The Number Of Koalas In Australia Has Fallen By 30 Per Cent In The Last Three Years

JAKARTA - Australia has lost about 30 per cent of koalas over the past three years, to droughts, bushfires and tree clearing by developers, according to the Australian Koala Foundation, urging governments to do more to protect the creatures' habitat.

The independent nonprofit group estimates the koala population has fallen to less than 58,000 this year, from more than 80,000 recorded in 2018, with the worst decline in the state of New South Wales, where the number fell 41 percent.

"The decline is quite dramatic," said Australian Koala Foundation Chair Deborah Tabart, Tuesday, September 21 citing Reuters.

There is no upward trend anywhere in Australia. Only one area in the study is estimated to have more than 5,000 koalas, and some areas are estimated to have as few as five or 10 koalas.

Tabart said the Kangaroo Country needed a law to protect koalas.

"I just think action now is very important. I know it may sound like an endless tale of scarcity and destruction, but these numbers are true. They may be worse," he said.

The decline in New South Wales may have accelerated after most of the forest was destroyed by bushfires in late 2019 and early 2020, but some areas are now koala-free.

"What we're worried about is places like western New South Wales where the drought over the last ten years has just had a cumulative effect, river systems have gone completely dry for years, red gum rivers, which are the source of koalas' life, are dying, " he explained.

The Australian Government in June called for public opinion on a national recovery plan for New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory around Canberra.

And whether the protected status of endangered koala species should be raised from "vulnerable" to "endangered". Comments on the recovery plan are scheduled for Friday.

In addition to the effects of drought and fires, land clearing by property developers and road builders has destroyed the habitat of the iconic marsupial.

"I think everyone understands, we have to change. But if the bulldozer continues to work, then I am very afraid of koalas," Tabart concluded.