Council has applied to the Scientific Committee of the NSW Government to have the Tweed’s coastal koala population listed as ‘endangered’.
A recent study of the population along the Tweed Coast found evidence of just 144 koalas living in isolated pockets of habitat near Cabarita Beach and between Pottsville and Wooyung.
Koalas across NSW and Queensland were recently declared to be ‘vulnerable’, meaning they face a high risk of extinction in the medium-term future.
An ‘endangered’ listing for koalas on the Tweed Coast is one classification above ‘vulnerable’, indicating they face a very high risk of extinction in the near future.
Councillor Dot Holdom, who chairs the Tweed Coast Koala Advisory Group, said a successful application would open up more avenues for funding to assist efforts to regenerate the population.
“I’m actually very confident this will be recognised, based on the criteria required,” Cr Holdom said.
“This will all contribute to enhancing the viability of the coastal koala population, which is in a desperate situation.”
Council was recently awarded a $2 million grant for a joint project with Byron Shire to increase koala habitat in the area by regenerating the known habitats and planting new trees to link them over a five-year period.
Koalas have already been declared ‘endangered’ in other parts of NSW, including around Hawks Nest and Tea Gardens on the Central Coast and in the Pittwater Local Government Area.
Tweed Shire Council’s Biodiversity Officer, Dr Mark Kingston, who will lead the regeneration project, said the situation on the Tweed Coast was similar to the circumstances in those other areas.
“The most important aspect of the decision is that it will be made on purely scientific grounds, without the influence of political or public opinion,” Dr Kingston said.
“An ‘endangered’ listing will make a clear statement about the profile of koalas on the Tweed Coast and raise awareness of their situation at a State level.”
A spokeswoman for the NSW Scientific Committee said the consideration process would take about 12 months before a decision was made.
