Australia logging ban to create koala haven / Photo: © AFP
-
Greenland parliament approves security agreement with United States
-
Qatar Tourism joins Pacific Asia Travel Association at London travel market
-
Qatar envoy meets incoming UN General Assembly president
-
Abdul El-Sayed Wins Michigan Senate Seat in Historic Election
-
Trump Signals Willingness to Work With Democrats After Midterm Defeat
-
Qatar media bodies discuss support for humanitarian initiatives
-
Galloway accuser could not foresee publishing-sector fallout, lawyer argues
-
No. 22 UCLA defeats No. 5 Arizona 84-75 despite Kharchenkov's 38 points
-
New York City Center revives In the Heights as a timely community story
-
Vessel operator seeks witnesses after Vancouver grounding
-
Godzilla Minus Zero shifts focus toward postwar human drama
-
US Air Force deploys F-16 fighters to remote Aleutian base for readiness drill
-
Mehbooba Mufti urges dialogue and renewed Central Asia links for Kashmir
-
Bezos grant helps Seattle nonprofit move thousands of families toward housing
-
Seacliff Healthcare Seeks Specialist GP in Thirroul
-
Shrini Srivastava joins crew of Varanasi-Delhi Vande Bharat Sleeper service
-
US stocks fall before midterm Election Day as technology shares weaken
-
Nearly Half of Australian Workers Overqualified, Survey Finds
-
BLS Polymers makes strong market debut at ₹248 per share
-
RBI eases export-declaration compliance for individual service exporters
-
Petrol and diesel prices remain broadly steady across major Indian cities
-
India proposes more import entry points for drugs and medical devices
-
Reliance shares remain in focus after near-12% surge
-
Derek Tierney Outlines Ten-Year Strategy for National Digital Health System
-
2026 Arizona Midterms: Key Races, Ballot Measures, and Voter Deadlines
-
NBC’s Steve Kornacki Reveals Tech Habits Ahead of Midterm Elections
-
Coal India prepares possible $1 billion Mahanadi Coalfields listing
-
India and Israel oppose UN draft on regional conventional arms control
Australia logging ban to create koala haven
Australia's most populous state announced Tuesday a logging ban in a forest haven for koalas, aiming to protect the local population from being wiped out.
Logging has been halted in 8,400 hectares (21,000 acres) of forest, home to 106 "koala hubs" that are highly populated by the marsupials, the New South Wales government said.
The koala-rich area would form a key part of a planned 315,000-hectare Great Koala National Park on the mid-north coast and "save koalas from extinction in the state", it said.
The move was a "historic step forward", said Nature Conservation Council acting chief executive Brad Smith, describing the area as "the most important koala habitat in the world".
"This decision is also a recognition that logging has a devastating impact on koalas and biodiversity," he added.
WWF-Australia spokesman Dr Stuart Blanch said koala numbers in NSW had suffered a dramatic decline, falling by more than 50 percent between 2000 and 2020 due to deforestation, drought and bushfires.
The government's move "is a chance to turn this tragedy around", he said.
"If we're going to save koalas from extinction this century, then we need massive new protected areas covering millions of hectares of forests."
Environmentalists called for logging to be halted across the entire Great Koala National Park area.
The state government said it would soon begin consultations with state-owned logging agency Forestry Corporation NSW to "determine timber supply options".
T.Suter--VB
