The Queensland Government has announced the protection of the largest remaining continuous stretch of open eucalypt bushland in South East Queensland — the Flinders Karawatha Corridor. The corridor extends from Karawatha Forest in Brisbane’s southern suburbs to Flinders Peak, on to the south side of Ipswich and down to the Wyaralong Dam near Boonah. The corridor is about 563.5km² or 56 350 hectares in size and about 60km long. The area’s natural values and rural pursuits are under intense pressure from urbanisation and other uses as the population continues to increase in South East Queensland.
Decision Point is the downloadable monthly magazine of the Environmental Decisions Group (EDG). It presents news and views on environmental decision making, biodiversity, conservation planning and monitoring. In the current (October 2011) issue of Decision Point you’ll find the following stories:
The aims of this Birds Australia workshop in western Sydney on 8 February 2011 are:
To find out more see the workshop flier.
A draft NSW Biodiversity Strategy 2010-2015 is now on public exhibition. The draft Strategy identifies state-scale investment priorities for 15 broad terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in New South Wales. Submissions close 5pm on Friday 21 January 2011. Submissions will then be reviewed and a final Strategy will be released for implementation. To find out more visit The NSW Biodiversity Strategy.
The Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council, represented by Ministers from all state and territory governments and the Australian Government, has endorsed for public release Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010-2030. The Strategy is a significant 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 twenty years. For further information including Strategy download links and Case Studies visit Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy.
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study is a major international initiative to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversity, to highlight the growing costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, and to draw together expertise from the fields of science, economics and policy to enable practical actions moving forward. The TEEB for Business report is now available. Business and enterprise have a huge role to play in how we manage, safeguard and invest in our natural capital. To download the report visit the TEEB website and click on “For Business” in the left column menu.
The call for abstracts and workshop expressions of interest for the Australian Network for Plant Conservation (ANPC) 8th National Conference has been extended to 15 August 2010. With the theme “Planning conservation to achieving restoration”, the Australian Network for Plant Conservation (ANPC) 8th National Conference (Perth 28 Sep – 1 Oct 2010) is a conference for everyone involved in conserving Australia’s unique flora and native vegetation. To find out more visit the conference webpage.
In any ecological survey, there is a chance that a species occupying a site will not be detected during a survey of that site. Georgia Garrard’s research has investigated detectability issues in the Western (Basalt) Plains grassland community on the northern and western fringes of Melbourne in close proximity to Melbourne’s urban growth boundary, where there is continual pressure for development. Read the rest of this entry »