Pacific Coal and The University of Queensland have announced a $400,000 research and management program for an important population of koalas in central Queensland.
The Koala Venture program at the Blair Athol Coal mine in the Bowen Basin, 240 kilometres south-west of Mackay, will use state-of-the-art technology in wildlife management and monitoring strategies to promote innovative sustainable land use.
Pacific Coal's managing director Brian Horwood said Koala Venture highlighted how a partnership between a research group and large-scale industry could manage and help to preserve an important national icon, adding to Australia's knowledge of koalas
'We wanted a high degree of certainty that the money we invest in the environmental aspects of the operation would be well spent,' Mr Horwood said.
'Koala Venture will provide key information which will help lead to carefully planned clearing and revegetation strategies.'
The University of Queensland's Vice-Chancellor Professor John Hay said UQ's Koala Study Program had been a leader in koala research for nearly 25 years.
'The partnership with Pacific Coal will allow the university to develop further its Koala Study Program, creating new research opportunities and boosting the long-term prognosis for the conservation of this famous native species,' Professor Hay said.
Environment Minister Dean Wells, who launched the program at Brisbane's Customs House today, said Koala Venture would complement a range of koala conservation initiatives undertaken by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.
He said the partnership reflected the community's growing environmental awareness and interest in our unique wildlife.
'The koala is one of Australia's best-loved animals and this program will help give us an even better understanding of this tree-dwelling marsupial,' Mr Wells said.
'With loss of habitat one of the main threats to the koala's survival, this program offers researchers an opportunity to learn more about protecting and rehabilitating areas where koalas live.'
UQ's Koala Study Program Chief Investigator Dr Frank Carrick said the program was renowned for its work in key areas of koala biology, including reproduction, health and disease, molecular genetics and applied ecology.
'We are applying a wide range of technologies including radio telemetry and satellite navigation through to DNA analysis,' Dr Carrick said.
Blair Athol Coal's Environmental Office Andrew Pearce said these new techniques were helping the mine to preserve both the land on which it operates and the fauna which inhabits that land.
'This research has already led to the development of novel koala management techniques at Blair Athol,' Mr Pearce said.
Pacific Coal and The University of Queensland have already been collaborating on koala research for more than 10 years.
The signing of an agreement in which Pacific Coal will provide $225,000 in direct funding and $165,000 in logistical support at the mine over three years is a landmark development in this long-term relationship. It takes Pacific Coal's support for koala research well over the one-million dollar mark.
Media: For further information, contact Peter McCutcheon at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 1088, mobile 0413 380 012) or Mitchell Innes at Pacific Coal (telephone 07 3361 4279, mobile 0409 050 111).
