Achievements
It is safe to say that the AKF has made a difference in its 20 years of operation, and all without government funding. Its most outstanding achievements are as follows.
In 2003, the Queensland State Government listed South East Queensland's koalas as 'vulnerable' under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 after the AKF's research made compelling findings. The AKF has appealed on multiple occasions to both state and federal governments, but the governments have failed to make any substantial changes to legislature affording the wild koala effective protection.
The partnership between the AKF and the Ray Group has resulted in Koala Beach, a residential estate that is koala-friendly and proof that development and wildlife protection are not necessarily incompatible. The AKF is the world's largest funding body of koala research. Research findings include the contribution made by koalas to Australia's tourism industry and viability studies on koala populations in various bioregions.
More than 40,000 km² of land has been mapped for the Koala Habitat Atlas. Unlike other mapping projects, the Atlas does not merely pinpoint the location of individuals in the species. It displays the occurrence of suitable koala habitat (even if there are no koalas there at present) that can be 'restocked' in future if necessary. More than 1,000 sites were identified in South East Queensland alone.
The AKF is recognised as the source of choice for information on koalas. Every year, staff members receive and respond to over 10,000 queries and requests for information. These inquiries come from a diverse range of people, including students, land managers and documentary makers. The AKF's website records almost one million hits each year. The foundation established an ecolabelling initiative where pastoralists who actively support koala habitat preservation receive the koala stamp of approval.
Read more about this topic: Australian Koala Foundation
Famous quotes containing the word achievements:
“Fathers are still considered the most important “doers” in our culture, and in most families they are that. Girls see them as the family authorities on careers, and so fathers’ encouragement and counsel is important to them. When fathers don’t take their daughters’ achievements and plans seriously, girls sometimes have trouble taking themselves seriously.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)