In June this year the Club was prompted by Fungimap to add its name to a letter to the relevant federal government ministers, urging them to ensure that Australia signs on the Fungal Conservation Pledge (FCP). Many scientists see it as a critical mechanism in achieving the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

The FCP was put forward by the governments of the UK and Chile at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) – held late last year – and will be further discussed in Armenia in 2026.

In summary, the Fungal Conservation Pledge is a call to the parties of the CBD to:

Recognize fungi as an independent kingdom of life in national and international legislation, policies and agreements, to advance their conservation and to adopt concrete measures that allow for maintaining their benefits to ecosystems and people in the context of the triple environmental crisis.

Our club joins several other naturalist clubs, fungi study groups and mycological societies from Australia in urging our government to recognise and legislate for the importance of fungi in our ecosystems and agriculture.

Tanya Marwood