The Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council, on behalf of the Commonwealth and all state and territory governments, is inviting public comments on the draft Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010–2020. The draft strategy is an important national policy document that will guide how governments, the community, industry and scientists manage and protect Australia’s plants, animals and ecosystems over the next ten years. Submissions are invited by Friday 27 May 2009.
The Birds Australia Conservation Forum 2009 is being held in Brisbane on 30 May. The theme of the Forum is “Reconnect (with) the Bush”. Two meanings are encapsulated in this theme: “Reconnect the Bush” is about restoring corridors at the landscape scale, and “Reconnect with the Bush” is about engaging the Australian public by education, awareness raising, and encouraging them into action.
The Australian Network for Plant Conservation Inc. (ANPC) Second National Forum (30 April – 1 May 2009, Halls Gap, Grampians, Victoria) will focus on conservation outside the formal reserve system, whether on small blocks or large landscape level efforts or cross-tenure projects. It will highlight the people and places involved and investigate the incentives and support available. This is your opportunity to participate, learn, contribute, debate and move this essential component of biodiversity conservation forward. The Forum will include presentations, case studies, facilitated discussion sessions and field visits to project sites.
An update report on the Independent review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), which details the process to date and future proceedings, is now available.
Do you have a special place in the Parramatta River catchment? Whether it is your backyard or the bush, send us your photos of urban nature and show us how important your local environment and its native plants and animals are to you. With up to $3000 worth of prizes to be won this is your chance to showcase your photographic talents and be a part of the Urban Nature Photo Competition.
Australian community groups, catchment authorities and individuals working on restoration of rivers, lakes and wetlands are invited to submit their applications for the prestigious Riverprize now! The National Riverprize is now funded by an Australian Government grant under its Water for the Future plan. Entry to the 2009 Riverprize closes at 5pm AEST on 30 April 2009.
After the resounding success of the inaugural Queensland Coastal Conference in 2007, the 2009 ‘Waves of Change’ Queensland Coastal Conference (12-15 May 2009, Gold Coast) is an opportunity to broaden your understanding of how management and planning of the Queensland coast is evolving. The Queensland Coastal Conference 2009 is not just about learning of new developments in natural resource management, but will be a balanced discussion of practical, on-ground coastal management and the policies and programs that inform coastal zone management in Queensland. Delegates will include Commonwealth, State and Local Governments, Natural Resource Management regional bodies, leading research and education organisations, coastal and marine industries, coastal and marine consultants, managers, planners and engineers, NGOs, user groups, indigenous groups and many other community organisations.
More than one-third of the world’s population lives within 60 miles of a coastline and thirteen of the world’s twenty largest cities are located on a coast. Given the reality of global warming, these coastal populations will face severe challenges to their sustainability in the decades to come.
As industrial and commercial centres, many coastal cities are major contributors in their own right to high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore face the prospects of greater regulation and economic dislocation. In addition, these cities are particularly vulnerable to such long-term effects of global warming as sea-level rise, flooding, air pollution, and severe storms.
The Shell Coastal Cities Project seeks to assess the dimensions of the challenges facing major, low-lying estuary metropoles. In its first phase, the study focuses on major coastal cities with a large petrochemical industrial base, including Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou. Research activities include the development of a comprehensive and fully comparable survey of public attitudes and beliefs, to be conducted jointly in both the United States and China .