What’s happening with the Great Koala National Park? Here’s what we know

The NSW Government has refined the proposed boundaries for the Great Koala National Park (GKNP), which it says will strengthen protection of native and threatened species.

What happened: The state government has updated the proposed park map to include areas of native forest, isolated plantations and existing conservation areas.

• The government has kept  “small buffers” of native state forest outside the proposed boundary for “safe plantation access and operations”. 

• It says these buffers will be permanently placed in non-harvest zones, ensuring they will not be harvested in the future.

Quick refresh: Once formally established, the GKNP would see the end of native forest logging within its boundaries to conserve and protect the state’s endangered koala population, as well as many other threatened species in the region.

• Without action, koalas are on track to be extinct in the wild in NSW by 2050.

Halt on timber harvesting: In 2025, the government announced a temporary moratorium on timber harvesting in state forests identified to become part of the GKNP. 

• Since September 8, all harvesting operations have ceased and no new operations can commence.

The moratorium is in place while the NSW government waits for a carbon credit method to be approved, which would allow the formal establishment of the park.

What about the carbon credit project? The final creation of the park is dependent on the successful registration of a carbon project under the Improved Native Forest Management (INFM) method, which is currently moving through the Federal Government assessment processes.

• A carbon credit method is an approved set of rules on how to measure, calculate and verify emissions reductions.

• In the case of the GKNP, decisions made to protect native forest that would otherwise be logged would allow the NSW government to generate carbon credits.

• These credits could then be sold to polluters, who can use them to offset their emissions. 

What next: The independent Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (ERAC) is currently considering the submission feedback and will determine next steps.

• ERAC will advise the Assistant Climate Change Minister whether to approve the INFM method or not.

• There is no official timeline on when the Federal Government will announce whether it has registered the GKNP for the INFM method.

• The NSW Government may need to make further minor refinements to the boundary before the park is finalised.

Thumbnail: NSW Government website.