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Ex-CSIRO Top Scientist: Timber Link to Koala Threat is Poor Science

CSIRO reports that Koala numbers are 10 times larger than estimated.


Fri 26 Jul 24

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“Land-clearing, severe wildfires and urbanisation are clear threats to koalas, but well-regulated timber harvesting (in north-east NSW) is not,” according to Dr John Raison, former chief research scientist at the CSIRO.

It comes as Wood Central revealed that Australia’s peak science agency reports that Koala populations are ten times larger and more abundant than previous estimates.

The results, published as part of the CSIRO’s National Koala Monitoring Programme (NKMP), estimate that populations range between 287,830 and 628,010, ten times more than the most recent Australian Koala Foundation estimate.

In effect, the CSIRO confirms that population estimates are larger than in 2012 when koalas were \classified as “vulnerable”, not “endangered.”

Responding to Professor David Lindenmayer’s claims in the Canberra Times, Dr Raison said the unsustainability of harvesting in native forests is “inconsistent with the science and forestry practices.”

“Sustainable harvest and use of wood products does not, as claimed by Lindenmayer, increase net carbon emissions from native forests. Detailed life cycle analyses show the opposite and are consistent with the IPCC (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.”

Dr John Raison, former chief research scientist at the CSIRO, in the Canberra Times (July 25, 2024) responding to Professor David Lindenmayer’s July 13, 2024 contribution, Native forest logging has no place in Australia, but there is a solution.

According to Dr Raison, “Economic analyses for harvested native forests are generally flawed because they exclude the benefits of wood processing and use, as well as important community benefits such as fire protection, road infrastructure, and water production.”

“It makes no sense to further restrict wood supplies from well-managed native forests based not on science, but purely on green ideology.”

Dr John Raison, in the Canberra Times (July 8) in response to acquisitions that NSW and Victorian forest management agencies were involved in “ecologically damaging logging” in native forests.
Fact Check: Huge Study Finds Koalas Not Endangered in NSW Park!

Dr Raison’s commentary comes after Wood Central revealed that koala populations are “high and stable” in NSW forests, with large populations thriving in public forests that are not influenced by timber harvesting.

That is according to new research published by Dr Brad Law, the principal research scientist at the NSW Department of Primary Industries, and supported by Leroy Gonsalves, Traecey Brassil and Isobel Kerr.

Published in April, Broad-scale acoustic monitoring of koala populations suggests metapopulation stability, but varying bellow rate, in the face of major disturbances and climate extremes, has, for the first time, used passive acoustic monitoring to analyse populations in state forests now earmarked for the Great Koala National Park.

According to Dr Law’s research, “regulated timber harvesting in state forests did not affect the trend of (koalas) either metric nor did land tenure,” with state forests (where timber harvesting is permitted) or national parks having little impact on the population of koalas.”

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Map showing 224 monitoring sites overlayed on koala habitat suitability. Blue and green show higher suitability; yellow and red show lower suitability. (Image Credit: Research produced by Dr Bradley Law, Leroy Gonsalves, Traecey Brassil and Isobel Kerr)

The findings come after a 7-year study between 2015 and 2021, covering more than 224 sites spread across more than 8.5 million hectares of forest area. Capturing the 2019/20 Black Summer Fires, the study reports that whilst Koalas are cryptic, “acoustic sampling over many thousands of hours, combined with semi-automated call recognition, has proved exceptionally effective at detecting the species,” with high precision.

“Occupancy was high over an extensive area of habitat,” the research said, with “the stable trend maintained despite a severe drought that led to mega-fires burning about 30% of their habitat in 2019.”

Scientists use GPS and LiDAR satellites to monitor impacts in Koala coups

It also supports Dr Law’s published research, GPS tracking reveals koalas Phascolarctos cinereus use mosaics of different forest ages after environmentally regulated timber harvestingwhich used GPS-tracking and remote sensing, including LiDAR satellites, to create timber mosaics to evaluate the impact of harvesting on Koala coups. 

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Distribution of GPS fixes: (a) six koalas in Maria River State Forest and (b) three koalas in Kalateenee State Forest showing some overlap between adjacent koalas but distinct core areas. The Pacific Highway is visible on the eastern portion of the study area. (Image Credit: Research produced by Dr Bradley Law, Leroy Gonsalves, Chris Slade, Traecey Brassil, Cheyne Flanagan)

Working with Forestry Corp and the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, Dr Law said GPS tracking, combined with remote sensing, “provides a high-resolution picture of how individual koalas use the forest 5-10 years after timber harvesting.”

“These results strongly support our acoustic surveys (previously published) demonstrating high occupancy (of Koalas) in northeast NSW and no difference in density between harvested forest in the state forest and controlled forest in the national park,” Dr Law said, adding that it also offers insights into how koalas use areas that are heavily managed or where regeneration and restoration is a significant part of the landscape.

Author

  • Jason Ross

    Jason Ross, publisher, is a 15-year professional in building and construction, connecting with more than 400 specifiers. A Gottstein Fellowship recipient, he is passionate about growing the market for wood-based information. Jason is Wood Central's in-house emcee and is available for corporate host and MC services.

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