Farmers fight to keep WA’s iconic wildflowers in bloom

The upcoming UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17), held across the end of October, will also test Australia’s progress toward its target of conserving 30 per cent of land by 2030.

Wajon said the state was no where close to that number.

He said News South Wales and Victoria had schemes to compensate and incentivise conservation, and that WA needed something similar.

“What’s come from the government is a blank wall – we are going backwards not forwards,” he said.

“We could do twice as much as we are now to revegetate the land with more support.

“As a state we need to get serious about protecting the environment. At the moment, what is out there is a sham.”

University of Western Australia Professor of Biodiversity Stephen Hopper also agreed that large parts of regional WA are on a “very poor trajectory” towards the UN’s 30 per cent goal.

He said the “uplands” – including granite outcrops, lateritic mesas and sand plains – across the Wheatbelt and Great Southern were “almost impossible to restore”, while “lowlands” along rivers, creeks, coastlines were much easier.

“Botanical survey work in the 1980s established that two thirds of threatened plants were concentrated in uplands,” he said.

“These should be the top priority for conservation efforts. Lowlands along rivers, lakes and coastline had only 10 per cent of threatened plants – they are easiest to restore but least likely to contain threatened species.

“[We need to] minimise disturbance of uplands especially bulldozing, applying fire and messing with water tables.”

He said the state government could help landowners with fencing costs, weed and feral animal management subsidies and establishing landcare nurseries.

Wajon said any financial support would be welcomed.

“We are just ordinary people, but look what we can do,” he said.