A report by a NSW parliamentary committee says given the scale of loss to koala populations across the state due to the 2019-2020 bushfires, “without urgent government intervention to protect habitat and address all other threats, the koala will become extinct in New South Wales before 2050”.
In addition to the habitat loss resulting from the bushfires, the report found logging in public native forests in NSW has “had cumulative impacts on koalas over many years because it has reduced the maturity, size and availability of preferred feed and roost trees”.
The report also noted that climate change is having a severe impact on koala populations by affecting the quality of their food and habitat, and it is compounding the severity of other threats such as drought and bushfires.
The Upper House inquiry also found that a government estimate that there are 36,000 koalas in the state is “outdated and unreliable”.
The report calls for additional funding and support to increase koala numbers and protect koala habitats.
The multi-party committee offered 42 recommendations to help to save koalas in the state.
