Read the paragraph below and answer the following question: Is land clearing in these instances an efficient use of resources?

Use the paragraph to justify the answer

Australia has a rich biodiversity, with nearly 8% of all Earth's plant and animal species finding a home on the continent. About 85% of the country's plants, 84% of its mammals and 45% of its birds are found nowhere else.

But land clearing is putting that at risk. About three-quarters of Australia's 1,640 plants and animals listed by the government as threatened have habitat loss listed as one of their main threats.

Much of the land clearing in Queensland - which accounts for the majority in Australia - drives pollution into rivers that drain on to the Great Barrier Reef, adding to the pressures on it.

And of course land clearing is exacerbating climate change. In 1990, before short-lived land-clearing controls came into place, a quarter of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions were caused by deforestation. Emissions from land clearing dropped after 2010 but are rising sharply again.