11th February 2025
A new report from environmental groups has found the Great Koala National Park would be eligible for World Heritage status, but says those values are under threat every day logging continues.
The Nature Conservation Council NSW (NCC), Bellingen Environment Centre and Forest Alliance of NSW co-authored the report, which also found ongoing industrial logging was a threat to existing World Heritage areas that share borders with the State Forests.
The new report, Great Koala National Park World Heritage Values, highlights that the proposed GKNP contains some of the most precious forest habitats in the world. The rainforests of north-east NSW cover only 0.3% of Australia but house half of all Australian plant families and a third of its mammal and bird species.
The proposed GKNP contains significant areas already recognised as globally significant, having been granted World Heritage listing and listing as Interim World Heritage Areas. There are even more areas of globally significant forests that are currently open to logging and can only receive World Heritage listing if these forests are transferred to national parks.
Ashley Love, life member of the Bellingen Environment Centre said:
"The Great Koala National Park proposal was based on protecting two of the most significant wild coastal koala meta-populations in Australia, which would most likely qualify for World Heritage listing once their habitat was adequately protected.
"These forests are already recognised as being globally significant for their diversity of Eucalypt species and unique associations with ancient rainforests.
"World Heritage status is the pinnacle of international recognition and Australia has an obligation to protect these values.
"These values are under threat, with intensive logging continuing right up the borders of these globally significant forests and within forests that have potential to receive this globally significant recognition."
Steve Ryan, Forests Campaigner for Nature Conservation Council NSW said:
"There has been recent logging right up the Interim World Heritage border in Hyland Nature Reserve. This is no way to treat globally significant forests.
"Increases in weeds, fire, feral animals and loss of connectivity all result from logging.
"The full protection of the proposed GKNP would connect three World Heritage Areas and create a buffer to guard their long-term survival.
Dailan Pugh, Spokesperson for North East Forest Alliance said:
"The NSW and Commonwealth Governments committed to a review and renomination of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area back in 1996. It took them until 2010 to put forward a tentative list to the World Heritage Centre including 459,739 ha of NSW's National Parks as additions, though there has been no progress since.
"The creation of the Great Koala National Park provides them with an opportunity to include additional areas, though they must act on their long overdue commitment to prepare a renomination for these globally significant forests."
In 2015 the NSW Labor had already recognised these values and promised to "ensure Australia takes the NSW areas within the (interim) listing to the World Heritage Committee and gives these rainforests the international recognition and protection they so richly deserve".
