Land clearance to cause Koala extinction in NSW by 2050

Koalas are likley to be extinct by 2050 in NSW if current land clearing rates continue, according to a newly-released report from WWF Australia and the Nature Conservation Council.

Authored by conservation biologist Martin Taylor, the report used select satellite images of northern NSW to assess land clearing and its impact on vulnerable and endangered species.

Based on his findings, Taylor said if the rate of clearing wasn't wound back there could be serious consequences for native wildlife, stating "we see koala habitat disappearing at an alarming rate

"The numbers (of koalas) are low, and everybody out there is telling us that koalas are dropping terribly.

"If we project that forward, it could be mid-century by the time we may have no more wild koalas in NSW."

Taylor's report set out to examine changes in the rate and extent of land clearing in north-central NSW following the repeal of the Native Vegetation Act (2003) last year and the impact of the current Biodiversity Conservation Act.

Taylor described the moves as "taking the axe to native vegetation laws".

As reported by the ABC, Taylor's report found that from 2016/17 to 2017/18 the rate of land either fully or partly cleared almost tripled, from 2,845 hectares to 8,194 hectares.

Howwer, the NSW Environment Minister's office has rejected the notion of potential koala extinction, releasing a statement pointing to its ongoing koala strategy.

The statement advised "the WWF and NCC are playing politics and scaremongering.

"The NSW Government's Koala Strategy — the biggest commitment by any state government to secure koalas in the wild — will provide more natural habitat for koalas, tackle diseases, improve research and fix roadkill hotspots.

"The NSW Government has committed $45 million for this strategy."

In July, the NSW Department of Primary Industries also reported it had used ground-breaking recording techniques to find koala numbers were far higher than first thought.

Image: Koalas at the Australian Reptile Park.