Through Writing News
Published on
–
–
–
Australia officially classified, this Friday, February 11, 2022, koalas along much of its eastern coast as “endangered”. Marsupials suffer the consequences of bush firesfrom clearingsfrom drought and diseases.
Environment Minister Sussan Ley has classified these koala populations as “endangered” to offer them a higher level of protection in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland.
Endangered in the East of the country
According to conservationists, the koala population has collapsed in much of eastern Australia over the past twenty years and the animal is in endangered in these regions. While they welcomed the minister’s announcement, they also condemned the authorities’ failure to protect the species so far.
The koala, a worldwide symbol of Australia’s unique ecosystem, was listed as “vulnerable” on the East Coast a decade ago.
“We are taking unprecedented measures to protect the koala,” assured the minister, underlining the government’s recent promise to dedicate 50 million Australian dollars (31 million euros) for the protection and restoration of koala habitats.
rapid decline
Koalas have gone from “vulnerable to endangered” status in the space of a decade. It’s a shockingly rapid decline“, regretted Stuart Blanch, conservation specialist at WWF-Australia.
Today’s decision is welcome but it won’t stop koalas from sliding towards extinction unless it’s accompanied by tougher laws and incentives for landowners to protect their forest habitat .
The Scientific Committee for Endangered Species, an independent government agency, has estimated that the koala population has increased from 185,000 in 2001 to 92,000 in 2021.
Disappearance by 2050?
For Alexia Wellbelove of the Humane Society International, East Coast koalas could be extinct by 2050 if nothing is done.
We can no longer afford further land clearing.
Australian Conservation Foundation studies show that the federal government approved the clearing of more than 25,000 hectares of koala habitats since the species was declared vulnerable.
“Australia’s environmental laws are so ineffective that they have failed to stem the continued destruction of koala habitat in Queensland and New South Wales for the decade the species has been believed to be protected”, denounced Basha Stasak, an official of the foundation.
We need to stop allowing their habitats to be razed for mining, housing, agriculture and industrial logging.
Multiple threats
Before the devastating fires of 2019-2020, koalas were already threatened by clearingsthe droughtthe diseases, the collisions with cars and the attacks of dogsexplained Josey Sharrad, an official of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
“We should never have allowed things to get to the point where we risk losing a national icon,” she said.
According to her, “the bushfires were the straw that broke the camel’s back. This must be a wake-up call for Australia and the government to act much more quickly to protect critical habitat from development and land clearing and to seriously address the effects of climate change.”
Source: © 2022 AFP
Was this article helpful to you? Note that you can follow Actu in the My Actu space. In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.
–
