Humpback whales prove we can make a difference.

It’s rare to be able to share uplifting news about the environment, but today we are happy to.

A review of scientific research has just concluded that Humpback whale populations have rebounded to up to 90% of pre-whaling numbers in West Coast Australian waters, and 63% in the Australian East Coast.

This means they should no longer be officially considered a threatened species.

Humpback numbers off the west coast of Australia have increased by about 9% a year since 2012, and by about 10% a year on the east coast.

One breeding group had fallen to about 500 whales, but since 1986 continual yearly increases have brought it up to an estimated 14,552

This is amongst the highest documented in the world.

Better yet it shows no indication of diminishing.

While this is thrilling for these beautiful mammals and for those of us lucky enough to see them, what I find so inspiring is that collective action over forty year to stop whaling has turned around one of the most visible threats to biodiversity our planet has faced in millennia.

If committed individuals can do this in a few short decades, then collectively our tiny daily actions really can halt the coming catastrophe of climate change.