Sad discovery triggers call to reject 'unacceptable' 113-hectare plan
A plan by a large mining company to destroy 113 hectares of alleged prime koala habitat so it can expand a coal project has been branded as 'unacceptable'. Lock the Gate, a non-profit group that campaigns against the expansion of fossil fuels, has urged state authorities to block Yancoal's plan.
Drone footage collected by Lock the Gate shows a small breeding colony of koalas, including a mother and joey, close to the Moolarben coal mine, near a Mudgee wildlife reserve. Koala populations across NSW are listed as endangered and authorities have warned the species will not survive in the wild for more than 25 years if current rates of habitat loss continue.
Yancoal employs more than 6,000 Australians and is one of the country's largest coal exporters. While it's a public company listed on the ASX and in Hong Kong, it's majority-owned by Yankuang Energy Group, a state-controlled Chinese corporation.
Responding to concerns about the impact on koalas, Yancoal told Yahoo News it disputes that the location of the koalas is on the 'disturbance site' itself. It added that any koalas found in the path of development will be relocated to nearby bushland in advance of any vegetation clearing 'to ensure any animals are safely and securely looked after'.
The company noted its original plan would have resulted in the clearing of 230 hectares of woodland but this has been reduced by 51 per cent.
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The project would also impact 80 hectares of Regent honeyeater habitat, a bird that zoos in Victoria and NSW have invested hundreds of hours to bring back from the verge of extinction. There are no more than 300 individuals in the wild today, but numbers have dropped as low as 50.
Yancoal's project is yet to receive state government approval. If it's given the green light by the planning department, the company will need to acquire federal sign-off because of its impact on several species that are nationally listed as threatened with extinction.
Among the other animals that likely call the site home are broad-headed snakes, pin-tailed legless lizards, and squirrel gliders. Unlike koalas, these species are very difficult to locate, and it remains unclear what their fate will be if the project is approved.
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Yancoal told Yahoo, 'Pre-clearance activities include surveys conducted by trained and experienced ecologists. All fauna identified are relocated in accordance with well-established practices, as detailed in Moolarben's approved Biodiversity Management Plan'.
Lock the Gate Alliance national coordinator Carmel Flint told Yahoo the clearing of 113 hectares of woodland would have widespread impact on the region's wildlife beyond the development site, and that increased traffic on roads would be a killer.
"The fact that any mining company should be seeking to clear habitat for endangered species is unacceptable, particularly a coal company whose product is further contributing to these species' decline through its contribution to fossil fuel-induced global warming,' she said.
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