2016-04-19 P&E Committee - Item 4, Attachment 1 - Draft Koala Conservation Management Plan

Executive Summary

Noosa Shire is recognised for its outstanding environmental attributes and was declared a
Biosphere Reserve under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Program in 2008. Vegetation
networks extend across rural and coastal landscapes on public and private land. Our koalas
live in a diverse environment and visitors are often surprised to encounter koalas in close
proximity to residential areas.

Concerns have been expressed about the plight of koalas which are now listed as being
‘vulnerable’ in Queensland. In 2015 Noosa Council adopted a Koala Conservation Policy
with the aim of developing a framework for the conservation and protection of this iconic
species.

One of the important outcomes of the Policy was to develop a shire-wide Koala
Conservation Plan to deliver tangible on-ground actions. The Plan provides the mechanism
to implement the Koala Policy with the aim of conserving our local koala populations in
perpetuity. The Plan has been developed through extensive consultation with key
stakeholders such as koala interest groups, research organisations, government agencies,
and environmental and natural resource management groups. A public consultation process
allowed residents and visitors to have input into the Plan.

The Koala Conservation Plan identifies a number of specific management objectives to help
support koala conservation. These objectives cover statutory and non-statutory protection
measures, improved data and mapping resourcing, guidance on minimising the impacts of
infrastructure projects, management of domestic and wild dogs, koala health research
initiatives and community engagement programs. A specific Action Plan describes the
implementation measures to be employed over the next five years.

Conserving Noosa Shire’s koala population is a challenging but essential goal. The Noosa
Shire Koala Conservation Plan 2016 provides a framework to help achieve this objective.




        2