EMERGENCY: SAVE KOALAS IN NSW

It’s a critical moment to save koalas in NSW. Add your voice now.

Australia’s koala is at risk of extinction in NSW.

IT’S AN EMERGENCY. The NSW Government has recently agreed on a policy to remove vital koala habitat protection, clearing the way for the destruction of their homes.

This will threaten the future of koalas in NSW.

At least 3.2 million hectares of koala habitat on rural lands will be impacted. WWF scientists estimate more than 21,000 koalas are at risk, based on the best publicly available statewide data.

The NSW Government are currently deciding to either pass stronger laws to protect koala habitat on rural lands, or allow more to be bulldozed and logged.

This is a critical moment to have our voices heard so we need to show that people want to save koalas in NSW.

Even before the catastrophic bushfires of 2019-20, koalas were heading towards extinction by 2050. Excessive deforestation has severely destroyed their habitat, leaving them with nowhere to go.

The devastating bushfires have only pushed them closer to the brink. Scientists estimate that nearly 8,000 koalas were impacted by the bushfires that scorched 25% of koala habitat in the eastern NSW. With their numbers already dwindling, this was a huge loss.

Yet even despite the bushfires, the NSW Government is set to go ahead and remove what little legal protections remain for our precious koala habitat.

Environment and Energy Minister Matt Kean, Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall and Deputy Premier John Barilaro have publicly called to double koala numbers in NSW by 2050, but actions speak louder than words. We support this goal and must hold them accountable.

Time is running out to send an urgent message to the NSW Government and demand stronger protections and robust laws to ensure a future for koalas. If we don’t act now, we could lose koalas in NSW forever. Sign now, before it’s too late.

This is the Save Koalas in NSW email we're sending

Time is running out to send an urgent message. Every voice matters. Sign the petition now.

Dear Member,

I am writing to you as an elected member of parliament in New South Wales (NSW). I am devastated and deeply concerned by the removal of rural areas from the Koala State Environment Planning Policy (SEPP) 2020 and the threat of destruction to vital koala habitat across more than 3.2 million hectares of potential koala habitat. This policy was designed to protect koala habitat but these animals will now be at much greater risk of extinction under your watch.

One of the key threats facing koalas is habitat loss. Most koalas in NSW live in trees that grow on rural lands. Removing these areas from the Koala SEPP exposes more than 80% of the state’s koala habitat to deforestation. If you want to double the number of koalas in NSW, you have to protect their homes - the trees they live and feed in.

Koalas should be safe wherever they live.

- The NSW Government has the opportunity to show leadership and stand by its promise of doubling the number of koalas in NSW by 2050, including:

- Ensuring koalas are safe by strengthening the Land Management and Private Native Forestry Codes of Practice to equal the protections in the Koala SEPP.

- Mandating the Native Vegetation Panel requires thorough on-ground assessments of proposed clearing on koala habitat and koalas.

- Providing stronger protections for koala feed trees under the Private Native Forestry Codes of Practice.

- Establishing a 10 year, $1 billion Koala Fund to financially support farmers, loggers and regional communities affected by these laws to help them save koalas and transition from deforestation to reforestation.

- Develop high- resolution maps of core koala habitat across all rural lands.

- Declare koalas as an endangered species in NSW.

If you do not strengthen protections of koala habitat their homes will continue to be destroyed, and koalas will be at risk of extinction in NSW before 2050.

Yours faithfully,

Wild koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) sitting on ground, Kangaroo Island, South Australia. © Theo Allofs / Getty Images

More than 80% of land in NSW is zoned as rural

The removal of koala protections on rural land could kill the estimated 21,000 koalas that call more than 3.2 million hectares of rural bushland home.

We must act now to stop this from happening.

Koala mother and joey seeking refuge on a bulldozed logpile

Threats to koalas

Ongoing loss of critical habitat and weak laws allowing landclearing and deforestation has pushed koalas to the brink of extinction in NSW.

Not only that, but more intense and frequent bushfires seasons continue to threaten the future of koalas.

In the catastrophic 2019-20 fires, nearly 8,000 koalas were impacted. If we don’t act now, we risk losing what we have left.

Koalas Forever

WWF-Australia is on a mission to Regenerate Australia and double the number of koalas across eastern Australia by 2050.

Find out more