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

       5. Community engagement

       Objective: Strong community engagement and partnerships

       Successful koala conservation relies on a
       collaborative approach across all sectors of the        Koala Expert Panel recommendation:
       community, and particularly for actions that are        To develop and implement a strategy for
       focused within KPA. The high level of community         partnership development and engagement with
       support for the conservation of koalas provides         the broader community, utilising an approach
       an opportunity for the Queensland Government to         that is sensitive to the nature and views of local
       work with the community through a range of actions      communities.
       from formal partnerships for habitat protection to
       awareness campaigns to reduce dog attacks and
       vehicle strikes.                                        The iconic status of koalas will attract wide interest,
                                                               leverage investment and engage partners in the
       Koala conservation projects will include the critical
                                                               program. All strategies, however, must put the
       actions needed to secure koalas in the wild, and
                                                               protection of the koala first.
       will either be funded in full by the Queensland
       Government or in part through partnerships with
       other organisations. In addition, koala projects        Citizen science
       will emphasise engagement, communication                The interest in koala conservation from the public,
       and capacity building, with actions designed to         and the number of volunteer organisations provide
       promote more partnerships with the community,           an opportunity to build the knowledge base on
       stakeholders and volunteers. A priority will be in      koala populations and threats. Citizen science
       improving the skills and the capacity of partners to    programs are proposed to be used to help inform
       conserve koala populations.                             policy and management in two stages: the first
                                                               stage can work with conservation groups to
       This means that koala conservation projects have
                                                               promote initiatives such as koala sighting days
       activities that encourage and improve engagement,
                                                               and citizen science activities at the Daisy Hill
       communication and capacity building, in addition to
                                                               Koala Centre, and to consolidate the results. A
       on-ground (e.g. threat mitigation) activities.
                                                               review of existing citizen science programs can
       Encouraging the community to help deliver the           then be conducted to identify potential gaps
       management of koala habitat and threat reduction        and opportunities that can be used to direct and
       will promote a sense of ownership of the solutions      prioritise future programs.
       for koala conservation for the wider public.




       Caring for koalas
       Koalas are part of Aboriginal cosmology,                There are many different language names
       they are connected to the trees whose                   for koalas across the corridor.
       roots go into the ground and the earth                  Traditional Owners will play an important
       that sustains us. These iconic Australian               role in the conservation of koalas through
       animals are not only part of the natural                contributing to the management of koala
       environment, but also deeply embedded in                trees on their land.
       the spiritual and cultural life of Aboriginal
       families throughout SEQ.


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