Australia has pledged to restore nature. But could we ever bring back lost ecosystems?

Tower Hill (1855) Eugene von Guerard Nature is not doing well in Australia. Many unique mammals, birds and insects are struggling. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. In response, the federal government signed a global pledge in 2022 to protect and restore nature. The global goal is to restore 30% of degraded ecosystems. But Australia only proposes to have “priority degraded areas […] under effective restoration by 2030”. The terms are not defined, no 30% target is included, and there is no…