Building community connectivity and climate resilience in Australia

We’re working to help people, wildlife, and landscapes adapt to the changing climate. 

Problem 

Australia has been experiencing some of the worst impacts of climate change. 

With climate disasters increasing in frequency and duration, it’s vital we empower people to build the resilience of their communities, wildlife, and land so we can all adapt. The scale of this work is too great for any one group or organisation to manage alone, so we are bringing together conservation partners, private landholders, Indigenous and community groups, and scientists to give our wildlife and communities the best chance to adapt to the challenges climate change presents and harmoniously coexist. 

WATCH: Koala Climate Corridors project with IFAW and Great Eastern Ranges (Video: Mitchell Roberts)

Solution 

At the core of our work is community and connectivity. 

In mid-2020, we combined forces with the Great Eastern Ranges (GER) to support their mission to connect communities to restore habitats and create wildlife corridors across 3,600 kilometres of Australia’s east coast. We embarked on a 15-month bushfire recovery project to help communities, wildlife, and landscapes heal. We targeted three priority landscapes which were impacted by the bushfires in Queensland and New South Wales (NSW)—the Lockyer Valley, Southern Border Ranges, and Greater Blue Mountains. 

We rolled out these projects with 28 conservation, Indigenous, and community groups; 450 individuals and private landholders; and scientific experts. Projects included tree planting, weed management, nest box installation, citizen science surveys, community education, and capacity building. At least 15 endangered species benefitted, including the koala, greater glider, red goshawk, spotted-tail quoll, and black-breasted buttonquail, which is critically endangered in NSW. 

In 2023 we embarked on a new project which built on the networks and progress already made. We launched Koala Climate Corridors, which aims to create wildlife corridors that assist native animals in adapting to the changing climate and build the resilience of our communities and land. 

Bunyas to Border in Queensland’s southeast is the first of these corridors. It sits along the western ‘horn’ of the Greater Border Ranges, which stretches from the Main Range to Bunyas. This region is rich in biodiversity, lush rainforest, and unique volcanic landforms that also support a growing population of people. With IFAW and GER spearheading the project, local community-based conservation group Lockyer Uplands Catchment Inc. (LUCI) is leading on-the-ground activities.  

We work with local groups, landholders, and communities to reconnect and regenerate habitat to help give wildlife like koalas safe spaces to move as conditions and food sources shift. Koalas are an umbrella species—by protecting them, we indirectly protect countless other species. They are also one of 10 global species most vulnerable to climate change. By focusing on them, we can help countless other species. 

Impact 

Bunyas to Border is the first of many climate corridors the GER-IFAW partnership hopes to create, giving more people and animals the chance to thrive. 

So far, the Koala Climate Corridors project across Bunyas to Border has resulted in: