Recovery plans are an instrument of national environment laws and come with a three-year deadline to implement and fund. Their purpose is"to maximise the long-term survival"of wildlife. A one-off three-year extension is permitted,which former environment minister Greg Hunt issued for the koala plan in 2015. This is now two years overdue.
Australian National University ecologist Kara Youngentob said a recovery plan should"absolutely be a priority",as forestry operations in some areas were damaging koala habitat and contributed to monocultures in forests.
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After disturbance from logging and fire,just one species of tree was growing back to dominate the forest and creating"food deserts"for koalas,said Dr Youngentob.
"Their populations are like little lights and they will continue to blink out across their habitat range until it's totally dark,"she said.
"The current protections in place aren’t enough to ensure populations don’t continue to decline. There have been localised extinctions and they may continue."
Australian Conservation Foundation policy analyst James Trezise said a recovery plan was needed urgently,particularly because koalas"have been smashed by last summer's bushfires".