Experts say biodiversity critical to Victoria’s future

‘Biodiversity is not just a nice-to-have, it’s actually critical to our health, our wellbeing, and the liveability of our cities,’ said Monash University Professor Paul Wood, a director of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.

Urban ecologist Professor Sarah Bekessy highlighted the wide-ranging benefits of integrating nature into cities, from cultural connections to measurable health outcomes. 

‘If you're lucky enough to live in a street with more biodiversity, you'll sleep better at night, you'll have a lower probability of suffering from mental wellbeing issues,’ she said.  

‘You'll actually have less likelihood of developing diabetes and cancer and heart disease.’ 

She said biodiversity could also help address major urban challenges, such as rising temperatures in our cities.  

'We know that through nature, we can cool a city by about eight degrees overnight in heat waves,’ she said. 

Yet, she warned, Australia is leading the world in biodiversity extinction. 

‘There are now more than 2,200 species listed as being on the edge of extinction,’ she said. 

She argued that our urban environments must play a role in reversing this trend.  

‘We do need to increasingly see cities as a place for actually helping solve the biodiversity extinction crisis,’ she said.

Tegan Hibberson, of Bush Heritage Australia, described the scale of conservation work required.  

‘We have a bold vision: by 2030, we aim to influence and impact around 30 million hectares to match the scale of the environmental challenges we face,’ she said. 

Currently Bush Heritage Australia owns ‘around 46 conservation reserves, covering about 1.46 million hectares. In partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, we’re involved in managing around 12 million hectares, and through agricultural partnerships, about 10 million hectares,’ she said. 

Protecting and preserving biodiversity also has a large economic payoff. 

‘The value of biodiversity is not just its intrinsic value, although for many of us that’s why we work in this sector, but also its economic importance. Biodiversity is linked to about 20 per cent of our annual GDP when considered in total, which is enormous,’ she said. 

Professor Sarah Bekessy provided one simple example. 

‘Having nature in retail strips actually increases foot traffic, well evidenced, so that people buy, there are more people buying more stuff,’ she said. 

‘CBD buildings with vegetation, with rooftop gardens, courtyards, vegetation on the sides of buildings, they have increased occupancy rates and more consistent occupancy rates.’ 

The full recording of the seminar is available to watch on YouTube.