The much-needed Draft Kosciuszko Wild Horse Management Plan 2016 is currently on public exhibition until 19 August 2016.
The draft plan, developed with input from an Independent Technical Reference Group and after extensive community engagement, is a review of the 2008 Kosciuszko National Parks Horse Management Plan.
Read More “Have your say: Kosciuszko National Park Draft Wild Horse Management Plan”
Twelve months after a summit of concerned citizens and community groups called for an inquiry into the management of Crown lands, the NSW Upper House is looking into this important issue.
You have until Sunday 24 July 2016 to raise your concerns about the future management of Crown land in the state.
Read More “Inquiry into Crown lands – submissions closing soon (Biodiversity Conservation News)”
The National Parks Australia Council commends the announcement today by the Australian Labor Party to continue with their promise that if elected they will extend the EPBC Act’s Matters of Environmental Significance to include a National Park Trigger, strengthening the Federal Government’s role in protecting the places that all Australians hold dear and which is crucial for the conservation of our wildlife and wild places.
Michelle Prior, President of the National Parks Australia Council said “The forty thousand plus members of National Park Associations around Australia will welcome this move towards greater Federal stewardship of our National Parks. As it is National parks and other protected areas that rely solely on state-based protection are under threat – it’s the ‘death of a thousand cuts’ as State and Territory governments continue to try and introduce activities that are incompatible with the primary purpose of National Parks – the conservation of nature. Just consider the proposed move by the former Victorian Government to allow grazing into the fragile ecosystems of the Alpine National Park!”
Read More “National Parks Australia Council welcomes ALP promise to protect National Parks”
Koalas living on New South Wales’ far south coast are at serious risk of local extinction with just a single wildfire sufficient to wipe them out.
In an effort to save the dwindling population, the National Parks Association of NSW (NPA) has developed a strategic proposal to relink the forests of the south coast.
The new Great Southern Koala Forest would connect the south coast’s remnant koala population with larger ones in Shoalhaven and the Southern Tablelands, including a significant population 700 strong in Cooma-Monaro.
” Koalas were once common between Bega and Narooma, but survival of the current population, estimated at only 70-80 animals, is precarious and warrants strategic management. Their existence is by no means assured and attempts to achieve greater movement of koalas through the region’s forests and between connected populations, are not compatible with the continuation of industrial scale logging and forest fragmentation,” says Kim Taysom, Vice-President of NPA Far South Coast Branch.
“Because their population is so small and localised, one major fire could be the final nail in the coffin for the south coast koalas,” says Dr Oisín Sweeney, NPA’s Science Officer. “With an El Niño predicted for eastern Australia this year, the chance of this occurring has greatly increased.”
NPA argues that the native forest industry has declined sharply in terms of its importance to the regional economy. Log production in the Eden Management area dropped by 36% between 2007-2013, whilst wood chipping is in decline. With the current Regional Forest Agreement due to terminate in 2017, other more economically viable and environmentally sustainable options for these forests should be considered.
“The eucalypt forests of south east Australia contain some of the highest carbon stores on the planet. By logging these areas we release this stored carbon into the atmosphere. It takes over 100 years for regrowth to capture and store a similar amount of carbon. This is just too long if we are serious about dealing with climate change,” says Mr Taysom.
“Emissions reductions to tackle climate change on both a global and national scale offer the potential for an alternative funding model for native forest management. For example forest carbon credits can be used to help finance the Great Southern Koala Forest.”
The area included in NPA’s proposal incorporates the major regional towns of Batemans Bay and Eden, where nature based tourism already provides a significant boost to local economies.
“These beautiful and unique forests are far more valuable for health, biodiversity and recreation than they are as wood chips. This World Environment Day we are calling on the government to commit to building a sustainable future for NSW rather than continuing to support a redundant industry,” says Dr Sweeney.
“We have some of the best terrain for outdoor activities in the world and we need to wake up to the opportunities nature already provides right on our doorstep.”
Are you passionate about the environment and looking for a new challenge? Want to make your conservation biology skillset work for a fantastic cause?
If you have been looking for a volunteer position that will use your professional skills to really make a difference, look no further.
Read More “Committee Vacancy – Nature Conservation and Protected Area Management”
The NSW government announced prior to the election that it would adopt all the recommendations contained in its recent biodiversity review. It is hard to overstate the magnitude of this: NSW is the most populous state in the country so future pressures on the environment will likely be felt most acutely here. The state also contains globally significant species and ecosystems, including a large part of the ‘Forests of Eastern Australia’1 biodiversity hotspot.
To ensure that we don’t trade development for nature, the drafting and implementation of new biodiversity laws must be done well. The government’s ability to achieve this will determine the fate of the 970 threatened species and 104 threatened ecological communities in NSW.
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