Logan and Albert Conservation Association

NEW WEBSITE for BAHRS SCRUB

Construction of new site has begun and is available www.bahrsscrub.org.au.

This is a separate website for our SAVE BAHRS SCRUB CAMPAIGN.

If you are at all interested in the biodiversty values of the unique but fragmented vegetation ecosystems and their inhabitants - native species like koalas,platypus - hanging on in South East Queensland please consider volunteering to help with this campaign.

Whatever skills you have can contribute towards creating broader community understanding of the importance of living in harmony with nature and its life rhythms - instead of bulldozing our way into extinction of many species - to the detriment of the human species.

We are developing a contact list for people to become actively involved in the campaign. If you are willing to contribute your skills. energies and time please email usThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for group membership.

2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity - an indication of how endangered many of  the world's species are.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett has axed the Hawke Review's recommendation of an independent watchdog over native forest logging with the power of sanctions for environmental destruction, Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown said in Hobart today.

"Citing community concern Dr Hawke and his panel of experts came up with a clear and sensible plan to prevent the destruction of endangered habitats and fragile wildlife ecosystems in Australia's forests. But Garrett has opted to axe that advice and toady to Labor and the forest industry instead," Senator Brown said

"Garrett has also dumped the long-awaited recommendation of a climate change trigger. This would have enabled the minister to review developments which resulted in huge greenhouse gas emissions."

"On the cusp of the International Year of Biodiversity (to quote Garrett), this is particularly appalling behaviour by our nation's chief environmentalist."

"Which other minister would turn down recommendations to enhance his or her power to do their job properly?" Senator Brown asked.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett released the Final Report by Dr Alan Hawke of the Independent Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 21 December 2009.

"This report has been the culmination of a huge amount of input from all levels of government, environmental groups, businesses, academics and members of the general public," Minister Garrett said.

There is a statutory requirement for the EPBC Act to be reviewed every 10 years. This is the first such review, commissioned by Minister Garrett on 31 October 2008 and was conducted by Dr Hawke and a panel of experts.

"The level of the awareness and concern for the environment in the Australian community has greatly increased in the decade since the EPBC Act commenced operation. Australians are increasingly aware of the need to ensure that our environment and heritage is protected, and that development occurs in an environmentally sustainable way," Minister Garrett said.

Dr Hawke and his team received around 340 written submissions throughout this process, from NGOs, industry bodies as well as interested individuals. Other submissions and comments were received from research groups and academics, individual corporations and Local, State, Territory and Australian Government agencies.

There was extensive face-to-face consultations conducted all over Australia and a number of workshops were also held to tap into the broadest range of views and expertise.

Dr Hawke has prepared a comprehensive report which includes recommendations for significant changes to the Act's operation and administration. The Hawke Report makes 71 primary recommendations as well as numerous conclusions and findings of an advisory nature.

"Dr Hawke's report examines many important and highly complex matters and these are not matters that can be taken lightly. The Government will give careful consideration to the recommendations and their implications in the coming months."

"Dr Hawke's Final Report also makes a recommendation in relation to a proposed ‘greenhouse trigger'. This recommendation has a direct bearing on the Government's response to climate change, and to the CPRS Bill that will be reintroduced into Parliament on 2 February 2010. " "For this reason, I feel it is important that we make clear the Government's policy on this recommendation now. The Government favours a market-based system to reduce our greenhouse emissions, and for that reason if the CPRS is passed there will be no need for a greenhouse trigger to be introduced, even as an interim measure. This is entirely consistent with Dr Hawke's intention."

"Additionally, the Government notes the concerns raised by Dr Hawke in recommendation 38 in the review regarding the current mechanisms in the Act for forest management under Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs), and is committed to working with state governments to improve the review, audit and monitoring arrangements for RFAs, including their timely completion, clearer assessment of performance against environmental and sustainable forestry outcomes, and a greater focus on compliance of RFAs in the intervening years," Minister Garrett said. The Government intends to use upcoming RFA renewal processes to improve the achievement of these outcomes in future RFAs. In light of this, the Government rejects the mechanisms proposed in recommendation 38 and does not propose to review section 38 of the EPBC Act as it currently applies to RFAs.

The Government recognises that the RFA's contain extensive review mechanisms as a framework for continuous improvement and it will principally rely on them to address the issues that Dr Hawke's review has identified.

"On the cusp of the International Year of Biodiversity is a particularly relevant time to release this major review into the operation of the Australian Government's primary piece of environmental legislation. The Government will respond to all other recommendations made by Dr Hawke towards the middle of next year."

"I'm tabling this report out of session because I think it's important people have plenty of time to absorb the many issues and recommendations contained in the report," Minister Garrett said.

Dr Allan Hawke has served with distinction in the Commonwealth Public Service from 1974 to February 2006, and has participated in major inquiries into the Public Service including the Review of Commonwealth Functions, the Review of Commonwealth Administration and the Efficiency Scrutiny Unit.

"I want to thank Dr Allan Hawke and his team comprising the Hon Paul Stein AM, Professor Tim Bonyhady, Professor Mark Burgman and Ms Rosemary Warnock, for the outstanding effort that has gone into this review. It was important that this process sought the broadest possible range of expertise and views. I am confident this has been achieved". Minister Garrett said.

A copy of the Hawke report can be downloaded from the review website: www.environment.gov.au/epbc/review/index.html

Modern koalas - the sole living member of the diprotodontian marsupial family Phascolarctidae - are among the largest of all arboreal leaf-eaters. To attain this remarkable condition on a diet of eucalyptus leaves, a notoriously poor and somewhat toxic food source, the tree-dwelling marsupials developed unique anatomical and physiological adaptations including specialized chewing and digestive anatomies and a highly sedentary lifestyle. The dramatic differences between the skulls of extinct and modern koalas, especially in the facial region, are probably related to the change to a tougher diet of eucalyptus leaves.

This research has recently been reported at www.physorg.com  - from the new findings published as the featured cover article in the current issue of  The Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Skull fragments of prehistoric koalas from the Riversleigh rainforests of millions of year ago suggest they shared the modern koala's "lazy" lifestyle and ability to produce loud "bellowing" calls to attract mates and provide warnings about predators but did not share the uniquely specialized eucalyptus leaf diet of the modern koala (Phascolarctos cinereus).

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.

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?

www.aclimateforchange.org

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.