According to Australian Koala Foundation estimates, there are fewer than 100,000 koalas left in Australia. Needless to say, koalas were in abundance when the European settlers first set foot on these shores in the late 1700s.
As with many of our native species, habitat loss is the major problem. As we have chopped down trees and cleared the land for development, koalas have lost their homes and food supply. Under stress, koalas become susceptible to the disease, chlamydia.
It was stress-induced chlamydia (an extremely painful condition that leads to infections in the eyes, urinary, reproductive and respiratory tracts) that led to the demise of bushfire hero and mascot, Sam the koala. No amount of surgery could repair the damage to her organs and she was euthanized.
Sam’s story helped to create awareness of the plight of koalas and there is a move to promote their conservation by adding them to the list of vulnerable species under the Federal EPBC Act (Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999). Speaking on the 7PM Project recently, Environment Minister Peter Garrett said the government was reviewing its koala conservation strategy.
Most of us love koalas – they are as integral to Aussie culture and heritage as vegemite and Ned Kelly. But what about all the other native species that are disappearing at an alarming rate; species that may not be so attractive and emotive? Because there are lots of them; approximately 1500 plants and animals and close to 3000 ecological communities are threatened with extinction due to inappropriate land-management practices.
In her book, On our Watch, zoologist and conservationist Dr Nicola Markus points out that the restoration of a patch of native eucalypt woodland for koalas would also benefit a large number of birds, mammals, nectar feeders, invertebrates and small reptiles. This is all to the good. Effective conservation is not just about individual species but about repairing whole ecosystems.
Markus highlights some of the inadequacies and inconsistencies in environmental law and the politics surrounding conservation. Vast amounts of money and resources were invested in recovery plans for the orange-bellied parrot as compensation for giving a wind farm the go-ahead. Markus argues that many other threatened species would have resulted in a better return on investment. They just weren’t as high profile.
While I applaud moves to upgrade the protection of koalas, real conservation progress will only come when less sexy creatures – such as the common mistfrog, the Boggomoss Snail, the broad-toothed stag beetle, the Plains Rat, the bog willow herb, the square tassel-fern and the woolly ragwort (all listed as threatened under the EPBC Act) also cause a public outcry.
We can’t just latch onto the cute and cuddly creatures and hope the environment will take care of itself. Every native plant and animal, however large or small, has a part to play in maintaining the health of our natural environment. Now that climate change pressures are adding to the stresses on our brown and arid land, the need for realistic and targeted conservation action becomes all the more urgent. It’s no coincidence that the subtitle to Markus’ book is ‘The Race to Save Australia’s Environment.’
