What will the coastline look like in the future?

Many highly populated areas are now directly adjacent to the coastline or in very close proximity to the coast. This is lovely for those that get to live with lovely views of the ocean or live there because of proximity to trade routes or similar.

However, with climate change and sea level rise there are likely to be significant consequences for all those people that live near the coast. Not only are people going to be directly affected with houses being inundated, but much of our society's infrastructure is located in close proximity to these areas and will likely have significant challenges because of these environmental issues.

(Source: The Guardian) 

In light of these significant impacts that will be faced by millions of people, I cannot see anything but gloom for coastal environments and coastal processes that remain intact nearby these large human populations. 

Do you think governments will stand by the ecological value of the community of mangroves or salt marshes when the people that live behind them face imminent inundation and furthermore the government could take the easy option for these people through the construction of a seawall or similar? 

I feel so pessimistic about this. My professional world is immersed in this reality based economic development sector and I can't see the broader community supporting the retreat of communities (and protecting the coastal environments) over the "easier" solution of building walls and providing coastal engineering solutions (due to the externalities associated with these strategies).

I would love to hear your opinion about this and perhaps lift my mood about this. Perhaps you have some of the picture that I have forgotten to consider in the first place. 

  

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Koala....threatened in Australia

The Australian government has now listed the koala as a vulnerable species at the national level. This listing has specifically nominated populations of koalas in Queeensland, the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales as those requiring "government" protection. The koalas that live in these areas face threats from habitat destruction, vehicle strike and dogs as a result of urban expansion and the Commonwealth listing aims to address these threats.

What does this listing mean for most people? Nothing, actually. Where this legislation comes in, is when development is proposed in the areas where koalas are now considered threatened. If such, development has the potential to significantly impact on koalas, the proposal needs to forwarded to Commonwealth government for their consideration. 

Populations of koalas around the rest of Australia are not considered to be facing the same threats as those listed in the new Federal government decision. And in fact in some circumstances the koala is so prolific that they are actually creating environmental devastation in the areas in which they live. The koalas in the broader Australian continent are therefore not considered under this legislation.

My interest in this decision, is whether this listing will truly have an impact and bring about a reduction of the habitat loss in these listed areas. To date, Queensland's koala conservation legislation has had little on ground success in curbing the decline in koala populations, particularly in south-east Queensland. 
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Resilience

Oh my goodness, I just came across an article on Tree Hugger about resilience and I love it. It is just what I was trying to discuss with my mother (in a round-about type of way) this morning.

Basically the article states that the environment is "up shit creek" and there is little we can do to change this path. However, if we build a future that is resilient, there might be hope for the survival of the human species.

My favourite quote from the article, although a little twisted, is "Environmentalism hasn't failed. It just didn't win yet. But blaming environmentalists for not turning things around is a little like bashing the foster parent for not eradicating child abuse".

The article is fabulous. Have a look at this resilience article by Sami Grover  at http://www.treehugger.com/culture/save-us-ourselves-resilience-key-making-sustainability-mainstream.html.

I think 'resilience' is going to be the new buzz word and hopefully will be adopted into the mainstream as  'sustainability' has over the last decade. Pin It

Another useful blog...development watch

I came across an interesting blog today which is providing residents of the Redland Shire Council area (in Brisbane city, Queensland) information on development occurring within their shire and giving them a useful and easy reference point to link in with the development process. The blog is called "Development Watch - Redlands" and is located at: http://devwatchredlands.wordpress.com/.

I think this is a fantastic idea, allowing the average Jo to access relevant information about developments in their area and also provides useful links to things that can affect or impact development and development applications in their early planning and approval stages.

My philosophy has always been to get connected and make a difference in this process. This is certainly a useful tool that could be applied anywhere. Maybe you might be interested in creating something like this for your local area. Pin It

Do you deserve a green star?

A number of projects, particularly commercial construction, have been rated in Australia, using a 'green star' rating system. This sounds good when someone tells you their project has rated six green stars, but what does it really mean?

The Green Star system is a system developed by the Green Building Council of Australia. It aims to rate environmental design and construction of buildings in Australia and is done in a voluntary, national and "comprehensive" manner. Within the Green Star rating tool there are nine categories. These are:

• management
• indoor environment quality
• energy
• transport
• water
• materials
• land use and ecology
• emissions
• innovations

Each of these categories are then divided into credits and a project assessed against the objectives of the categories and awarded credits within each category. These credits are then assessed as a percentage score, with a Green Star weighting factor then applied to then determine the building's overall rating, being four, five or six Green Stars. Six Green Stars indicates that the building project is considered as demonstrating 'world leadership' in environmentally sustainable design and/or construction.

Further information about the Green Star rating system is available on the Green Building Council's website.

How useful this is is potentially questionable, but at least there are some questions being raised about the efficiencies that can be undertaken both during design and construction within a commercial building development and hopefully this then transfers through to the building occupants and they continue to "capitalise" on the green savings the building can generate for them! Pin It

Vegetation management

Here in Queensland there are numerous layers of legislation that affect what you can and can't do with vegetation on your property. This is particularly relevant for people with native vegetation (that hasn't been planted) or a large amount of land.

The Federal or Commonwealth government regulates vegetation through the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. On the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities website there is a search tool called the "protected matters search tool". This allows you to determine what protected ecosystems or vegetation communities do or might occur on your property. If you are going to have a significant impact on the vegetation community on your property, through its removal or by a particular activity, you need to "refer" your activity to this department for their consideration and potential conditioning or control of your activity.

The State government, in this instance Queensland, has several pieces of legislation protecting vegetation that occurs naturally on your block of land. This includes:

• Vegetation Management Act 1999
• Coastal Protection and Management Act 1995
• Fisheries Act 1994
• Water Act 2000
• Nature Conservation Act 1992
• Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002 
• Wild Rivers Act 2005
• Wet Tropics World Heritage Protection and Management Act 1993

Each of these pieces of State legislation are either managed by the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) or the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. Their websites have useful information about permits, approvals and exemptions which are relevant to all of these pieces of legislation. And in the case of DERM you can seek mapping from their website for regulated vegetation (remnant and regulated regrowth) on your property.


Your relevant local Council may also have information within their planning schemes outlining areas of vegetation protection, as well as local laws either protecting significant individual trees or all native vegetation. Information on these matters are best sought directly from your Council, as these vary widely across the State. Pin It

1200 Building Initiative

The 1200 Buildings program is a building retrofit program in the City of Melbourne. It was generated out of a council idea to support commercial building owners to retrofit their buildings with measures that will increase a building's water and energy efficiency and reduce waste. It is also supports the Council's goal  for the entire Council area to become "carbon neutral by 2020". What an idea, particularly since the City of Melbourne doesn't own and cannot dictate these changes to these privately owned buildings. In reality, this goal will only be achieved through support, education and changes made by building owners.

How to achieve this? My goodness I can't even imagine. However, Melbourne city has come up with some very exciting ideas to achieve this, which include some new financial lending models. One of the imaginative models means that finance institutions can forward funding to commercial building owners for activities to achieve the goals set by the Melbourne City Council and then these funds are re-couped to the bank by having a charge in your Council rates to fund these "loans".

I don't know the precise details of how this finance model works, but it certainly seems like an innovative one and one that will break some of the dis-incentives for owners of properties, to undertake sustainability measures, when these buildings are rented out, and it is the tenant that in fact receives the cost-breaks through energy and water cost savings!

If you want to know more about the program have a look at the 1200 Buildings website.

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Green Building Week

This week, 19-23 September, is a "World Green Building Week". It is aimed at bringing awareness to healthier, more sustainable buildings and communities and is supported by Green Building Councils around the world.

There are a number of events across the world supporting this awareness week and they can be found at the World Green Building Council website.


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Endangered frog stops roadworks

Just came across an article from a North Queensland newspaper explaining that a colony of endangered frogs has just stopped a roadworks project in Far North Queensland. A local conservationist discovered two frog species, the common mist frog (which isn't so common) and the Australian lacelid frog, within the footprint of the construction works resulting in a stop works situation.

The Council now has to undertake a re-design and submit their proposal to the Commonwealth government's environment department for assessment and approval. This is expected to delay the project by at least six months, with local residents expecting that such a delay will result in their isolation again during another wet season. Interesting scenario. Let's see what designs the council can come up with to protect these species.

Original article available from the Cairns Post. Pin It

US to remove dam to restore catchment qualities

I just came across a 'green' article discussing the US's largest dam removal project. My first thoughts were that this was just greenwashing putting a slant on this event rather than just talking about the removal as a project addressing an aging piece of infrastructure. But it seems my initial pessimism was wrong.

There are actually two dams to be removed, Elwha and Glines Canyon dams, within the Olympic National Park on the Elwha River. It seems that the sole reason for the removal of these dams is to restore river's catchment.

These two dams were originally built for the purpose of generating hydro-electricity. But it seems that the construction of these resulted in a complete barrier to fish between their upstream and downstream habitats. The main value that will be restored once the dams have been removed is this fish passage.

More information about the dam removal decision can be found at the Elwha Watershed Information Resource website. There are also some cool animations showing how the dams are to be removed at the following websites: Interactive Earth Elwha dam removal and Interactive Earth Glines Canyon dam removal.

The only thing I didn't manage to determine was whether there was another renewable energy source replacing the dams electricity supply (if they were still producing). Hopefully the removal doesn't result in a greater demand for an energy source that isn't environmentally appropriate.

Overall, congratulations! Pin It

EDO requests law reform for Brisbane Trees

Reforms needed to protect Brisbane trees

EDO Qld calls for urgent law reform to allow community input into Brisbane City Council decisions to permit destruction of protected trees.

The Windsor fig tree removal

Environmental Defenders Office Qld provided urgent legal advice to neighbouring residents and concerned community members acting to save the three native fig trees (Ficus benjamina) that are currently being removed at a property at 105 Main Avenue, Windsor.  The trees are at least 60 years old and provide habitat to local wildlife, as well as being an important part of the landscape character of the neighbourhood.  

EDO Qld understands that the trees have been under a vegetation protection order (VPO) for the last 15 years.   Brisbane City Council recently issued a permit under the Natural Assets Local Law 2003  to clear the protected trees. 

EDO Qld understands that the VPO, which protects the three trees, has not been revoked by the Brisbane City Council, and the permit was issued to allow interference with the protected vegetation, as allowed by section 7(2)(a) of the NALL, which requires strict accordance with conditions of the permit.

Brisbane City Council have refused to provide copies of the permit to neighbouring residents, preventing neighbours and concerned community members from ensuring the trees were removed in accordance with the Council imposed conditions.  Brisbane City Council told neighbouring landowners that they had to apply under the Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld) to obtain copies of the permit, but that process would take weeks.   

Law reforms needed

Mature trees are crucial to Brisbane’s character and amenity, which is why we have VPOs protecting our most significant trees. 

Law reform is needed urgently to give neighbours and concerned community members notification, submission and appeal rights for Brisbane City Council decisions to permit destruction of protected trees. 

In addition, Brisbane City Council has made a commitment to transparency and being clear and open in reporting Council decisions in theircustomer charter.  To accord with this commitment, and in the public interest, Brisbane City Council should provide copies of permits to clear protected trees on Brisbane Planning and Development Online, which already provides public access to development applications.

For more information, contact EDO (Qld) solicitor Ariane Wilkinson: 07 32114466 or edoqld@edo.org.au

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Don't sit back, make a difference

An issue with the modern generations is their inactivity in decision-making in either their neighbourhood, the political environment, their workplace, their family or anywhere decisions are required.

In discussion with some friends this morning we were chatting about some infrastructure development in their neighbourhood and the options that have been put forward by the infrastructure provider.  My friends were passionate about the option that was proposed through one of the last remaining patches of bushland/wetland in their area. That is, they don't want it to go through that area.

There are a number of options the infrastructure provider has put forward for comment and many others that have not been raised to the public. At present, placing the infrastructure through the environmental reserve is the easiest option and therefore one the project manager would definitely prefer. You may ask, why is the environmental reserve option the easiest option? Well, without any public outcry, the infrastructure provider would only have to deal with the local government, as the current custodian of this land, and this does not pose much restraint when community infrastructure is seeking an easement or land. It is certainly much easier to deal with than a commercial entity who is looking at lost profit and therefore potentially significant compensation or a number of home-owners who feel passionately about their home that they have lived in for the last X number of years. All the infrastructure developer would need to do is come up with a suitable compensatory package and certainly in my experience and many project managers' experience this is much cheaper and more politically stable option than dealing with the other landholders and economic interests.

I know that many people have concerns for the retention of environmental spaces and parks within their local neighbourhoods, but without communication of this concern to the decision makers and project managers these intact, environmental area will always end up having the conflicting landuse placed in them or being sacrificed to. They don't have a voice, they don't have traditional economic value and they certainly don't have anyone putting up significant or costly barriers to their resumption and/or development. There isn't anyone else but the general public and caring souls to defend these areas. Commercial activities/industries, schools, churches, recreation facilities all have significant groups of interested people attached to them and thus will always have a voice and someone defending their interests till the last battle. This doesn't seem to be the case for most environmental areas.

It is important to realise we are the voice of the environmental reserves, national parks, conservation reserves, wildlife, threatened plants and animals, marine parks, remote locations, environmental water allocations, groundwater quality, etc, etc. If we don't stand up and put our voice forward and express our concerns about particular developments within these area, the developments will also win and the environment will continue to lose. Economic interests will always prevail and our land will end up being over-developed, over-utilised, degraded, without recognition of the public's concerns for these areas and values.

Speak up! If there is a chance to put your view forward it is important to do so. And if there isn't an invited comment period take the first step and engage in the process. You can contact your local politicians, the infrastructure developers, the general land developer or the agent of land use change. Stand up and be heard! Take action now or it will be too late! Pin It

How to shape your neighbourhood?

If you plan on making a difference in your local neighbourhood, it is important to participate in local, State (or Territory) or Federal government development assessment processes. The are many stages set up during these planning and approval phases that allow for public comment and your comments can in fact create or stop developments.

Local governments, for example, will have sections of their websites indicating what development applications and planning processes they currently have 'on their books' and which ones you can provide comments on. Also here in Queensland you may notice large noticeboards (public notice) on the side of the road adjacent to open land, old houses, etc. These signs indicate an applicant is interested in either changing the type or intensity of development allowed on that land. This public notice is basically an advertisement seeking public comment on the development application and this is an opportune time to participate.

To make a difference in this process it is important to know how to make your comments really count. There isn't much point in just saying that you don't want the development, but rather have a look at the planning scheme, regional documents and other relevant information and providing justifications against these documents why the development should or should not be approved.

As I said there are numerous development approval processes where public comment are sought and to make a difference you should be engaged in all of these. Some sources where you may find public comment opportunities include:

• The Commonwealth government's referral process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999;
• local government development processes under Queensland's Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (likely to be advertised on your local government's website);
• State government planning policy documents (often distributed across a number of government agencies, but inclusive of the Queensland Department of Infrastructure and Planning and the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management); 
• Infrastructure providers' websites, such as Energex, Powerlink, Queensland Rail, Ergon, Origin, as they will be required to have their environmental impact assessments available for comment; 
• large scale development agents' websites, for example Stocklands; and
• local environment and legal groups, such as Environmental Defender's Office. 

So don't complain about what is happening to your neighbourhood but rather participate in the process. Don't wait till someone is building something you don't like because you will have no leg to stand on and the process will continue no matter how much you complain. Give yourself and your views a fighting chance and participate early. Pin It