6 days ago
Australia called out after approving 'ridiculous' airport plan
Australia will allow an airport in the nation's capital to build an asphalt road through one of the last three known places where a rare native animal is found.
Although once common in the ACT, fewer than 100 Canberra grassland earless dragons survive in the wild, primarily because the flat plains it inhabits have proved popular with developers.
On Wednesday, the government quietly published news that the federal environment minister had green-lit Canberra Airport Group's Northern Road project. Late on Friday, his department confirmed the decision to conservation groups that had campaigned for the road's construction to be stopped.
One of the campaigners was Dr Simon Copeland, the executive director of Conservation Council ACT Region, who argues the government's timing appears to have been designed to 'hide' the controversial announcement.
'Last term, the federal government declared it wanted no new extinctions. But scientists have been raising the alarm that this species is on the verge of extinction, and we need to be doing everything in our power to protect its habitat,' he told Yahoo News Australia.
'Now we have a government that's decided to do the complete opposite of that.'
Sad decline of the grassland earless dragons
The Canberra grassland earless dragon was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in 1991. It's one of four similar dragon lizards that were thought to be one species until 2023, and all are threatened with extinction.
Around Australia, less than 1 per cent of their habitat remains. All are in serious trouble in the wild, and the Monaro species is the only one listed as endangered rather than critically endangered.
The Victorian species was rediscovered living on a small parcel of land that is yet to be protected by the state government. And the Bathurst species hasn't been seen since the mid-1990s, and while it may be extinct, there are searches underway along farmland and roadside verges where it's hoped isolated populations may have survived.
The federal department of environment (DCCEEW) concluded that works to the north of Canberra's airport across 0.68 hectares of natural temperate grasslands are unlikely to provide quality habitat for dragons because it's actively maintained as a roadside verge. It believes plans to restore 6.67 hectares of habitat would result in a conservation gain for the species.
What concerns conservationists most about the road plan isn't the loss of 0.68 habitat, it's the fragmentation of the landscape. Because the three Canberra grassland earless dragon populations are so small, there are concerns about them becoming inbred.
Airport claims road will not fragment dragon habitat
Copeland doesn't believe the road will mean the end of the dragons, but he's concerned it will push them further towards extinction. 'When you have a small population already and you split it in half, it makes it harder for them to breed and increase genetic diversity,' he told Yahoo News Australia.
To combat these concerns, Canberra Airport Group has agreed to fund a $1 million grant to support the ACT Government's recovery program, which includes captive breeding and reintroduction activities.
It will also build barrier fencing to help prevent vehicle impacts, and underpasses, which it's hoped will encourage the dragons to cross under the road.
In a statement, Canberra Airport said DCCEEW's approval of its plan confirms 'there's no increased risk of extinction and no fragmentation'. It has committed to moving ahead with the project in the coming months.
But Copeland disagrees that there will be no habitat fragmentation. 'It's just ridiculous, quite frankly,' he said.
'It's very clear that if you look at their own maps, there's dragon habitat on either side of the road. They have nice ideas. They have barriers and bridges under the road. But there's no evidence they'll work. No one has done any research to figure out whether the lizards will use them.'
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Road construction will 'improve traffic management'
Yahoo News contacted Environment Minister Murray Watt's office with several questions about the matter. It responded with a statement from a government spokesperson, which said DCCEEW had 'consulted extensively' with the community and 'relevant species experts' and that the decision would 'improve traffic management' and provide 'stronger environmental protections'.
'The varied approval provides stronger protections for the species through several new conditions considered necessary to avert long-term decline,' it said.
Canberra Airport Group has been contacted for further comment.
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