Land & water
The significance of Strzelecki koalas in relation to the translocated koala populations of Victoria and South Australia.
The are two distinct koala populations in Victoria and South Australia. One is the endemic Strzelecki koala of South Gippsland Victoria and the other being koalas translocated from Victorian island populations throughout Victoria and South Australia. This is a significant yet little understood phenomenon. The Strzelecki koalas consist of the original diverse gene pool, whereas the translocated populations have gone through a "genetic bottleneck" resulting in much lower genetic diversity. The Strzelecki koalas therefore, are crucial to animal's future in Victoria and South Australia. However their numbers are low, possibly as low as 1500 animals.
Strzelecki koala sleeping at Jumbuk Park, Strzelecki Ranges November 2019
Land & water
Clearfell "insanity" threatens Victoria's most important fish hatchery
Snobs Creek Fish Hatchery plays a vital role in ensuring the long term survival of vulnerable native species such as Murray Cod, and the endangered Trout Cod and Macquarie Perch. All face an uncertain future as inland fish populations in Australia face innumerable threats such as water scarcity and climate change.
Land & water
Rinehart's Mining Camp Burnt Down in Ecuador
News is filtering through about the destruction of a mining camp owned by Hanrine Exploration in Ecuador on August 25. Hanrine is a subsidiary of Australian Billionaire Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting. Hanrine has been operating in Ecuador since 2017 and the company has encountered a number of very serious problems during that time.
Photo: https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2020/08/26/nota/7955737/incendian-campamento-empresa-minera-buenos-aires-imbabura
Land & water
New Report shows that the Strzelecki Koala Faces an Uncertain Future
Between December 2019 and July 2020, Environmental group, Friends of the Earth, carried out 200 koala surveys in the Strzelecki Ranges and Gippsland Region. The surveys hoped to better understand habitat utilisation by koalas in the region. The surveys add to other survey work conducted in the region between 2013-16.
Land & water
Forest under threat and a free pass for illegal logging
Friends of the Earth member group, GECO, have released shocking footage of renewed logging activity in Victoria's fire ravaged forests.
Land & water
Australia needs an independent regulator to protect land, water and climate
The interim report from a landmark review into Australia's national environment laws has concluded that the environment is getting worse despite the laws that were designed to protect it.
Land & water
Chemical "castration" of marsupials by herbicide Atrazine revealed. Australian regulator silent
New research conducted by Melbourne University has revealed for the first time, that the widely used herbicide, Atrazine, can interfere and disrupt signals from reproductive hormones during development, causing major abnormalities in marsupials. It was found that Atrazine altered the expression of several genes responsible for normal testis function in tammar wallabies. As a result, long term exposure to Atrazine reduced the penis length in male young by 20%. This in turn could affect mating success.
Image source: www.pinterest.com.au
Land & water
Invasive Species Inundate Australia's Largest Inland Waterway System - The Gippsland Lakes
The Gippsland Lakes, Australia's largest inland waterway system are facing many threats.
Land & water
E-Water & Cultural Flows: Watch It Now!
Did you catch our online discussion about the purpose of water in the environment and how cultural flows differ from them?
Land & water
Nuclear status quo in federal environmental law review
National and state environment groups have given a cautious welcome to the continuation of long-standing protections against nuclear risks in the current statutory review of the Environmental Protection Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act – Australia’s federal environmental laws. The interim report released today has stated that the Commonwealth should maintain the capacity to intervene in uranium mining and made no recommendation to change existing prohibitions on nuclear activities, including domestic nuclear power.