kunming Declaration.

A strong and ambitious post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is important for Australia because:

• Australia is a megadiverse country with rich and unique biodiversity – 7 to 10% of all Earth’s species occur in Australia, and there is a high level of endemism, about 85% of all plant species are unique to the continent.
• Many Australian ecosystems have already been found to be collapsing, with more ecosystems and species at risk of extinction.
• A recently completed 10 year review of Australia’s national environmental laws found that the legislation was unfit for purpose, outdated and requires fundamental reform.
• Australia is failing to meet its international obligations, with conservation efforts underfunded and only 100 of Australia’s more than 1900 listed threatened species and communities prioritised for recovery action.