Logan / Albert / Southern Moreton Bay: Two fails in a row:
three strikes and you’re out?
The
The Logan / Albert Rivers and Southern Bay situation are worth so much to the State and the nation in a healthy condition that preventing an ecological shut down of the system must now be seen by the State Government as a ‘matter of State interest’.
Current international trends, highlighted by the recent Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-10) that concluded on October 29 in Nagoya, Japan, place increased imperatives on nations to adopt measures which incorporate the economic value of ecosystem services.
Queensland's ‘wild rivers’ legislation, which effectively frames the rivers as ‘biodiversity infrastructure’ whose systems, just like those of a road for example, must be made functional for the whole to begin to work is an exemplary model. It is possible that PES (payment for ecosystem services) could be applied to legislation to protect riparian areas, giving landholders cost neutral outcomes for productivity losses, fencing, revegetation etc.
We need to complement (or replace as necessary) the existing strategies with new whole-of-system initiatives over the next decade.
Read some coverage here in local news where several conservation group executive members express our concern.
"We are presiding over the final stages [of death] of a once healthy, productive and magnificent river system" said Barry Fitzpatrick. Unless we ensure that our river systems and bay are returned to a healthy functioning ecosystem, future health and wellbeing of the region is in jeapardy.