SYDNEY－Australia has officially listed koalas across a swath of its eastern coast as endangered, with the marsupials fighting to survive the impact of bushfires, land-clearing, drought and disease.

Koala numbers have plummeted in much of eastern Australia over the past 20 years, conservationists said, warning that the animal is now sliding toward extinction.

Environment Minister Sussan Ley on Friday downgraded their conservation status across the country's east coast, in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Many koalas suffer from chlamydia. Koala numbers in New South Wales have fallen 33-61 percent since 2001. In 2020 a parliamentary inquiry warned that if urgent action was not taken the animal might become extinct before 2050.

The number of koalas in Queensland has halved since 2001 because of drought, fires and deforestation. Some are killed in attacks by dogs or are run over on roads.

Ten years earlier the koala, a globally recognized symbol of Australia's unique wildlife, had been listed as vulnerable on the eastern coast.

Environmentalists welcomed the koalas' new status but condemned Australia's failure to protect the species.

"Koalas have gone from no-listing to vulnerable to endangered within a decade," said Stuart Blanch, a conservation scientist with WWF-Australia.

"That is a shockingly fast decline. Today's decision is welcome but it won't stop koalas from sliding toward extinction unless it's accompanied by stronger laws and landholder incentives to protect their forest homes."

Conservationists said it was hard to give precise figures on koala numbers in the affected eastern states, but estimates by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee indicated that numbers had slumped from 185,000 in 2001 to just 92,000 last year.

Grim outlook

Alexia Wellbelove of the Humane Society International said east coast koalas could be extinct by 2050 if no action was taken.

The Australian Conservation Foundation said its research showed that the federal government had approved the clearing of more than 25,000 hectares of koala habitat since the species was declared vulnerable 10 years ago.

"Australia's national environment laws are so ineffective they have done little to stem the ongoing destruction of koala habitat in Queensland and NSW since the species was supposedly protected a decade ago," said the foundation's nature campaign manager, Basha Stasak.

The Australian Koala Foundation estimates there are now fewer than 100,000 koalas in the wild, possibly as few as 43,000. The 2019-20 bushfires killed at least 6,400 of the animals as rescuers worked desperately to save them and treat their injuries.

The foundation has called for legislation to protect them and curb land clearing and mining projects that are wrecking their habitats. Koalas are also in danger across Victoria and South Australia, it said.

Deborah Tabart, chairwoman of the foundation, said the designation of koalas as endangered was "nothing but a token gesture".

"Behind all the photo opportunities and political rhetoric they (the federal government) continue to approve the destruction of koala habitat."

Agencies - Xinhua