Australia Lists Koalas As Endangered Species

Topline

Australia has officially listed the koala as an endangered species, Environment Minister Sussan Ley announced Friday, vowing “unprecedented action” to protect the struggling species after a dramatic decline in numbers following wildfires, drought and disease. 

Key Facts

Ley said koalas in New South Wales, Queensland, and the Australian Capital Territory—which covers much of Australia’s eastern coast—will now be classified as endangered.

A steep drop in koala numbers over the last two decades due to prolonged drought, bushfires, disease, urbanization and habitat loss prompted the decision, Ley said. 

The reclassification offers the species a higher level of protection and will lower the threshold at which new developments must consider the impact on the marsupial.

Ley said the government is taking “unprecedented action to protect the koala” and is working on a national recovery to help the “iconic” species.

Chief Critic

The koala was only listed as “vulnerable” in those regions in 2012. That they have gone “from no-listing to vulnerable to endangered within a decade… is a shockingly fast decline,” said WWF-Australia conservation scientist Stuart Blanch. “Today’s decision is welcome but it won’t stop koalas from sliding towards extinction unless it’s accompanied by stronger laws and landholder incentives to protect their forest homes.”

Big Number

50 million Australian dollars (roughly $36 million). That’s how much money Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government would commit to koala recovery and conservation over the next four years. Though a significant sum for a single species, campaigners said the money “is just a drop in the ocean” and will not tackle the reasons why the koala is headed towards extinction.

Key Background

In 2020, a parliamentary investigation warned koalas will be extinct by 2050 unless urgent action is taken to protect the species. Wildlife groups have roundly criticized Australian governments for failing to develop a plan to save the animal despite its rapid decline and being listed as “vulnerable” a decade ago. While calculating the precise number of koalas there are is notoriously hard, experts estimate the population has shrunk by half in Queensland in the past decade and a third of New South Wales’ koalas died during devastating wildfires in 2019. Climate change compounds many of the risks koalas face and could accelerate their decline. 

Further Reading

Koalas are getting harder to find. Scientists in Australia are on a quest to uncover a hidden population. (Washington Post)

Struggling Koalas Get Help from a Bold Breeding Program (Scientific American)

Koala listed as endangered after Australian governments fail to halt its decline (Guardian)