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

Action area 6: Improved mapping, monitoring, research and reporting
KEP objective: Targeted mapping, monitoring, research and reporting

KEP recommendation                                                      2018 government response
6a) Develop consistent mapping of koala habitat across SEQ at a fine    •   The Queensland Government will continue to develop and update
resolution that addresses the problems of the previous mapping and          koala habitat mapping.
implements a systematic mechanism for updating this mapping to          •   The Queensland Government will apply the habitat mapping to
improve accuracy and track changes in koala habitat over time.              the development of priority areas and development assessment
                                                                            provisions.
6b) Develop: (a) broad-scale assessment tools to measure the extent     •   The Queensland Government will develop tools to assess koala
and condition of koala habitat, and (b) ground based rapid habitat          habitat condition.
assessment tools that can be integrated to provide statistics on
trends and metrics on condition of koala habitat across SEQ.
6c) Develop a consistent approach to mapping threats to koalas          •   The Queensland Government will develop a consistent approach
across SEQ and implement a systematic mechanism for updating this           to mapping threats to koalas.
mapping to track changes in threats over time.
6d) Develop a comprehensive koala monitoring program that explicitly •      The Queensland Government will develop a monitoring and
evaluates and communicates progress towards koala conservation              evaluation strategy, as part of the SEQ Koala Conservation
targets and evaluates policy and management success.                        Strategy.
6e) Implement a mechanism (e.g. workshops, synthesis and              •     The Queensland Government will appoint a Koala Advisory
evaluation) for review of the outcomes of the mapping, monitoring and       Council to coordinate the implementation of the SEQ Koala
evaluation by the Koala Advisory Council every five years and for the       Conservation Strategy.
Koala Advisory Council to make recommendations on the revision of
policy and management that arise from this review.
6f) Incentivise multi-disciplinary research that explicitly addresses   •   The Queensland Government will develop a fully costed
key management and policy priorities and the development of                 implementation plan, as part of the SEQ Koala Conservation
partnerships between researchers, the state government and other            Strategy. The strategy will include directions for multi-disciplinary
end-users.                                                                  research and mechanisms for funding.
6g) Explore mechanisms to enhance the cost effectiveness of             •   The Queensland Government will develop a fully costed
koala research through targeted leveraging of funding (e.g.                 implementation plan, as part of the SEQ Koala Conservation
through Australian Research Centre Linkage Projects and other               Strategy. The strategy will include directions for multi-disciplinary
Commonwealth funding opportunities such as Cooperative Research             research and mechanisms for funding.
Centre).
6h) Run a koala conference every five years that brings together        •   The Queensland Government will develop a communication,
researchers (across a broad range of disciplines), policy makers and        education and extension strategy. The strategy will include a
planners from across different levels of government, NGOs, industry,        koala conference.
and the community from across Queensland.

Early action
The Queensland Government has already:
•      established the Koala Advisory Council
•      set targets regarding koala habitat, koala density, and koala mortality, and invested in habitat
       restoration
•      mapped Koala Priority Areas, for protection within the planning framework
•      identified processes for map amendments and updates
•      hosted the Koala Collab 2018 conference.
2019–2024 potential future action
6.1    Review mapping at conclusion of the Strategy period to assess progress and establish new
       targets.
6.2    Develop tools to monitor koala habitat condition.
6.3    Identify koala threats through new mapping.
6.4    Provide funding for koala conservation research.
6.5    Develop a monitoring and evaluation strategy.


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