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RESTORED NATURE
It is difficult to be
a birder or a naturalist and not be concerned with that most potent of symptoms
of environmental degradation – the endangerment and extinction of species.
In Australia we have legislation that is designed to
recognise and protect endangered species.
The Environmental Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act [EPBC Act] provides for the listing of nationally
threatened native species and ecological communities, native migratory species
and marine species.
The EPBC Act protects Australia's native species
and ecological communities by providing for:
Now it is important to have legislation that requires this,
although I am worried about the ‘where appropriate’ stipulation….
One of the issues of Endangered Species legislation,
ignoring the problem that politicians get involved in the process for reasons
that are rarely to the advantage of species conservation, is that it seems to
imply that we should only ‘rush to the safety of the species when it is almost
too late’. I for one hope doctors do not use this approach when saving me from
extinction.
The other is that it is a state determination of whether
something is endangered or not. So, from the perspective of local authorities,
if a species is endangered within the context of your local area but is common
elsewhere it is all good to allow its extinction [in your local area] and
therefore trust the species survival to others elsewhere.
There has been some excellent work on threatened species
here on the Sunshine Coast and, encouragingly, it has been led by community
aided by government.
In the Mary River specific management efforts have been made
to reduce the fortunes of both the Mary River Turtle and the Mary River Cod.
The Mary River Turtle is a strange turtle; it is one of
several species of cloaca-breathing turtles, which breathe underwater using
specialised glands in their reproductive organs. This allows individuals to
remain submerged for up to 72 hours.
The Mary River turtle is a large freshwater turtle endemic to the Mary River in Queensland, Australia. Remarkably, this turtle was kept as a pet in Australia for more than 20 years before its formal description as a new species.
This turtle is highly distinctive, both morphologically and
evolutionarily. The only species in its genus, the Mary River turtle diverged
from all other living species around 40 million years ago. In comparison, we
split from our closest relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, less than 10 million
years ago.
Unfortunately, the Mary River turtle is listed as Endangered
by the IUCN Red List following precipitous declines since 1970. The Mary River
Turtle takes an exceptionally long time to reach sexual maturity, with
individuals not breeding before the age of 25. The building of dams and
collection of eggs for the pet trade have driven the declines in the species.
However, conservation programmes are now in place to protect the species.
Here on the Blackall Range, and other places, the Richmond
Birdwing Butterfly has felt the impact of community led conservation efforts to
increase the numbers of that species.
The Richmond birdwing butterfly (Ornithoptera richmondia)
is the largest subtropical Australian butterfly. It was once abundant
from Maryborough in southern Queensland to Grafton in northern New South Wales,
breeding in rainforest habitat wherever the food plants were plentiful.
Much of this land was eagerly sought after for grazing and subtropical
agriculture due to its rich soils. In 1870 the butterfly was reported in
newspapers as occurring in the thousands
on the streets of Brisbane, but by 1926 natural history enthusiasts noticed
a massive decline in the south, west and east of the city. https://www.facebook.com/RichmondBirdwingConservationNetwork
Since 1990 active conservation projects involving members of
the community, particularly schoolchildren, were initiated to address the
threatening processes that had led to the decline in numbers and distribution
of the birdwing.
In 2008, the Department of Environment and Science, along
with the RBCN and David Fleay Wildlife Park, began a joint project to help
conserve the Richmond birdwing butterfly using a captive breeding and release
strategy. Under the breeding program, Richmond birdwings from geographically
separate sources have been mated with the aim of producing more genetically
diverse offspring. These captive-reared progenies have been reintroduced at
selected sites to help restore wild populations. Following the first releases
in 2010, evidence of natural breeding by the butterfly and more than a dozen
flying adults were seen in the Kin Kin and Cootharaba areas of the Sunshine
Coast for the first time in almost two decades.
Since the program was initiated, more than 350 Richmond
birdwing individuals, mostly larvae and pupae, have been reintroduced across
nine sites in south-east Queensland.
In May 2018, the Swallowtail and Birdwing Butterfly Trust
generously donated £500 to the RBCN to put towards the acquisition of vines to
support the Richmond birdwing captive breeding and release project.
In 2019 the Swallowtail and Birdwing Butterfly Trust further
provided a small grant to Wildlife Queensland to assist in the captive breeding
and release of the Richmond birdwing in eastern Australia, complementing the
support being given by local communities and government.
Anecdotally the numbers of Birdwings in my area around
Mapleton have increased since I moved in in 2002 – largely I expect because of
the growth in vine plantings.
The Glossy Black Cockatoo is a threatened species that
survives on the Sunshine Coast. Federally it is listed as endangered while
Queensland lists it as vulnerable. Threatening processes include, I imagine, availability
of nest hollows and habitat fragmentation, specifically a reduction of Allocasuarina trees which provide for
the bird’s specialised diet. There has been some great work in the Noosa area combatting a development that further threatens valuable feed trees. This
effort further publicises the specie and its needs. Planting of feed trees all
over the Sunshine Coast and, perhaps, judicial placement of nest boxes
hopefully will assist this specie’s recovery.
To be anti those developments which have conspicuous cost
for biodiversity is one thing, however we must encourage new types of natural
land use that encourage the growth of biodiversity. So rewilding projects. Perhaps the simplest rewilding project is to
take an area of land; say a farm that has been managed exclusively for beef
production and change the management, in part or total, to promote
biodiversity.
Rewilding is a form of environmental
conservation and ecological restoration that has significant potential to
increase biodiversity, create self-sustainable environments and mitigate
climate change. Rewilding aims to do this, in part, by
reintroducing lost animal species to natural environments.
Rewilding is I
believe an exciting development because it about creating or re-creating
ecosystems.
Please read one or all of the following books to try to get
excited about rewilding and its possibilities.
Check out the RewildingEurope website or this promotional video to see what it is happening there.
The private conservation group Australian Wildlife Conservancy is rewilding here in Australia;
returning arid land species that have been hammered by cats and foxes and asked
to compete with herbivores too many times larger than them. Their plan? Build
large fenced feral free reserves and reintroduce the mammals. These spaces,
free from cats, could only benefit our birds too – providing relatively safe
havens [with only snakes and hawks to worry about…..]
AWC runs Newhaven in the NT. This reserve was established
when Newhaven Station, a pastoral cattle-grazing property in the arid zone of
the Northern Territory was purchased by Birds Australia in 2000 from the then
owner, Alex Coppock, in order to conserve its outstanding natural values.
Newhaven's landforms include parallel dunes, salt lakes, claypans, plains and
rocky hills. Vegetation includes grasslands, woodlands and shrublands, which
can be subdivided into ten distinct vegetation communities, with over 100
species of plants recorded. Several threatened species of birds and other
animals have been recorded on Newhaven. These include the grey falcon, night
parrot, princess parrot, striated grasswren, grey honeyeater, mulgara,
black-flanked rock-wallaby, greater bilby, marsupial mole and great desert
skink. In December 2005 Birds Australia signed an agreement with the Australian
Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) that saw AWC assume ownership and day-to-day
financial responsibility for Newhaven, while allowing for Birds Australia to
have long-term involvement in the management of the reserve, Birds Australia
members to have access. Now the AWC has created a large [10 000 hectare
initially before being expanded into a 100 000 hectare] fenced feral free
reserve and have reintroduced or will reintroduce the following species; Bilby,
Mara (Rufous Hare Wallaby), Numbat, Black footed Rock Wallaby, Central Rock
Rat, Shark Bay Mouse, Brush tailed Bettong, Burrowing Bettong, Golden
Bandicoot, Western Quoll and Red tailed Phascogale. I am yet to find any
information about just how these feral free areas have worked for bird
populations located naturally in the same areas, nor any data regarding reptile
numbers and / or breeding. You would expect that these species could only
benefit from the reduction of unnatural predation.
Could fauna on the
Sunshine Coast be better protected with clever and innovative use of fencing?
Could previously
extant species be returned and rewilded?
What information
could be acquired from these ‘experiments’?
As AWC’s work has shown fencing helps Australian species
live and breed far more easily than when they do not have unnatural predators
nearby.
On the Sunshine Coast we have cats and foxes and we have
vulnerable [in terms of threatened status] small to medium sized marsupials
that are vulnerable to predation. Such mammals include Long nosed Pottoroo,
Koala, Greater Glider, Hastings River Mouse and the Spotted tailed and Northern
Quolls. These last two species have not been sighted on the Sunshine Coast for
some time.
Perhaps we need some fenced reserves to attempt to ensure
that these threatened species do not become extinct?
A variety of fenced feral free reserves – where any of the above
species have been recorded especially on land already owned by Council – should
be established. The cost of fencing these type of conservation reserves no
doubt will decrease over time as more methods and materials are tried.
Conservation volunteers should be available for this exciting conservation work.
More fencing needs to be used to stop another major predator
of our wildlife; cars. The population of larger marsupials; the Eastern Grey Kangaroo,
Swamp Wallaby, Red necked Wallaby, the locally uncommon Whiptail Wallaby would only
benefit from being fenced from major roads. Fencing may also prevent some of
their predation from dogs?
The last emu was killed by dogs on Bribie Island a few years
ago leaving Grey Kangaroos – its Coat of Arms companion still extant. Could
coastal emus be returned into fenced habitat to allow their survival on the
Sunshine Coast? I think it is a question worth thinking about. Fencing off a
considerable chunk of Bribie Island and exploring the possibility of lands
adjacent on the mainland could protect a small self-sustaining population of
our country and our coast’s largest birds. This reserve could also benefit
other coastal species. Would anyone care to join SCEAG? The Sunshine Coast Emu
Action Group or Save Coastal Emu Action Group?
Allow me to continue dreaming… Brush tailed rock Wallabies on the Glasshouse Mountains? How cool would that be? Could we deal with a fenced feral free area around all or part of the Glasshouse National Park estate? Could we eliminate the feral cats and foxes therein? How much would it cost? What other mammal species could be brought back into a fenced feral free area so located? What birds could be re-introduced? What reptiles?
Brush tailed Rock Wallabies are a threatened species that
prior to foxes and cars would have utilised available habitat within range from
the ranges to the sea. It would be impossible to imagine that they did not
utilise the Glasshouse Mountains and adjacent areas of Blackall Range. Making
these animals potentially visible to visitors from nearby Brisbane would
benefit both the animal’s prestige and promote fencing and rewilding as
conservation methods. Species such as Rufous Bettong, Koala, perhaps Long nosed
Potoroo, as well as Bush Stone Curlew, White throated Nightjar would benefit.
Perhaps the iconic Frilled neck Lizard would benefit as well? Elimination of
feral species would not be easy and fencing would not be cheap but the biggest
challenge would be political..
I appreciate the difference between a large fenced sanctuary
and a zoo is an arbitrary one however these species would be being introduced
into areas where they were once extant. Their environments would be being,
albeit in a minor way, restored. We would be educating the public, hopefully
delighting them, and correcting the Shifting Baseline Syndrome which we
discussed earlier.
There are a range of other species on our coast and
hinterland that deserve not only dreaming but detailed plans for their survival
– Eastern Grey Kangaroos and Koalas – spring to mind. As does the Eastern
Bristlebird.
These are conservation conversations for another day…
Ken Cross
All of the above is merely personal opinion and dreaming and NOT the perspective or policy of Birdlife Australia.
MORE NATURE AWARENESS
Our nature needs
advocates and we, as lovers and students of birds and wildlife, are ideally
situated to take the lead. We must do more to teach anyone who will listen the
value of nature/ biodiversity and the joys of birding.
So the whys and wherefores and the targets…
We should all be birding evangelists; promoting birding as a
wonderful mindful hobby. As already stated it should be difficult to be a
birder and fail to be interested in conservation. Individually we should all
try to introduce birding to someone new.
Birdlife Australia SC are already doing this and the numbers
of people are growing. This has been achieved by members encouraging new people
to come to outings; the expansion of Beginning Birders Walks, hosting bird
walks at Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve, promotion of birding through SocialMedia.
Should we try other strategies to lift the profile of birds
and birding throughout the SE Queensland area?
Here are some ideas for our local area;
I am in the process of trying to create a Sunshine Coast University
Birders Club to better cater for young birders. A club based at the University
would be better positioned to cater for teen and twenty somethings. Sadly the
demographic at our outings is somewhat older than that and, whether we like it
or not, off putting for most ‘younger’ people. Since being convenor for
Birdlife SC I have had a few calls from parents wanting an avenue into birding
and natural history for their kids or grandkids – sadly I have had to admit
that the regular outings probably would not suit.
A Young Birders Club, based at the University, could be an
important missing piece of our puzzle.
Part of establishing a connection with the University
hopefully would enable some of us to attempt to introduce birding to trainee
teachers with the future hope that they would eventually introduce this
knowledge and past time to their students. Teaching teachers about birds and
birding would be a better and more economical strategy than to try to teach
school kids directly. We have resources, such as citizen science platforms like
ebird, to offer potential teachers such that they can offer them to their
students.
In the United States the ABA [American Birding Association]
run annual camps for young birders. Perhaps this idea should be stolen and
established here? The Sunshine Coast would be an excellent locale to host teen
birders from around our country [when Covid finally settles down…] as we have
the camp spaces, human resources, variety of habitats, charismatic species. The
camps would offer excellent networking opportunities to young [teen] birders as
well as a wonderful promotional opportunity for Birdlife Australia and the
Sunshine Coast generally.
Other ideas worth stealing from the states?
Bird fairs or
festivals. For example the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival held in Tucson.
Big Birding Days. For
example Bird LA Day. From their webpage;
“The sixth annual
Bird LA Day took flight on May 4th as Angelenos enjoyed more than 50 nature and
bird themed events. The celebration of LA’s biodiversity spanned as far north
as Castaic Lake and as far south as Long Beach with diverse habitats in
between.
Bird LA Day events
are family-friendly and free-of-charge, with activities created for all
interests. Among the offerings were bird walks and talks, a hands-on watercolor
workshop, tours of a wildlife rehab centre with an intro to bird rescue and
banding program, access to bird skulls and lots more.”
Perhaps a ‘Big
Brisbane Birding Day’ – to be held over a weekend stretching from the Gold to
the Sunshine Coasts. As suggested above bird walks and talks but art workshops
and galleries, museums contributing, Wilvos displays, displays at selected
markets? Films? Publicity / posters explaining birding at Local Government and
National Parks [Ranger talks?] All with a largish media splash….
Nationally we should do more also.
In my observation Birdlife Australia is, to people outside
of birding, invisible. Birdlife Australia should have a similar profile here as
the RSPB does in the UK or Audubon does in the USA. It should do more regarding
self promotion, especially outside Melbourne. This is a large topic. Birdlife
car stickers for every member would be a good start. Greater availability of
Tshirts, hats etc with Birdlife logos.
Australian bird cards would be an excellent promotion for Birdlife Australia; especially in conjunction with a large supermarket chain. This is an old idea but one that could come back into fashion.
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| Bird Cards - an old idea but a collector's item today. |
A birds in backyard section more regularly on Gardening Australia would be an excellent promotion.
Birdlife, in addition to social media, should have a blog
and a regular podcast or sponsor Michael Greenshields’ podcast – The Birder’s Guide.
Birdlife and Birding should be visible to any Australian who
visits a national park or reserve. I remember visiting state parks in Texas,
who take the interpretation of nature quite seriously, beautiful posters
illustrating and explaining the hobby of birding with links to online
resources.
More generally we need to promote birds and nature more
often to young people…..
Our children have been kidnapped from nature. Raised in too
small backyards bereft of tall trees, taught to play in sterile gardens where
the one plant is lawn, trapped by technology they are experiencing an
Extinction of Experience. Many are suffering from Nature Deficit Syndrome.
Nature Deficit
Syndrome is a term coined by Richard Louv in 2005 in his book, Last Child in
the Woods. There is an expanding body of scientific evidence that suggests that
nature-deficit disorder contributes to a diminished use of the senses,
attention difficulties, conditions of obesity, and higher rates of emotional
and physical illnesses. Research also suggests that the nature-deficit weakens
ecological literacy and stewardship of the natural world. These problems are
linked more broadly to what health care experts call the “epidemic of
inactivity,” and to a devaluing of independent play.
This generation of children will hopefully grow up learning about global warming yes but knowing even less than our generation of Australia’s plants and animals.
So what can we do?
Simple answer – reintroduce kids to nature
This is not easy… As I said backyards are getting smaller.
My backyard provided me with perhaps my trigger
bird. A bird that stimulated or created a birding interest. Anyway Pacific
Baza dismembering a graceful tree frog on the top of a tennis court. I can
still remember its staring yellow eye. I was, maybe 8….
Some of the ideas listed above would help.
Project Wild Thing [a film and app encouraging nature based
play] from the UK could be mined for ideas… https://www.thewildnetwork.com/inspiration/project-wild-thing
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While I was living in Canada iin 2012 I accidently came across this guy in Victoria [ a city on the southern part of Vancouver Island] who was running Wild Child Tours. In what was a bit of dodgy parenting I allowed my son to spend a day with this complete stranger [and other children my son’s age]. He and his product were fantastic! My boy had a great day immersed in nature; first combing through a wonderful variety of tidal pools where every creature was identified and celebrated. Birds, you will be pleased to know, were not ignored. A hike along the beach followed searching for flotsam and jetsam treasure among driftwood. The same driftwood was used to create, of course, forts. We found them by ear at day’s end loudly cheering and applauding a passing school of Herring as they walked along a stone wall jutting into a bay. This could be a holiday product here on the coast for one with energy and knowledge enough to do it!
While I am at it let us steal the Summer Camp idea from
Americans. A culture of nature emersion on school holidays would be a positive
idea.
Any other ideas please comment!
Ken Cross
All of the above is merely personal opinion and dreaming and NOT the perspective or policy of Birdlife Australia.
JOINED NATURE
Island biogeography theory – The theory of island
biogeography states that a larger island will have a
greater number of species than a smaller island.
Island Biogeography Theory can be applied to
the design of nature reserves, as many reserves are
essentially 'islands' of natural habitat in a sea of
less favourable environment, for example, agric- cultural land or urban areas.
So the takeaways are that we need largest reserve areas
possible and, ideally, we need as many smaller areas of habitat forming
linkages between blocks of protected biodiversity.
Hinterland Bushlinks
– is a really great example of this and there name says it all. Its efforts are
concentrated on the hinterland of the SC and it works with land holders to link
areas of habitat. As it says on its thorough website; The vision for Hinterland
Bush Links is to protect and maintain existing bush blocks and to re-connect
them with wildlife corridors. A vital ingredient in this is the bush on private
lands. Planting native vegetation in addition to controlling weed species is
central.
One disadvantage though is that there good work is
restricted to the hinterland and a quick examination of a map on the coast
suggests that links of habitat are needed elsewhere.
Existing creek lines need expanded riparian vegetation as these have massive linking and corridor potential.
Along road ways – lawn could and should be replaced with local indigenous shrubs, ground covers and trees.
Highway edges should be replanted with native vegetation;
especially to shield the plantation timbers from view. And perhaps fenced where appropriate.
Major rail corridors revegetated could also be major corridors for
wildlife movement…..
As per the last blog entry our suburbs must be as vegetated as possible to allow nature to reside but also to travel through. Drive through a newish suburb on the Sunshine Coast - or an old one - and allow yourself to imagine native gardens almost everywhere you see lawn and you will start to see some biodiversity potential.
Vegetated bridges and Tree to Tree crossings should be ocnsidered at various locations on the Sunshine Coast.
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| Fauna bridge in Brisbane City Council area. Should we suggest sites for the Sunshine Coast? |
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| Possum bridge in Brisbane |
Ken Cross
All of the above is merely personal opinion and dreaming and NOT the perspective or policy of Birdlife Australia.
Our suburbs - backyards, public urban parks, industrial areas - should be wildlife habitat that encourages wildlife. However instead of Land for Wildlife we should have Gardens for Wildlife schemes encouraging native planting within backyards, on roadside verges and, to a degree, footpaths. Imagine neighbours talking, planning and planting together; discussing, perhaps boasting about their yards’ critters. A keep up with the Joneses where the competition is competing diversity could happen…
From the website; The 'Gardens for Wildlife' program
encourages and recognises wildlife-friendly gardens and
environment-friendly practices in urban gardens. Your garden
for wildlife can contribute to bringing nature home by welcoming wildlife to
share your garden and by providing a healthy, weed free
environment for them to do so.
If fifty percent of our gardens actively encouraged
biodiversity by reducing lawn and planting suitable local natives, encouraging
a little mess like compost piles etc where some of our insect fauna might
multiply, that would be enormously positive.
An interesting read that focuses on similar issues in the
USA is ‘Nature’s Best Hope’ by Douglas Tallamy. “Nature's Best Hope is nature
writing at its best - rooted in history, progressive in its advocacy, and above
all, actionable and hopeful. By proposing practical measures that ordinary
people easily can do, Tallamy gives us reason to believe that the planet can be
preserved for future generations.”
So, in brief:
Gardens for Wildlife type schemes need promotion and perhaps our personal embrace. This is, to my mind, extremely important. Every birder needs to be better as a native indigenous gardener. And, like everything our efforts need promoting. Which brings me to my next post….
Ken Cross
All of the above is merely personal opinion and dreaming and NOT the perspective or policy of Birdlife Australia.
MORE NATURE!!
What do I mean?
I want areas of natural vegetation cover expanded;
especially areas that have some level of protection of their biodiversity.
I want biodiversity to increase; not to continue to slide…
I want, generally speaking, numbers of each native species,
from insects to Eastern Grey Kangaroos to increase. I want to save endangered
species and I want common species to become, if at all possible, abundant
again.
The greater Sunshine Coast area has the potential to become
one of the showcase areas for biodiversity and biodiversity protection in
Australia. And to do so, in many cases, we need to continue and expand
programmes that we have already established. We just need the imagination and
will to do it.
[The following descriptions deal with the Sunshine Coast
Council area. This does not diminish the fact that the Sunshine Coast Area, as
far as Birdlife Australia is concerned, includes Noosa council area and other
places besides. Generalisations about SCC can, most likely, be applied to other
areas.]
First, What do we have in terms of protected biodiversity?
Within the SCC area we have a variety of protected public areas thus far. We
have a National Park estate within SCC of over 40 000 hectares, administered
not by our federal government but the state authorities. We have 5500 hectares
protected by our Councils. We have private land protected as wildlife refuges
and by conservation covenants [some 3000 hectares], again authorised by council.
SCC has the most successful Land for Wildlife scheme in the nation with nearly
1200 private land owners protecting 8500 number of hectares of invaluable
biodiversity on private land. SCC has established the Blue Heart Area – an area
of some 5000 hectares – on the floodplains east of Yandina. A major part of
which is the Unitywater owned Yandina Creek Wetlands; a valuable lowland
freshwater reserve – The Yandina Creek Wetalnds was a conservation scheme
instigated by Greg Roberts that was unique in that it succeeded! Notwithstanding
that Greg is both a knowledgeable birder, conservationist and journalist; this
remains a powerful example of the effect a committed individual can have. [Note
to self – Encourage Greg Roberts to pen a ‘How to save a Wetland
campaign’.]
It is an excellent
start but there is much more to do.
The first thing is to want more land of biodiversity value [public
and private] protected otherwise significant natural vegetation that remains
will continue to be eroded – cleared or modified. It is much better to have
land protected prior to development plans.
Here we, the community, need to apply pressure to
government. Government, of all levels, is both our ally and an enemy for while
they are motivated, in part, to respect environmental law and protect our
biodiversity, for them [and sadly the community they represent] the environment
is but one issue of many. Governments, too, may lack necessary ambition.
Case in point a statement from the SCC’s own Biodiversity
Report of 2020.
This report states as a goal that by 2040 the Sunshine Coast
has as much land under natural vegetation as in 2016. They also state, perhaps
by way of preparing their excuses, if this rather unambitious target is
unsuccessfully reached that the responsibility of this target is the
community’s not just councils.
Let’s reflect a moment on these statements.
First – while
this is a council statement, a council target, they remind all that it is not
their responsibility alone. It is a good reminder, if we needed one, that we
are ignorant to blindly rely on government [at any level] for the conservation
of our biodiversity.
Second - No
negative natural vegetation losses from
2016 levels to 2040.
First question –
Why 2016? What makes 2016 the golden year in terms of natural vegetation cover?
To me this is a classic example of Shifting
Baseline Syndrome.
To put it in its
simplest terms, Shifting Baseline
Syndrome is basically the
way in which humans, and every generation essentially, lowers its standards
over the course of time. These generations are not lowering their standards
on purpose, or because they have any negative goal, but simply because they
don’t know any better. It is the idea that things were better in the ‘old
days’. If we limit our view of the old days as ‘the oldest days in my lifetime’
we may not have a great reference point for what abundance the environment may
be able to sustain and therefore could be satisfied with only very minor
improvements or losses.
Our environments
are suffering the death of a thousand cuts – Shifting Baseline Theory neatly
hides the extent of the injuries and thus makes seeking appropriate remedy more
difficult.
So what should we learn from Shifting Baseline Syndrome? I think that by knowing about it we
guard against it. And we should remind governments, acting on our behalf, if
their judgements are being affected.
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| Shifting Baseline Syndrome - changing environmental conditions lead to differing expectations with each decade. The knowledge of what is truly lost is lost. |
We should also set more ambitious environmental targets. If,
for example, we accept the 2016 target for natural vegetation are we not guilty
of continuing to allow the slide of environmental degradation? My thinking is
that we must not just protect what we had in 2016 but expand the areas of
natural vegetation and, especially, protected areas of natural vegetation. [I
appreciate this is reasonably simplistic as we also must take into account what
habitats have been degraded the most? In other words not all areas of natural
vegetation are the same.]
Perhaps our local governments should be persuaded to spend
more of their environmental budget towards land acquisition as this strategy
would prove to be more economically and environmentally sustainable in the mid
to long terms. Each year the SCC raises some 9.3 million dollars via
environmental levies; of this 3.6 million is spent on land acquisition. While I
am not saying that land acquisition is the only important thing perhaps it is
the most important…
Our state government
also needs to be lobbied against when they set poor targets or fail to reach
the ones they set.
Perhaps we need to lobby
the state government to increase the National Park estate as recommended in the
2020 report, “Lost Opportunities for new National Parks in Qld”. Australia
has signed on to the Convention on Biological Diversity and has committed to a
target of 17% of terrestrial and inland water in the National Reserve System in
a balanced way that is ecologically representative, with at least 10% of each
bioregion protected, well connected, and well-managed. Australia’s National Reserve System is a
network of more than 12,000 Commonwealth, state and territory reserves, and
Indigenous and private protected areas that covers 19.8% of the country (Fig
1).
Surprisingly Australia is meeting this expectation. Queensland
though is not. Qld has the lowest percentage (8.7%) of area protected of all
the states and territories, less than half the national average (Fig 1).
National parks cover 5.6% of Queensland which is well below
the national average of 7.5% (Fig. 1).
Queensland is clearly falling behind the national and
international expectations of protected natural estates. We must do better to
insist to our pollies that they must do better.
On the Sunshine Coast there are areas that could be
converted to our National Park estate [to help our government reach their
targets] or, at least, improve their biodiversity such that they could be
considered to be included.
Consider copying the technique used to convert forestry
plantation lands to National Park estate as has been achieved in our Noosa area.
Noosa National Parks Association contributed funds to the project along with
Noosa Council.
Consider innovative schemes such as Greg Robert’s scheme to
convert Hoop Pine plantations in the Imbil area in our council’s western areas
to more valuable nature estates. The scheme very quickly; Hoop pine, a native
species, is being commercially grown and logged in areas that were, in many
cases, lowland rainforest - an endangered ecosystem. Greg’s plan involves
simply abandoning the plantations and allowing the rain forest to slowly
consume the hoop pines. So don’t log and don’t weed native spp. Predictably the response from forestry and
politicians of all stripes is that economic concerns and jobs are too
important. The environment must compromise apparently. Greg suggested a trial
site of some 250 hectares between Charlie Moreland Park and Conondale NP. So
far there has been no positive responses to any of these suggestions. I
personally think that the trial idea is a good one and a relatively easy one
for government. It is a relatively small area and thus relatively little
economic pain while being a very positive good news story. Should we support
this idea more publically and forcefully?
Biodiversity can never be protected completely though on
public lands though. Consider if the 17% global target of publically protected
land was reached on the Sunshine Coast then obviously 83% would be
‘unprotected’. Could we afford to lose 83% of our biodiversity? Obviously not,
so therefore we need to insist that there is protections for biodiversity on
all land use types.
So, very quickly and obviously, we [the community] should
encourage the expansion of conservation covenants. Expand and promote Land for Wildlife Schemes from the most successful in the nation to
the ‘even more, most successful in the nation…’
Maybe start a similar Farms
for Wildlife Scheme to instruct primary producers to better manage their
farms to both improve their soil, their biodiversity in as many ways as
possible although this is a subject for a never ending TV series…. [Please view
the Australian Story on Charles Massey and Regenerative Farming and/ or read
his book “The Call of the Reed Warbler”. Or buy a copy for a farmer….]
In Europe and no doubt other places abandoned agricultural
land is proving a boon for wildlife. Here on the coast lowland agricultural
areas are being abandoned by Cane producers for economic reasons offering land
that can be returned to near natural areas. Dairy farming’s slide may allow
some hinterland farmland to be converted from pasture to forest. I am not
applauding the economic downfall of farmers, of course, but I am saying we
should search for possible environmental silver linings.
And, by way of example, we need to consider our land - no matter how small - and the biodiversity there....but that is is the next entry....
So, in brief:
Birders are naturally
positioned to be concerned with conservation of biodiversity.
We need to lobby
local and state governments to continually increase the publically protected
areas within our greater local areas. And to promote such beliefs within our
communities.
We should consider,
and perhaps lobby for and promote, innovative schemes to convert land currently
managed for some other purpose [farming or forestry for example] to manage for
nature.
Congratulate local
government for their outstanding Land for Wildlife schemes and, among our
contacts, promote conservation on private lands.
Learn about
regenerative agriculture and its potential to aid global warming and
biodiversity.
Ken Cross
All of the above is merely personal opinion and dreaming and NOT the perspective or policy of Birdlife Australia.
Recently I wrote a
seminar to present at our mini congress. For a number of reasons that
presentation was badly abridged so I thought I would try to write on our blog
about some of the things I had in mind.
My purpose was to try to
get my audience to consider that, despite the fact that there are many ways in
which biodiversity is disappearing, there are many ways in which people can get
creative with ways to help protect biodiversity.
I also wanted them to
understand some of the ways in which environmental protection is difficult. I
guess I wanted them to know that there are many options worth thinking about in
the hope that members would think that there might be some ideas that they
could engage in....
Today we want to engage
in a little crystal ball gazing; to imagine what the future for nature on the
Sunshine Coast might look like. The reasons why we would do this should be
obvious. Globally the natural world is diminishing. Species are
being lost at an alarming rate. Vast areas of natural habitats are being
destroyed. Common species are becoming uncommon. We are losing our biodiversity
– our planet’s life. Here on the Sunshine Coast we are not immune.
In our crystal ball we
should guard against a future image of Sunshine Coast nature to be based purely
on global historic trends for if we do we might fail to be optimistic. We need
to imagine something positive and then work out ways to spread this vision and
list practical ways for it to be achieved.
One of the basic ideas
that I want to share is that conservationists / environmentalists / birders
understand better than most the value of biodiversity. We have ecological
knowledge that sadly most people, including our leaders lack. Therefore we are
uniquely positioned to imagine a future with nature and to lead any
conversation about the future of biodiversity. To be a birder without having an
interest in conservation should be strange indeed.
All people, including
those who fail to appreciate the value of nature, need it. And we cannot allow
those without ecological knowledge to sabotage our combined future.
A second basic idea
regarding conservation and an environment future is that we birders and
conservationists must be more proactive. At the moment the majority of
conservation minded, green voices if you like, sound like ‘NO’ or ‘STOP’. We
are always reacting to projects, to stop them. There is nothing wrong with this
of course and it will always be the job description of an environmentalist to
attempt to prevent unsustainable developments, especially those who clearly and
markedly ignore existing environmental laws. What I am suggesting though is
that there are proactive conversations to have about people doing things,
learning things, creating things, respecting things that can lead to an
environmental understanding and ethic which is felt more widely through our
community.
So what do I [and
hopefully] we want?
My general vision can be
described pretty simply;
I want more nature than
there is now.
I want nature to be
joined.
I want more nature
awareness.
I want nature restored.
I want to live in nature
not separated from it.
Below, in a series of
blog posts I will suggest a variety of tactics, projects, ideas [often poorly
thought through] for people to read through and consider if one or more or many
appeal to the extent that they could involve themselves. Some are easy – we are
doing them already. Some are perhaps exceedingly optimistic. But please
consider…
Ken Cross
All of the above is merely personal opinion and dreaming and NOT the perspective or policy of Birdlife Australia.
