For the first time, important Koala habitat corridors throughout Greater Sydney have been mapped. Total Environment Centre's Sydney Basin Koala Network project created maps that present a cost-effective opportunity that allows Sydney’s critical Koala populations and other threatened species to persist amidst growing threats from development.

The Plan also provides legal protection mechanisms. It will be a key focus for ongoing campaigning by state and local environment groups to ensure a healthy and sustainable Koala population in the region bounded by the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, western Sydney and Illawarra. The future of several thousand Koalas is at stake. It’s urgent the corridors are protected before being lost and fragmented to development and land clearing.

These corridors are based on the methodology developed by the NSW Chief Scientist and are especially important where increased development is slated in areas such as Penrith, Hills District, Hornsby, Canterbury-Bankstown, Liverpool, Sutherland Shire, Campbelltown and Appin. The corridors will allow Koalas to move throughout the landscape, connecting to National Parks and green spaces.

Benefits of preserving green corridors also create a more liveable Sydney, providing more densely populated areas with valuable urban cooling and climate resilience. It’s a win-win for people, Koalas and all the other species that rely on habitat corridors, which are also essential to a healthy city.

Figure 1: Greater Sydney Corridor Map

LINK TO INTERACTIVE GREATER SYDNEY CORRIDOR MAP

The Greater Sydney Koala Corridor Map is a plan that identifies existing and potential habitat connections between National Parks and council reserves, following the methodology of the NSW Chief Scientist on recommended Koala Corridor widths (390-425m wide). It identifies immediate wins to protect existing habitat corridors, opportunities for revegetation on private land, and shows important areas at risk of fragmentation from development, focusing on 14 key LGAs where Koalas have been sighted in Sydney (Sutherland Shire, Liverpool, Campbelltown, Wollondilly, Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield, Camden, Penrith, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Hills Shire, Hornsby, Ku-ring-gai).

Available as an interactive map and in-depth report with breakout reports on each LGA, the Greater Sydney corridor map is a powerful community tool. It allows Sydney Basin Koala Network's 24 conservation groups to hold both developers and government to account when proposed developments infringe on vital habitat corridors. The map also enables identification of where wildlife crossings on roads are required, with vehicle strikes the most significant threat to Koalas in South-West Sydney.

Legislative analysis has been provided by the Environmental Defenders Office offering state, local council and community led actions to enshrine these corridors as important environmental assets in perpetuity.

Key points on Koala corridors: 

• Koala Corridors ensure genetic diversity and help wildlife move from fire and climate affected areas. (Hogg & Mclennan 2024)
• A lack of koala corridors create issues with population sinks, (such as the extinction of Koalas locally in Pittwater) , or conversely overcrowding (such as recent starvation in French Island, Victoria)
• Translocation of Koalas to new areas is dangerous, whereas habitat corridors allow Koalas to adapt slowly to new environments.
• Recent advances in the Chlamydia vaccine provide hope while corridors are safeguarded.