Preserving World Wildlife Heritage: World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia Contribution to New South Wales Government on Koala Conservation (2012-2016)

Abstract

Alifiandra Widy Aditya, International Relations 2014, President University

Thesis Title: Preserving World Wildlife Heritage: World Wide Fund for NatureAustralia Contribution to New South Wales Government in Koala Conservation (2012-2016) Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) has been listed as endangered species since 2012. This iconic animal which also become one of the national icon of Australia is expected to be extinct in 2050 by WWF. The declining number of koalas, besides of the over hunting that happened in the last decade, is caused by the habitat deforestation, climate change, and diseases. Therefore, New South Wales, as one of the state in Australia with the lower density of koala distribution, had to work harder to maintain then increase the koala populations. Several laws, planning policy, and strategy had been launched in order to protect the koala existence. But these steps are not enough without the support and funding of WWF, through WWF-Australia. WWF-Australia, as an environmental-focused international nongovernmental organization has contributed in supporting through analyzing the laws, planning policy, and strategy created by New South Wales government and pointed out the flaws, provided a free land for the purpose of koala habitat conservation, and funded for the koala welfare through the donation of the supporters, and partnership with corporation. This research is under the umbrella of neoliberal institutionalism, which help the author to analyze the contribution of WWF-Australia in NSW government’s effort in protecting koala and their habitat.