Researchers monitoring koala populations in Queensland's southeast say money paid by developers to build on land there is not enough to supply alternative habitats for the critically endangered marsupials.
The Queensland Environmental Offset Policy was introduced by the state government in 2014 and requires community infrastructure projects to avoid, mitigate and offset any loss of koala habitat.
This is done by purchasing other land and planting trees suitable for koalas.
But researchers at the School of the Environment at the University of Queensland said on Monday the scheme was falling short, with Professor Jonathan Rhodes describing it as a major problem.
“We found that when suitable places to restore koala habitat are difficult to find, the financial payments required under the Queensland Environmental Offset Policy are often insufficient to achieve its intended outcomes," he said.
The region is developing quickly, and the researchers say there are major concerns for the future of the koala population in the face of a severe housing shortage.
Prof Rhodes said less than one hectare of 13.4 hectares of impacts on koala habitat offset through financial payments in Queensland's southeast region since 2018 have alternative sites in place.
"This is concerning for the future of this beloved, endangered species," he said.
Finding suitable land was often tricky, with supply issues pushing up the cost.
"This pushes up the cost of delivering habitat restoration and securing those sites in the long-term can fail to guarantee sufficient gains in habitat to counterbalance losses,” he said.
The human population of southeast Queensland is exploding, going from 2.4 million people in 2001 to 3.5 million people in 2016.
Prof Rhodes warned the impact of more and more people living in and around the habitat of endangered native species must be properly addressed.
“This problem will become worse as the region expands and competition for land for development intensifies, making offset sites either impossible to find or more expensive to secure,” he said.
The koala population in the area has declined 50 to 80 per cent in the past two decades, Prof Rhodes said.
An updated version of the government's Environmental Offsets Policy came into effect last month, with changes made to reflect the reclassification of some species living in the area.
