NCC: “You might have heard that after a decade of community pressure the new Labor government committed to establishing the Great Koala National Park (GKNP). This is great news! [However, … ]
The GKNP was developed by leading scientists, ecologists and local environmental groups, who identified the most important areas of koala habitat in NSW. All of these areas need to be protected if we are to ensure the survival of koalas in the wild.
But analysis undertaken by our team has found that 17.7% of native state forest that constitutes the Great Koala National Park will be targeted for logging by Forestry Corporation NSW over the next 12 months. Click the below image to view our map of exactly where logging is planned.
(Image: Red filled polygon shows planned logging over the next 12 months in the proposed Great Koala National Park, white boundary is the full outline of the proposed park.)
Forestry Corp knows this national park is coming, and are deliberately ramping up operations within its boundaries to extract as much timber from the proposed park as possible.
Our analysis also found they are planning to log some of the most important areas of koala habitat in NSW (Koala Hubs), including Wild Cattle Creek, Clouds Creek, Pine Creek and Boambee State Forests.
(Map: Wild Cattle Creek State Forest logging within GKNP. White polygons are ’koala hubs’ – the most important sites of koala habitat in the state, red is areas to be logged in the next 12 months and orange is areas logged since 2015.)
What chance do koalas have if the area that was supposed to be their sanctuary is given the green light for logging? How does logging their homes before making it a national park make any sense?
That’s why we’ll be in the media and on the ground, calling for an immediate halt to logging in areas that will become the Great Koala National Park.
But we need your help to amplify this call.
Logging needs to stop in all of NSW’s state forests. But if we want to protect koalas we need to protect these areas of critical significance.
The good news is that the economics is on our side. Analysis by NCC has also found that in the 20-22 financial years the government subsidised Forestry Corporation NSW to the tune of $29 million, while logging forest that falls within the proposed Great Koala National Park cost the NSW taxpayer $5 million.
It seems absurd to have to say it, but taxpayer dollars should not be spent killing koalas.
We know this message resonates with the majority of people in NSW. With enough pressure, we believe we can ensure the new NSW Government steps up and to stop the destruction of koala habitat.
NCC
In hope,
Jacqui Mumford
Chief Executive Officer
Nature Conservation Council
