Source: True Activist
Australia’s massive deforestation in the east coast is a threat to the habitation of koalas and other native species living there.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) headed by the president Pavan Sukhdev has given a warning to Australian leaders about the danger in the extinction of koalas by 2050.
“We expect leadership from Australia because you have some of the best brains and most expertise in this area of conservation and management in wildlife,” says Sukhdev. “For us to then find deforestation in your backyard, at such an extreme and alarming rate to a point where here in New South Wales where there used to be millions of Koalas historically, now there’s only 20,000.”
The president also compared the forestal destruction to those of Borneo, Indonesia, and the Amazon.
In an open letter of Sukhdev addressed to Australia’s Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, he mentioned: “the demise of orangutans has come to represent the destruction of rainforests in Borneo and Sumatra. People around the world are drawing parallels to the koala, which is also heading towards extinction because of rampant deforestation.”
WWF said that tree-cleaning in New South Wales has declined the population of koalas by 33% in the last twenty years, and its growing deforestation rate is a major problem. If land-clearing continues at this alarming rate in the most populous state, then this species will be extinct by 2050.
“The rate of deforestation is such that the koala is getting extremely threatened and it is listed as vulnerable,” says Sukhdev. Koalas live and eat eucalyptus trees, and with these being chopped off, there will be no way for them to survive. They are also picky about the eucalyptus trees they will eventually call home, that they end up in urbanized areas where they end up getting ill, hit by cars or attacked by dogs.
Aside from koalas, Sukhdev also brought up his concern regarding the massive death of fish in the Murray and Darling river basin due to the water extraction.
“Koalas need forests, which also produce rain and store carbon; Murray River cod and neighboring communities need water. We must transform energy systems, from coal to renewable energies, to cool the Great Barrier Reef and reduce extreme meteorological phenomena,” Sukhdev said.
WWF support all farmers that allow their land to be used for conservation and the Australian government is currently mapping where these koalas are still living in harmony to keep these areas under land protection.
What are your thoughts? Please comment below and share this news!
True Activist / Report a typo
