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

       Appendix 1
       Koala conservation across Queensland
       Several proposed actions under the draft Strategy     The KEP also recommended that:
       have the potential to benefit koala populations
                                                             • the Queensland Government focus investment
       outside of South East Queensland (SEQ), including
                                                               on consolidating existing koala populations,
       investments in research and behaviour change
                                                               and landscape-scale recovery across
       programs. Additionally, Queensland Government
                                                               Queensland
       programs, such as the Land Restoration Fund, and
                                                             • regional studies be undertaken to fill
       Queensland Environmental Offsets Policy, also
                                                               knowledge gaps around koala distribution,
       have the potential to conserve koalas and their
                                                               abundance, habitat utilisation and
       habitat across Queensland.
                                                               environmental drivers of population dynamics,
       Planning controls to support the maintenance of         especially in north Queensland
       koala habitat have historically focused on SEQ as
                                                             • state-wide habitat mapping be undertaken
       this is where the greatest pressures from urban
                                                               to identify ecological values and land use
       growth occur, however increasingly this pressure
                                                               conflicts and to guide sustainable investment
       is impacting other areas of Queensland. Upcoming
                                                               in koala habitat conservation
       koala habitat mapping, and planning regulations,
                                                             • a strategy for community engagement and
       will only apply to SEQ, however future reviews may
                                                               extension be developed and implemented, at a
       consider expanding these controls to other areas
                                                               regional level, to address local cultural needs.
       of Queensland.
                                                             Subject to successful implementation of a new
       This is in line with a Koala Expert Panel (KEP)
                                                             koala conservation planning framework and South
       recommendation, to expand the new SEQ koala
                                                             East Queensland Koala Conservation Strategy
       mapping and planning regulations across the
                                                             2019–2024, the Queensland Government will
       koala’s entire range in Queensland. Conservation
                                                             consider options for more strategic conservation
       of koalas outside SEQ was not part of the KEP
                                                             of koalas across their entire Queensland extent.
       initial terms of reference, and so has not yet been
       considered by the Queensland Government within
       the scope of this review or draft Strategy.




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