2020-01-16 OM Agenda - Item 1 - Attachment 1 - Draft SEQ Koala Conservation Strategy 2019-2024

                                                      DRAFT South East Queensland Koala Conservation Strategy 2019–2024




Implementing the results of the Community             Upgrade the Fauna Sensitive Road Design
Sustainability Action Grant Program: Koala            Manual
Research                                              The Fauna Sensitive Road Design Manual provides
Targeted research has benefit to policy and           assistance to practitioners to design, construct
management decisions, and plays a vital role in       and maintain roads that better accommodate the
continuous improvement.                               needs of fauna. It is proposed that an update be
                                                      made to this manual to achieve koala conservation
The Queensland Government recognises the
                                                      outcomes by utilising the measures that have
importance of supporting high quality scientific
                                                      proved effective for road design and maintenance.
research into Queensland’s koalas. This research is
considered instrumental to inform the development     The upgrade will have multiple benefits as it can
of more effective koala conservation policy and       be applied to different sectors, not just state-
management activities.                                controlled roads, and can provide guidance on
                                                      treatments, case studies, research opportunities
In 2016, the Queensland Government awarded
                                                      and data management, with information being
almost $600,000 to 10 researchers, who were
                                                      published on a centralised website.
recipients of targeted koala research funding,
through the Community Sustainability Action
Grants program. The Queensland Government
                                                      Reducing dog attacks
will continue to actively promote the results of      Research has indicated that wild dog attacks
research through forums like Koala Collab, and        are a serious threat to koalas. The Queensland
investigate opportunities to incorporate funded       Government is committed to investigating further
research projects to inform policy and management     collaborative approaches for wild dog control with a
approaches.                                           focus on KPA (including state land).

An evidence-based approach to program and policy      The Queensland Government proposes to work with
development will be informed by the results of        local governments to review their existing local
grant programs to:                                    laws with respect to dogs, to focus actions in KPA,
                                                      and to consider ways to mitigate the impacts of
• complement existing survey data, or activities
                                                      domestic dogs. The review will consider both the
  by using accurate and cost-effective koala
                                                      effectiveness of, and compliance with, local laws.
  abundance data collected by the Queensland
                                                      Behavioural change programs designed to build
  University of Technology, using Unmanned Aerial
                                                      support for dog control are proposed for areas with
  Vehicles (UAVs)
                                                      a high incidence of domestic dog attacks.
• prepare Koala Translocation Methods and
  Guidelines, as these guidelines will help inform
                                                      Translocation and release policies
  a revised translocation policy
                                                      Translocation has historically resulted in limited
• work with the Central Queensland University to
                                                      conservation or welfare outcomes for koalas.
  incorporate remote-sensing based, landscape-
  scale habitat management tools. These tools will    However, translocation can be an appropriate
  include climate change scenario assessments         management tool if supported by strict criteria,
  and habitat health checks                           such as consideration and assessment of the take
                                                      and receive sites, and their populations, the koala
• use the University of Southern Queensland’s
                                                      demographic makeup, the vegetation types and
  modelling and mapping of koala habitat and
                                                      habitat suitability, and the prevalence of threats.
  threats in southern inland Queensland to
  investigate threat mitigation actions               Under the Nature Conservation (Koala) Conservation
• engage the University of Queensland to develop      Plan 2017 there are requirements to release
  technical, policy-ready information that can        rehabilitated koalas to prescribed natural habitat
  be used to improve the Environmental Offsets        (suitable habitat, preferably within one kilometre of
  framework in relation to koala habitat.             the capture site but not greater than five kilometres
                                                      from the capture site).
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