This year is critical for nature, the time to act is now. The biodiversity crisis is worsening and urgent action is needed to ensure threatened species are not only protected, but are given a fighting chance at a thriving future.

Australia ranks third in the world for the total number of endemic birds, mammals and amphibians. And Queensland is Australia’s most biodiverse state, being home to 85% of Australia’s mammals, 72% of birds, just over 50% of reptiles and frogs, plus over 14,000 plant species with more than one-third of the flora of Queensland endemic to the state, found nowhere else in the world.

Australia has suffered more mammal extinctions than any country in the world. Queensland is leading the way with 1069 plant and animal species threatened with extinction. The latest statewide landcover and trees study found that 332,015 hectares of forest and woodland was bulldozed in Queensland in just one year, with 44% occurring in the Great Barrier Reef catchment, resulting in more sediment and nutrients flowing into the Great Barrier Reef, putting additional pressure on corals already bleaching because of climate change.

With the majority of the bulldozing in Queensland not referred for assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, it’s clear that nature needs to be prioritised, urgently. Queenslanders love our unique nature. It inspires our lifestyle, underpins our economy, attracts visitors from across the world and for first nations, it is inseparable from culture and identity.

The Federal government has set a target of no new species extinctions, but without strong new nature laws and funding, this target won’t be met. As Queensland based scientists and experts who have studied and observed the biodiversity crisis unfold over the decades, we urge you to commit to policies and invest in nature to halt and reverse biodiversity decline, for our economy, lifestyle and food and fibre depend on it.

This National Threatened Species Day, we are calling on our elected leaders to stand up for nature by committing to:

• Reforming the EPBC Act this year, including enforcing strong National Environmental Standards to protect irreplaceable habitats and address cumulative impacts
• Allocating at least 1% of the federal budget to conservation and ecosystem restoration
• Create an independent environmental protection agency (EPA) to enforce the laws that protect our natural places and wildlife. Without one, there's no one to hold those who exploit the rules accountable