The Government of Australia decided to include the koalas that inhabit its eastern coast in the list of endangered species, since their populations in that region have decreased due to forest fires, diseases, felling of trees, drought and vehicle crashes.
Australian Environment Minister Sussan Ley said the animals were designated “endangered” to offer them a higher level of protection in the states of New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.
“We are taking unprecedented action to protect the koala,” she added, recalling the government’s recent pledge to allocate $36 million to its preservation.
They will allocate about 36 million dollars to its preservation. EFE photo.
Conservation organizations have been warning of a large drop in the number of marsupials in much of eastern Australia in the last two decades and warned of their possible extinction, AFP reported.
The koala, an internationally recognized symbol of Australia’s unique wildlife, had already been listed as “vulnerable” on the east coast a decade ago.
“Koalas have gone from unlisted to vulnerable to threatened in a decade. It’s a shocking rapid decline,” said World Wildlife Fund Australia scientist Stuart Blanch.
He added: “Today’s decision is welcome but it will not stop koalas from slipping into extinction unless it is accompanied by stronger laws and incentives to protect forests.”
Conservationists say it’s difficult to estimate koala populations in the area, but an independent group that advises the government said numbers fell from 185,000 to 92,000 between 2001 and 2021.
In addition to the devastating fire that devastated Australia between the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, Josey Sharrad, director of the International Fund for German Welfare, cites as causes of this decline the felling of forests, drought, diseases, car hits and dog attacks.
“We should never have let things get to the point where we were at risk of losing a national icon,” Sharrad said.