National Parks Association of NSW
Media Release
The National Parks Association of NSW (NPA) welcomes the NSW Government’s announcement of the declaration of the Great Koala National Park.
‘This is an incredible moment for Australia’s National Parks’, stated NPA NSW President Liz Jeremy, ‘the culmination of more than a decade of determined advocacy for the future of koalas by local communities and conservationists’.
‘We congratulate the NSW Government on finally making the Great Koala National Park a reality. The road between NPA’s original 2015 report to the NSW Government and today’s decision has been a long and often frustrating one, but emphatically worth it’.
Dr Douglas of NPA Coffs Coast Branch, stated ‘What has been achieved is much more than the permanent protection of 176,000 hectares of forest and koala habitat. NPA’s vision for the Great Koala National Park was always about more than a change of land title, it was about connecting existing reserves with vulnerable habitats to secure a forest estate of international conservation significance. A forest estate large enough to connect escarpment to coast, safeguard entire catchments and give our threatened forest fauna and flora the best possible chance of survival’.
‘While celebrating the new park we must also acknowledge that it won’t be enough to guarantee the survival of koalas in NSW. The decade since the 2015 report proposal has provided a much better understanding of the distribution of koalas across existing reserves, State Forests and plantations. The next step is to identify areas outside the park that will need to be managed in ways that allow for the movement and persistence of koalas’ Ms Jeremy noted.
Liz Jeremy noted ‘We should all recognise the impact of the decision on the forestry industry and the families who rely upon forestry jobs. NPA fully supports the Government’s proposed transition package, especially measures to increase investment in the establishment of plantations on degraded agricultural lands’.
NPA acknowledges the support it has gained from other conservation organisations on the north coast including the Nambucca Valley Conservation Association, Bellingen Environment Centre, Clarence Valley Environment Centre, North-east Forest alliance and North Coast Environment Centre. We also thank the Nature Conservation Council of NSW and World Wide Fund for Nature for their ongoing support.
