Almost $500,000 for koala applied research projects

• The Miles Government will invest close to $500,000 in six applied research projects looking at koala habitat protection and restoration, threat mitigation and community partnerships.
• The projects will support long-term koala conservation in South East Queensland.

Koalas and koala conservation in South East Queensland will benefit from almost $500,000 in funding from the Miles Government for practical and applied research projects.

Environment Minister Leanne Linard today announced funding for six projects under the government’s community sustainability action grants scheme.

The applied research projects are being undertaken by University of the Sunshine Coast, The University of Queensland and Watergum Community Inc –

• University of the Sunshine Coast
  • $100,000 for its project “Identifying predictors of Chlamydia disease progression in koalas”, which will develop an advanced biomarker panel as a diagnostic tool for predicting a koala’s risk to developing Chlamydia.
  • $99,070 for its project “Chlamydia: identifying hotspots, investigating drivers, and building community management capacity”, which focuses on chlamydial disease threats to koalas by collecting new koala population data on the Jimna Range using drones, detection dogs and analysing of koala scats.
• University of Queensland
  • $99,837 for its project “Diagnosis of stress-levels in koalas across different habitats”, which will develop a species-specific test kit to measure cortisol metabolites in koala faeces, as an indicator of stress. This will give ecologists and wildlife rangers tools to monitor populations for stress across different habitats and will inform conservation policies to address this.
  • $74,220 for its project “Improving monitoring and community-led awareness for koala conservation”, which will develop and demonstrate drone-based protocols to estimate koala population size in fragmented habitat and distribution in the Burleigh Heads region.
  • $72,185 for its project “Maximising effective deployment of the koala Chlamydia vaccine in SEQ”, which will investigate the efficacy of current koala C. pecorum vaccine programs at a population level and guide how to best use the vaccine to improve outcomes.
• Watergum Community Inc
  • $45,500 for its project “Establishing a comprehensive koala disease profile for Gold Coast koalas”, which will analyse koala scat DNA and undertake community engagement to inform the public on helping to protect koala populations.

Quotes attributable to Environment Minister, Leanne Linard:

“The Miles Government is committed to protecting and conserving our iconic koalas and their habitat.

“Our South East Queensland Koala Conservation Strategy includes the strongest protections for koalas habitat in our state’s history increasing both the area and level of protection given to koala habitat in the south east corner of Queensland with more than 700,000 hectares of land covered by these protections.

“Koalas face many threats including habitat loss, climate change, and disease, and our Government is proud to provide funding for applied research projects that will support the preservation of this much-loved species and the delicate ecosystems they inhabit.

“I congratulate the latest recipients of our koala applied research grants and look forward to the findings of each project and seeing how they can be adapted to add to our efforts to protect this iconic species."

Quotes attributable to University of the Sunshine Coast Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Helen Bartlett:

“The Queensland Government’s support will help the University continue its efforts to reduce the devastating impact of Chlamydia on Queensland’s koalas.

“UniSC’s Chlamydia Research Team will develop a frontline tool to identify koalas who are more susceptible to developing Chlamydial disease, with the aim of reducing unnecessary antibiotic treatments.

“In another exciting project, the grant will allow UniSC to gather important data on koala health by using innovative methods such as detection dogs, drones and thermal imaging to identify Chlamydia hotspots in koala populations.

“The valuable support we receive from the State Government assists UniSC to take critical action to stop Chlamydia from threatening the future of this much loved, iconic marsupial, including the co-development of a vaccine to fight the disease.”

Quotes attributable to Watergum Community Inc CEO, Rosalinde Green-Brinkman:

“We thank the Queensland Government for its invaluable support of our koala conservation research efforts.

“This funding will enable us to conduct essential studies aimed at understanding and mitigating some of the threats that we know face our koala populations.

“With this support, we can add to the store of knowledge available to assist wildlife experts and the community implement monitoring programs, conduct habitat assessments, and develop conservation strategies unique to the needs of these iconic native animals.

“The Queensland Government’s support not only aids scientific research in a very real and meaningful way, it also focuses public awareness and engagement on the importance of protecting these cherished marsupials and their ecosystems.”

Further information:

The Community Sustainability Action grants provide funding to eligible community groups and individuals for innovative projects that address climate change, conserve Queensland’s natural and built environment and protect our unique wildlife.

To date, more than $27 million has been allocated to more than 760 projects under the Community Sustainability Action grant program.

This is the third time the CSA grants program has included koala applied research grants; with $636,311 provided in Round 4 of the grants; $520,443 in Round 7; and $490,812 in Round 8.

Further information on the Community Sustainability Action grants is available here.

ENDS

Media contact: Scott Chandler – (07) 3719 7339