17 May, 2016
Land clearing and climate change threaten koalas in western NSW
The Baird government’s plans to allow more land clearing will increase the likelihood of koalas becoming extinct in western NSW, the NSW Nature Conservation Council has warned.
A report launched today by former Office of Environment and Heritage officer David Paull found local populations of koalas across most of the state faced extinction from habitat loss and climate change unless the government protected remnant koala woodlands. [1]
“Land clearing is one of the biggest threats to our koalas in NSW, particularly in the state’s western regions where its habitat has become severely fragmented by more than 200 years of tree-clearing,” NCC CEO Kate Smolski said.
“The weaker land-clearing laws that the Baird government is pushing through will make the extinction of koalas in some parts of the state much more likely.
"If Premier Baird wants to ensure koala’s long-term survival, he must abandon the Biodiversity Conservation Bill that he unveiled earlier this month and go back to the drawing board.”
Recent events have highlighted the need for urgent action to save the koala from extinction:
- The number of koalas on the east coast of Australia plummeted by more than 40 per cent between 1990 and 2010, the equivalent of only three koala generations. [2]
- In 2012, the Federal Government listed the NSW, Queensland and ACT populations as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. [3]
- Survey’s conducted by ecologists in 2013 in the massive Pilliga forest in the state’s northwest, an area once considered a stronghold for the species, found the population had crashed by 75 per cent in 10 years. That koala population is now considered “highly endangered”. [4]
“It is quite clear that if these trends continue and dramatic action is not taken to protect and connect habitat remnants, koalas will become extinct in the wild in NSW, possibly in our lifetime,” Ms Smolski said.
“We support the Western Woodlands Alliance’s call for the government to make significant additions to the reserve system in NSW, and to target funding for private land conservation.
"Given the koala’s status as a national icon, we hope that all political parties will support urgent action to ensure its prospects for long-term survival, and that means maintaining strong, effective controls on land clearing.”
REFERENCES
[1] http://westernwoodlands.weebly.com/koala-report.html
[2] Koala populations in NSW and Queensland fell 42% from 326,400 to 188,000 (a loss of 138,400 individuals) in the 20 years from 1990 to 2010. On current trends, koalas will be extinct in the wild in NSW by 2030. Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation, predation (dogs and vehicle strike), disease, drought, climate change, and inbreeding are keys threats. www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=85104#population_information
[3] Koala populations in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and national environment law, www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/factsheet-koala-populations-queensland-nsw-act-national
[4] Could there be as few as 50 Koalas left in the Pilliga? http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/12/15/4148934.htm
Tags
Forests and wildlife
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