Rio Tinto is putting A$28m (£14.5m) into a "toad containment zone" to stop cane toads reaching the Pilbara region of western Australia, where the mining company runs a large iron ore operation. The firm is working with Curtin University in Perth and others on the project, according to the BBC.
The plan would cut off the toads' water supply across 7,500 sq km of land between the Great Sandy Desert and the Indian Ocean. The funding would stop the toads reaching dams, storage tanks and other ground-level water sources. The five-year project is set to begin in 2027.
Ben Phillips, a professor at Curtin University, said the toads would reach the Pilbara within two decades without action. He said the containment zone is "a once in a lifetime opportunity to stop one of the world's worst invasive species in its tracks and protect the region's unique wildlife."
Roberta Hunter, a ranger in the Nyangumarta Warrarn Indigenous Protected Area, said: "Cane toads destroy the water and animals." She added, "When toads come close to our country, we want to be there to stop them because we don't want the country to be destroyed."
The BBC reports that the cane toad is not a direct threat to Rio Tinto's business, but it produces toxins that are lethal to native wildlife. Species at risk in the Pilbara include the northern quoll, the goanna lizard and the ghost bat. The article also notes that Rio Tinto previously faced criticism for destroying two sacred Aboriginal rock shelters in the Pilbara, a decision that cost the former chief executive his job.