EXPERT REACTION: The iconic Koala is now listed as endangered

Can South Australians koalas help rescue the species from extinction?

The recent status change of east coast koala populations to endangered is a timely reminder of the significant need for solutions to help protect this charismatic Australia species.  In addition to conservation measures such as habitat protection and restoration, and disease mitigation strategies, there is also a need to consider what role South Australian koalas can play in the conservation of the species.

We currently know very little about koala numbers in SA, or if populations are growing or declining. In the Mount Lofty Ranges, there could be anywhere between 27,000 and 200,000 koalas, which makes it challenging to identify population trends over time.  It is likely that the 2020/2021 bushfires on Kangaroo Island reduced the koala population there by up to about 80 per cent, but incredibly, there hasn’t been an estimate of koala numbers in the rest of the state!  What we do know is that the koala population in SA appears to be less afflicted by diseases impacting the eastern populations.  In fact, the koalas on Kangaroo Island may be the only remaining koala population free of the transmissible disease chlamydia. 

If we can determine the number of koalas in SA and discover where they are located, we can put early interventions in place to conserve these populations as well as manage potential impacts of localised overcrowding.  Studying the health and genetics of SA koala populations will also help us to develop the knowledge and tools needed to rescue populations on the brink of extinction through the reintroduction of healthy and genetically diverse koalas into areas where koalas are becoming extinct.

Hopefully, this listing will prompt a wider understanding that the koala, along with many other Australian species, is in real trouble. While koala populations have been most visibly impacted in recent years by massive droughts and fires, some more insidious factors are also behind their decline and reduce their ability to recover from these events. Carbon emissions and global warming increase koalas’ exposure to harmful heatwaves and make their food less nutritious and more toxic, and critically, koalas continue to lose habitat to land clearing and development. The good news is that koalas can persist and even recolonise large parts of our landscape if we identify and protect their habitat.

Koalas have been declining in numbers and distribution in Queensland, NSW and ACT for a while now. This is caused by a combination of land clearing and fragmentation, disease, climate change effects and death by vehicles and dogs. Hopefully the further protection offered by the increased threatened status to endangered will help koalas survive into the future.

Koalas are genuinely iconic wildlife, recognised the world over. The listing of koalas as endangered, over much of their distribution, is deeply disturbing. Their demise is emblematic of broader federal and state government failures to sufficiently invest in the conservation of Australia’s globally unique biodiversity. Without stronger environmental laws, reduction of key threats such as land clearing that destroys the homes of koalas and many other species, and a substantial increase in funding to support the recovery and protection of our remarkable species, Australia’s biodiversity crisis will continue. The good news is, with substantial change in how we care for and invest in biodiversity, we will not only witness far fewer species declines and extinctions, we will also see significant economic, cultural and social benefits.

As a koala researcher, I should feel excited about this announcement, but I am not.
 
A decade ago, my colleagues and I provided advice at the Senate Inquiry into the status, health and sustainability of Australia's koala population. We were elated when, in 2012, the koala was listed as nationally ‘vulnerable’ under the EPBC Act.
 
Since then, nothing has happened to facilitate the protection of koalas. A Recovery Plan for the koala still has not been written, the clearing of koala habitat continues unabated, and climate change is not being adequately addressed.
 
Until these root causes of the demise of this unique and ancient species are addressed with genuine conviction and real action, I cannot feel excited.

This is very welcome news but without actions to back it, it is not enough. In addition to listing, Federal and State governments need to create and fund an intensive programme of koala monitoring together with habitat preservation. If they don’t, the consequences could be dire.

Counting the koalas in remaining areas is vital so we know how to manage them. We have the science already established using drones and AI to cover large areas, and now we have developed the Conservation AI Hub (https://conservationai.net/) to allow trained citizen scientists to provide data that can be analysed using AI. None of this is sufficient without strong protection, preventing land clearing of koala habitat, preserving corridors to allow for movement, and protecting koalas against threats such as cars, dogs and disease     

We have been documenting the prehistory of koalas in Australia in the fossil deposits of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in Queensland. It is clear from our research that the modern Koala is now far more abundant than any other koala species has been over the last 25 million years. However, forest destruction since 1788 has significantly reduced suitable habitats for Koalas as well as many other vulnerable species. Increased protection for Koala habitats, which must happen now given their reclassification as ‘endangered’, will mean increased protection for many other endangered species that are at even greater risk of extinction than Koalas.

The recognition that koalas are now endangered in most of their natural range within Australia was expected, but it is still a sad acknowledgement that, in the decade that they’ve been classified as vulnerable, we have failed to slow their decline, let alone stabilise or increase their population.

Unfortunately, koalas face multiple threats, so it is a problem we need to address at multiple levels. 

Koalas are a species recognised to be at risk from climate change, which requires a global effort to address. 

They also are suffering from habitat loss due to land clearing, so we need to improve environmental laws designed to protect their habitat. This was recommended by the recent independent review of Australia’s main environmental legislation, the EPBC Act. We urgently need these recommendations to be acted upon, close loopholes and ensure laws are effectively policed on the ground. In addition, we need to address the large issue of illegal clearing.

Finally, each local population of koalas is exposed to its own unique mix of additional threats – such as disease, predation by dogs and roadkill. So, we need to be able to rapidly identify, understand and target these threats at a local level.

Koalas are of course unaware of their listing as endangered. What will really matter for them now, is if this translates into actions on the ground that effectively increase their chances of survival.