Australia needs to do more to slow biodiversity loss

CANBERRA, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Australia is losing some of the world most precious species due to climate change, but it is well-positioned to reach global targets to slow the pace of biodiversity loss, conservation group World Wildlife Fund said Friday.

A report called "WWF International, 2010 and Beyond: Rising to the Biodiversity Challenge" was released by the WWF on Friday which outlines the global decline of plants and animals.

The report's Living Plant Index tracks nearly 4,000 populations of different species, including fish, birds, reptiles, mammals and amphibians worldwide. WWF said that it found that the index declined by 27 percent from 1970 to 2005.

In 2002, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity set targets to achieve a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss at global, regional and national levels.

However, the latest report shows those targets will not be met unless countries make a greater effort to reduce the environmental impact of their populations.

WWF Australia director of conservation Ray Nais said Australia was well positioned to slow the trend but must focus on greenhouse gas emissions and reducing its dependence on coal as a power fuel source.