The ACT Government today released the final Native Species Conservation Plan for the Koala, which was listed as an endangered species in the ACT earlier this year.
It seeks to identify where koalas live, assess the quality of their habitat, investigate the feasibility of a breeding program, and support greater community engagement.
“Our goal is to protect and revive koala populations with healthy habitats across Ngunnawal Country, and support the national recovery of the species,” ACT environment minister Rebecca Vassarotti said.
Wildlife experts warned last year that the animal was at risk of becoming functionally extinct across Australia. Once common in the ACT, the animal has not been found in the wild for years, and might be extinct in the region. But the birth of new koala joeys at the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve’s breeding sanctuary is a sign of hope.
“While we currently have no known wild populations of koalas in the ACT, the Government is continuing to search for them in our reserves,” Ms Vassarotti said.
“We are hopeful through further conservation research and planning that koalas may one day return to the wild in the territory.
“Recent sightings of koalas very close to ACT borders have given hope that we may already have as-yet undetected populations, or that they may re-establish in the near future.”
Through the plan, the ACT is leading the way in national efforts to help koala populations recover and thrive, Ms Vassarotti said.
“Unless the country takes urgent action to protect our koalas, they will be extinct,” Ms Vassarotti said. “The only way to protect koalas is to protect all remaining koala habitat wherever it is.”
The ACT Government consulted earlier this year with Canberrans on the draft plan.
“We have had overwhelming support for our approach,” Ms Vassarotti said. “We heard from the community that there is a strong desire for greater outreach in schools, more legal protection of habitat, and a greater involvement of rural landholders, and we have incorporated this feedback into the final plan.
“The Native Species Conservation Plan is an exciting and much needed next step towards protecting and conserving this iconic species. Work is already underway with ACT Government ecologists and rangers monitoring specific sites for koala presence by using sound recorders to capture male koala calls.”
