Australia has been urged to join the UK in modernising outdated policy on the ‘missing kingdom’.
Environmental advocates say Australia is falling behind global biodiversity standards after the UK Government announced this week that it has amended its national Environmental Improvement Plan to explicitly recognise fungi as a distinct kingdom of
life.
The update places fungi—neither plant nor animal—exactly where they belong: at the heart of conservation planning, research funding and biodiversity monitoring.
Fungimap, Australia’s national fungal citizen science and conservation organisation, says it’s time for Australia to follow suit. Australia’s laws do not reflect contemporary scientific understanding of fungi or their central role in ecosystems. The neglect of fungi in legislation and policy dates back to the mid-20th century, when fungi were not yet recognised as a separate biological kingdom alongside plants and animals.
“We now know fungi are critical to life on this planet,” said Fungimap President,
mycologist Dr Michael Priest.
“Fungi underpin every ecosystem we rely on, yet our laws barely acknowledge these organisms exist.”
“This neglect in biodiversity policy is a structural blind spot that affects everything from climate modelling and food security to carbon sequestration and restoration
planning.”
The UK joins a growing list of countries — including Chile, Spain, Mexico, Colombia and Germany — that have committed to updating biodiversity laws to include fungi, recognising their essential role in ecosystem function and climate resilience.
Australia is one of the most fungi-rich countries in the world, with an estimated 250,000–500,000 fungal species. Yet fewer than 15,000 have been formally named, and almost none are protected under federal or state threatened-species schedules.
Fungimap is urging local councils, state governments and the federal government to update biodiversity and planning laws so that fungi are recognised and protected as a vital part of Australia’s environment.
For media enquiries:
Catherine Marciniak – +61 419 445 731
Fungimap Inc. Committee
https://fungimap.org.au/
Photo credits: all images to be credited to Stephen Axford @planet_fungi