$1.2 m funding boost for our Protecting Koalas Program
After three years of amazing work to protect koalas, new funds mean we can expand and extend our efforts for another year!
We have been rolling out three great projects to protect koalas in and around the Scenic Rim.
Key koala habitats across Flinders Peak, North Pine, Lake Manchester and Grandchester are earmarked for targeted planting, weed control, and improved fire management.
This work helps conserve and restore the quality, extent, and connectivity of the local habitat that is so important to the survival of our iconic but endangered species.
The areas we are concentrating on include four of the 20 priority koala habitat areas in South East Queensland (SEQ) which have been identified in recent studies. These areas are aptly known as Areas of Regional Koala Significance (ARKS).
The program is achieving great results, with our program of ambitious on-ground action being rolled out and built upon thanks to our three initiatives, all of which have received vital funding from the Australian Government.
Why our work is essential for this endangered native species
Koalas are endangered, and their populations in SEQ are at elevated risk for a variety of reasons.
Australia’s koala populations have dramatically decreased since European arrival. Well before it was realised that they would become a threatened species, between 1906 and 1927, some 450,000 to one million koalas were killed for their fur annually in Queensland alone.
Koalas prefer forests growing in better soils (possibly due to the better nutritional value within tree leaves), but the growing human population has led to large-scale clearing of better-quality koala habitats. Many of them are now struggling within smaller, fragmented patches of poorer-quality forest.
This, combined with the decline in habitat conditions (through drought, fire, and climate change), disease, vehicle strikes, dog attacks, and reduced genetic diversity, have culminated in a further, substantial decline in their populations.
The amazing work
Our work aims to protect and restore the quality, extent, and connectivity of koala habitat, as well as improve community engagement and knowledge, and monitor koala numbers and distribution.
Our work improves key koala habitats and builds knowledge of remaining koala populations by:
- Maintaining or enhancing existing koala habitat through initiatives such as tree planting, fire management, and weed control.
- Expanding and connecting koala habitat with revegetation, animal fencing, and other initiatives that improve their capacity to move across the area.
- Building local capacity to improve land management practices to benefit koala habitat. This includes a series of knowledge-building and fire information and planning workshops to improve the capacity of our communities and land managers to contribute to this vital koala conservation work.
- Implementing monitoring regimes to measure the impact of activities on koala populations and their habitat. This includes data analysis, community reporting of koala sightings, targeted koala surveys, Traditional Owner involvement, and research on koala habitat quality.
- Building collaboration between governments, community, land managers, and Traditional Owners to improve outcomes for koalas.
The success of this work is thanks to a high level of collaboration to ensure alignment and consistency and reduce duplication.
Each project has been funded by the Australian Government.
The most recent project is funded by the Australian Government’s Saving Koalas Fund.
Other key project collaborators on our koala projects include the Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science, Queensland Trust for Nature, local governments, Traditional Owners, and Landcare and community groups.
