Endangered black cockatoos at risk after years of illegal forest destruction

A leading conservation organisation has sounded the alarm over the ongoing destruction of critical black cockatoo habitat in Western Australia.

The warning follows revelations that international mining giant Alcoa illegally cleared land in the Northern Jarrah Forest for years without federal approvals.

“Our research has demonstrated that the loss of these forests, the mature trees used by these birds, cannot be offset or mitigated,” said Kate Millar, CEO of BirdLife Australia.

“Once the forests are gone, these iconic, charismatic and much-loved birds will be gone.”

There are only two species of white-tailed black cockatoos on the planet — the Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo and the Baudin’s Black Cockatoo.

Both are endangered and endemic to the south-west of Western Australia and are at risk of becoming extinct in the wild within the next two decades.

Between 2019 and 2025, Alcoa illegally cleared more than 2,000 hectares of their known habitat in the world’s only jarrah forest, which is also home to the vulnerable Forest Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos.

“The illegally cleared areas provided the birds with foraging, breeding and roosting habitat,” said Ms Millar.

“Every single hectare of the Northern Jarrah Forest still standing is critical.”

However, reporting by Guardian Australia suggests the situation may be even more serious than first understood.

It reports Alcoa has been unlawfully clearing land for its bauxite mining practices in the area south of Perth for 15 years, despite warnings from the federal environment department.

Last year’s 2025 Great Cocky Count recorded a total of 15,786 White-tailed Black-Cockatoos, the lowest recorded number since 2015.

BirdLife Australia reports Baudin’s Black-Cockatoo populations have crashed by 90 per cent over the last forty years with as few as 2,500 mature birds remaining.

Overall, it’s estimated there are fewer than 15,000 in the wild and, at best estimate, 34,000 Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos remaining.

Alcoa has been ordered to pay $55 million towards conservation activities to “remediate” the land and approval to continue clearing for a further 18 months – a “slap in the face” for conservationists.

“I’m completely appalled at the decisions that have been made,” said Ms Millar. “$55 million sounds like a lot to most people, but it is a tiny amount for a company of this size. “

The Australian Greens have joined calls for the Minister Watt to revoke Alcoa’s national interest exemption.

“There should be a one-strike-and-you’re-out rule. These big Trump-backed US companies cannot be trusted with Australia’s native forests and our Environment Minister should not be handing out free passes for them to do so,” said Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Greens Environment Spokesperson.

Ms Millar said “listening to Minister Watt defend this terrible decision, I thought I was listening to a Resources Minister, not the person in charge of stopping Australia’s extinction crisis”.

Alcoa remains under investigation by the WA Department of Water and Environmental Regulation over two more alleged tree-clearing breaches.

“Australia can’t afford to continue carving up these forests, we’ve lost too much already,” she said.