Logan and Albert Conservation Association
At Copenhagen, the Australian Koala Foundation (AFK) argues two things:
1. Protecting the koala forests of Australia is an imperative step towards reducing greenhouse emissions in Australia and,
2. AKF science shows it will be impossible to replace the carbon in those forests if they are destroyed.
You can watch the video footage at www.climatetalks.tv.
This link will take you the page with free material to broadcast and online news usage.
From Deborah's diary...
When I return to Australia I want to speak with my Board because I believe even though we know the koala forests are filled with carbon, what must never be lost is just the fundamental respect we have to have for the forests of the world. I believe this is what HRH Prince Charles will be speaking about tomorrow and I must never forget this.
I spoke with one of the Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) negotiators, and she told me that mostly the delegates writing the legislation for REDD are bureacrats from countries all over the world - many of whom have never seen a koala, a forest or any sort of animal. They have been 'educated' by these hardworking NGO's that I have come to respect very much, but they tend to focus on the 'additionality' or 'co-benefits', which means that there might be an animal in there, or some benefit to a local tribe (the lack of respect for the indigenous people of the world just keeps coming through time and time again), but of course all of this still does not apply to Australia. They remind me of the paper shufflers I have met in every Government Department in Australia. Remind me to tell you about the latest letter I received from the Queensland Government by the way.
The whole process is soul-less. It concerns me greatly. I believe it could be so much simpler:
1. Map what we have.
2. Protect the biodiversity that is fundamental to us as a planet.
3. Protect the rivers so we have clean water.
4. Clean up the mess we have created.
5. Plant more trees
6. Grow more vegetables.
7. Provide a future for our children.
I honestly haven't seen anything as simple as this, except from the indigenous people who are here and, like the koala, don't seem to be heard.
The State Government is backing away from an error that mapped the Coomera Town Centre precinct as both pro-development and pristine koala habitat. Infrastructure and Planning Minister Stirling Hinchliffe will today announce the Government will hold off on new koala protection regulations until next year.
The decision follows a furore from the Gold Coast City Council and the development industry over contradictory maps which could have derailed 15 years of state and council planning for the Coomera Town Centre precinct.
The biggest concern was a triangle-shaped patch of zero-development koala protection area that was mapped directly over the central heart of the town centre. Mr.Hinchliffe said uproar from the council and surrounding local governments warranted the extension.
"While protecting koalas is an urgent priority, the State Government is committed to carrying out comprehensive consultation to ensure the regulations are effective" he said.
Coomera councillor Donna Gates said the decision was good news for the council and the Coomera Town Centre. It's very positive that they listened and have allowed additional time to clarify which of their policies will take precedence in Coomera", she said.
Dr Baxter (Senior Lecturer in Natural Systems Management at University of Queensland)says that the 2006 Koala Plan released by former Environment Minister Desley Boyle [ a four-year, $A2.1 million dollar Koala Plan that was implemented in October 2006] does not address the fundamental problems the koala is facing, which is the fragmentation or loss of their habitat.
Koalas need large areas of healthy, safe and connected bushland in order to survive and this is under threat from development, logging and agriculture all over South East Queensland. At the beginning of last century there were millions of koalas in the wild. Now there is only a fraction of that number left in Queensland, estimated (in 2006) to be between 100,000 and 300,000 and rapidly declining. For the koala, more than 80 per cent of their home ranges have been destroyed and this is still increasing - despite our knowledge of their need for essential habitat to survive.
It is not rocket science. Humans also need trees to provide essential ecosystem services for our health and wellbeing of the whole planet. The koalas diet is very specialised and evolved to adapt to the eucalypt tree as a food source - but not every eucalypt tree is acceptable for all koalas. Essential bushland habitat can not be offset by some quickly planted trees.
This letter 
DIP_UDIA_Letter.pdf 643.39 Kb 15/12/2009, 13:12 assures developers that the new koala State Planning Policy SPP will not create greater costs to development. Unfortunately from a reading of the carefully worded rhetoric of the letter sent to the Urban development institute of Australia, the profits of developers is more important than survival of our iconic species the koala.
We know that there is a strong global trend towards urbanisation. Two hundred years ago the world's urban population was around 3 per cent. One hundred years ago, it was 14 per cent. According to a UN report (Global Environmental Outlook 2: Past, Present and Future Perspective, 2002), about half of the world's population now lives in urban areas; every week, over a million people leave their rural lives behind for the uncertain promise of the city.
Now more than half of the world's population live - or want to live - in an urban environment. And here in South East Queensland the state and some local councils are encouraging people to come - for a perceived economic prosperity.
Climate change and urbanisation are two major drivers of change in the 21st century. A third is the rapidly growing population - wth China being the only country with the politcal will to atempt to manage that growth. The ways in which these trends interact and how we respond to them will be of great consequence to the wellbeing of human populations and all life.
We can now say with considerable certainty that as the 21st century unfolds, climate change will have an increasing impact on the environment and human society worldwide. As much as we might like to avoid thinking about it, most prudent people now understand that we must plan and prepare for a carbon-constrained future.
There are plenty of reasons for concern.
Urban populations consume more energy and other resources and export more carbon and waste per person, causing disproportionate harm to natural ecosystems. In many cases, cities are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change such as rising sea levels, increased storm surges, and temperature extremes. Large cities create their own 'urban heat island' - the heat given off from the city itself can make it warmer than the surrounding countryside. The health of many other vital environmental resources, including forests, oceans, rivers, and wetlands, that provide essential ecosystem services - such as stormwater management, air purification, and reduced heating and cooling - are also in jeopardy.
However, there are also solid reasons for hope.
Cities facilitate the peaceful exchange of ideas that drive social and economic innovation. Urban communities provide concentrations of human talent to envision and redesign sustainable and resilient cities, and the financial and technical resources to support these changes. When viewed as nested systems, central cities, the greater metropolitan communities that surround them, and the natural bioregions in which they are located, may prove to be the most effective forms and levels of organisation for creating, testing, refining and replicating innovative and ecologically appropriate solutions.
Innovations that emerge from one urban community can be adapted by different communities in ways that reflect the opportunities and needs of their particular bioregions. Through this process the original idea may becomes stronger and more robust, encouraging the next cycle of innovation. To a large extent, we can choose whether our cities become ecological sinks that suck up the resources of the countryside, or ecological arks where humanity gathers to sort out how best to respond to climate change and other environmental challenges.
A number of cities around the world are already demonstrating impressive leadership as they seek to become more sustainable. They include Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Bogotá, Columbia; Copenhagen; Denmark; Curitiba, Brazil, Reykjavik, Iceland; and Vancouver, Canada. Several cities in the United States have also accepted the challenge of becoming sustainable cities.
Portland with a population slightly over 568,000, while the greater Portland-Vancouver metro area approached 2.2 million people has performed well in a competition to determine the 'greenest' or 'most sustainable' city in USA.
Some of the key sustainability features of Portland include:
An extensive light rail network, bio-diesel powered buses and an aerial tram as part of a multi-modal transit system;Close to 450km of on-street bike lanes, bike boulevards and paved trails - bike commuting has experienced three straight years of double-digit growth;
Neighbourhoods consciously-designed to be pedestrian-friendly; A strong commitment by Portland State University to research and implement sustainability practices;City Repair, an organisation that helps neighbourhoods move their plans through city bureaucracy, coordinates meetings, provides experienced natural designers and builders, and helps find materials and funds; Portland's watershed management plan, including: a proliferation of 'eco-roofs' on houses and buildings, featuring a waterproof membrane, drainage material, a layer of soil and a cover of plants; permeable streets and parking lots that allow rain to soak into the ground; rain gardens and green streets with curbside bioswales to remove silt and pollution from run-off; and The conversion of a waterfront freeway into a three kilometre 'greenway' park
"Please Help the World", film from the opening ceremony of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15) in Copenhagen from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Shown on December 7, 2009 at COP15.
The eyes and ears of the world are on Copenhagen this month and also on the major polluting high greenhouse gas emitting countries. Will our leaders have the political will to commit to a real deal, or will there be more greenwash and political spin? Over 11,000,000,000 have signed a digital petition asking for genuine actions and climate justice.
What are we as Australians going to do to help those whose homes will be underwater?
What are we as Australians going to do to protect the remaining biodiversity of our country?
What are we as Australians going to do reduce the volume of greenhouse gases we produce PER PERSON in Australia?
How are we going to respond if Prime Minister Rudd does not make a genuine committment on behalf of Australia and its citizens?
As an individual each one of us can make changes in our daily lives to reduce any potentially damaging impact on our local environment. Being aware of the outcomes of our actions and also being a conscious consumer can lead to small changes that will have big impacts.
Connecting with like minded folk will give us an opportunity to strengthen our personal resolve to tread more lightly on our shared planet and home. Since the end of World War II particularly, exploitation of the planet's natural resources has skyrocketed. The crisis of war had galvanized countries to change production in factories, and during the global financial crisis political leaders also responded with packages designed to reduce suffering.
If you click on the image aside you will go to a social networking website - much like a global meeting place where you can easily send off emails to the Australian government and Prime Minister Mr Rudd.
HELP OUR REPRESENTATIVES TO SHOW THE NECESSARY POLITICAL WILL TO ACT ON BEHALF OF THE AUSTRALIAN PEOPLE AND TAKE ACTIONS FOR THE LONGTERM WELLBEING OF THE PLANET AND FUTURE CITIZENS.
12 December is D-Day for the planet as world leaders meet in Copenhagen to do a global deal on climate change. While they talk the talk, we're walking the walk all over the world, from New York to Tokyo, Mumbai to Paris and all over Australia. So get your walking shoes on and be part of the most important Walk Against Warming ever.
Click on banner above to go to main website or at the conservation council site www.walkagainstwarming.org for details of all walks merchandise to buy and other information.
Senator Christine Milne, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens, immediate past Vice-President of the IUCN and a UNEP Global 500 Laureate writes in the CLIMATE THINKERS BLOG. What a contrast with the global financial crisis where the crisis rhetoric from world leaders was matched by effective, immediate and cooperative crisis action.
Unless and until the crisis rhetoric of climate change is matched with crisis action, it is doubtful that a meaningful agreement can be reached at next month's conference.
Around the world, governments are explicitly linking the extreme weather events we've seen - heat waves, bushfires, drought and floods - to climate change and using that link to push for the limited action they are willing to take. Attacking climate sceptics for holding back action has also become a favoured mechanism for claiming the moral high ground in the climate debate. This claim to be guided by the science while espousing weak and scientifically unsupportable targets, this climate hypocrisy, is more dangerous than true climate scepticism because it is more insidious.
SEND YOUR GREETINGS.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference will take place at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between December 7 and December 18, 2009. The conference includes the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 15) and the 5th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP 5). According to the Bali roadmap, a framework for climate change mitigation beyond 2012 is to be agreed there
At this pivotal moment when odds are against global accord and stakes are high, the citizens of the world have the opportunity to lead their leaders toward moments of courage and monumental solutions. While there won't be an election at COP15 per se, you can vote for smarter development, responsible leadership in business and government, and a more sustainable way of life by signing the United Nations Climate Petition at Hopenhagen.org.
The petition, along with the names of signatories, will be presented to the delegates during the final week of the conference. After all, it's our future they're deciding. Don't we deserve a say? Climate change is a global problem and COP15 the only truly, global election to decide where we go from here. The UN Climate Change Petition is your ballot and Hopenhagen your voting booth, at least for now. So vote for change at hopenhagen.org
What is TRAIN? It is an acronym standing for TRANS REGIONAL AMALGAMATED INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK and the project is termed Nation Building Australia Project 1.0 TRAIN. Information about this business network is available on the website http://www.nationbuildingaustralia.com.au/root/index.html
TRAIN is a network of road, rail and water infrastructure servicing the Great South West, an area covering approximately 197,710 ha of regional Australia. The Great South West stretches south for 377km from Logan in Southern Queensland to Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, and 189km west from Warwick in southern Queensland to Lismore in Northern New South Wales.
The August 2009 document claims TRAIN CREATES REGIONAL JOBS AND GROWTH that will unlock the productive potential of the constrained primary industries in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland - create new industry and business opportunities in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales - open the Bromelton State Development Area's 16,000 ha of employment generating land with the capacity to suppor t 31,000 jobs by 2051.