In an article by the South Coast Register, Wilderness Australia Director, Virginia Young, highlights the importance of community involvement when it comes to wilderness protection. Drawing on over 40 years of environmental activism, Virginia is working tirelessly to educate decision makers and community members about a key driver of climate change: the biodiversity crisis.
Key article excerpts/quotes:
More than 40 years after she decided to first paint a placard for Durras Lake, Virginia is still fighting the same battles to protect natural environments around the world. While she said she could easily give up, she has no plans to stop anytime soon.
"It's not just that climate change is really bad for wildlife and forests, it's actually losing the integrity of our natural ecosystems. We continue to damage them, clear them, log them, pollute them and make them more vulnerable to the threats that will increase with climate change, like more severe fires, more severe droughts, more severe storms."
"It was a revelation that governments weren't going to act independently to protect these places."
"I learned then that if you want to protect something in Australia, people have to fight for it."
"Yes, you need the science, but you also need the community."
"Whether it's the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, Fraser Island or even the Great Barrier Reef or Durras Lake, communities have to fight for them."
Read the full article by James Tugwell here.
Picture credit: James Tugwell, South Coast Register.