Koalas should be given endangered listing, environment groups say

Current regime fails to halt the creeping loss of critical habitat, WWF Australia warns

Koala populations on the Australian east coast have diminished to the extent the species should now be considered "endangered", environment groups have said, amid concern that existing protection measures have failed to halt the creeping loss of critical habitat.

In south-east Queensland, once a stronghold for koala populations, habitat continues to be bulldozed through ineffective offset strategies, loopholes in development restrictions and poor planning for population growth, the groups said.