supporting Australian wildlife and communities after the bushfires

Sydney, 14 July 2021 – Important work is underway to help native wildlife in eastern Australia to recover from the Black Summer bushfires, restore impacted habitats and build community resilience against future natural disasters.

The Great Eastern Ranges (GER) Initiative and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) have combined forces to roll-out critical bushfire recovery projects over the next 12 months to help communities, wildlife and landscapes heal.

The projects will target three priority areas in New South Wales and Queensland – the Lockyer Valley, Southern Border Ranges and Greater Blue Mountains.

“These areas were unfortunately heavily impacted by the devastating bushfires of 2019-2020. The task of recovering from the crisis is immense, and we have a long way to go to reverse the damage that we can,” said Mr Gary Howling, CEO of GER.

“IFAW is enabling us to get a series of additional recovery activities underway through our regional partner network in collaboration with local landholders, traditional custodians and community groups. The activities will build on and add value to the vital work that individuals and organisations are already doing in these landscapes, as well as on our existing efforts there.”

IFAW Oceania Regional Director Rebecca Keeble said bushfire recovery takes time and needs to be done with locals on the ground, building capacity and resilience by making the people affected part of the solution.

“The catastrophic Black Summer bushfires have left a long-lasting impact on the landscape, wildlife and communities which is why we’re committed to ensuring our support is in place well after the disaster is over,” Ms Keeble said.

“Entire ecosystems which were decimated will take years, if not decades to recover. Everything we can do to help with the recovery effort is vital. This important work can’t be done by just one group so we’re partnering with GER and their network of regional and local conservation, Indigenous and community groups, scientific experts and private landholders to give our wildlife and communities the best chances of surviving and thriving together into the future.

“IFAW continues to work with groups to rescue and rehabilitate animals, but we also need to ensure they have safe places to return to.”

Some of the recovery activities include:

• Planting trees and shrubs to provide homes and food for native animals such as koalas, greater gliders and grey-headed flying foxes
• Installing nest boxes and tree cut hollows
• Engaging landholders in private land conservation and bushfire recovery planning
• Community forums to build local skills and knowledge.