SYDNEY, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Australia's state of New South Wales (NSW) launched a new initiative on Thursday to encourage and support private landholders to restore koala habitat.

The program, announced by the state government, will support private landholders to restore 200 hectares of koala habitat in the Northern Rivers in north NSW, involving planting 250,000 trees.

The state government, in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature Australia and Climate Friendly, a carbon farming project developer, will offer the landholders Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), which the farmers could earn by doing things to reduce carbon and sell back to the state.

"We know that more than 50 percent of koala habitat is on private land in NSW, which is why private landholders are a big part of the solution when it comes to conserving and protecting koalas," said NSW Minister for Environment James Griffin.

"Through the Koala Friendly Carbon Farming Project, we're helping landholders plant hundreds of thousands of koala food and shelter trees to restore koala habitat and create corridors for them to move safely through areas," he said.

"Landholders will be able to diversify their income through carbon farming, while creating new habitat for koalas and other native species on their properties."

Landholders can apply for a property assessment to determine if there are koalas close by and if their land is suitable.

Koala has been listed as an endangered species by the Australian government earlier this year. Last year, a report from the conservation group Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) found the country's koala population has declined by a staggering 30 percent in just three years with NSW seeing the largest drop-off.

The new program is part of the NSW Koala Strategy, which aims to double the number of koalas by 2050 and is backed by 190 million Australian dollars (around 123 million U.S. dollars). Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)