An Australian icon is in danger as the lovable koala has been upscaled from vulnerable to endangered, a decision WWF Australia is calling ‘a grim but important outcome that requires urgent action.’
The announcement comes by Australia’s Environment Minister, Sussan Ley on 11 February 2022 after the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Humane Society International (HSI) and WWF Australia nominated the koala to be listed as endangered following Australia’s devastating bushfires in 2020.
This nomination included a report that estimated that Queensland’s koala population has dropped by at least 50% due to deforestation, drought and bushfires.
The report found that:
- Forest fires in Queensland killed a minimum of 672 koalas between August and December 2019.
- Koalas appear to be functionally extinct in central Queensland’s Mitchell Grass Downs bioregion.
- It is estimated there has been an 80% decline across the Mulga Lands in the state’s southwest, previously considered to support the second-highest proportion of koalas across all bioregions in Queensland.
IFAW, HSI, and WWF-Australia thanked the Environment minister for listening to the environmental sector and making this vital decision based on science. Koala populations are now classified as endangered under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
IFAW campaign manager, Josey Sharad, said that the decision is a double-edged sword, and the recent bushfires were the ‘final straw.’
‘This decision is a double-edged sword. We should never have allowed things to get to the point where we are at risk of losing a national icon. If we can’t protect an iconic species endemic to Australia, what chance do lesser-known but no less important species have?’ Sharrad said.
Koalas were only listed as ‘vulnerable’ 10 years ago and WWF Australia stated that the labelling of koalas as vulnerable to engendered within a decade is a ‘shockingly fast decline. Queensland’s koala population is still projected to shrink to fewer than 8 000 by 2032, just when Brisbane is scheduled to host the Summer Olympic Games.
Picture: Getaway Gallery
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