The Bugle - 11 November 05
In news this week
Regional body stories
- Grazier offers hope for drought-stricken farmers
- Sustainable landscape incentives make good cents
- New guide shows how to get the big bucks
Government updates
- What to do about climate change? Government consults Queenslanders about hot, wild future
- NRM facilitator network funding
- Reef Water Quality Protection Plan flows into the IMPAC symposium
- Community Activity Grants assessment begins
- Reporting the State of the Environment
Natural resources news
Grazier offers hope for drought-stricken farmers
Visionary grazier and racehorse breeder Peter Andrews believes he has the key to drought-proofing many central Queensland farms.
And he's only too happy to spread the word on his sustainable agricultural practices at Dawson Catchment Coordinating Association's (DCCA) Land and Water Forum in Moura on November 22-23. This event is funded by the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality through the Fitzroy Basin Association.
His processes, which nearly sent him bankrupt and earned him the wrath of much of the scientific community, are now hailed as a template to enable farmers to be more cost-effective and agriculturally sustainable. His theory is that many of the problems now afflicting the Australian landscape, such as drought and salinity, are the result of applying European farming methods to a landscape that is completely different to Europe's.
Now, it seems, international scientists, politicians and businessmen are beating a path to his door as they grapple with how best to alleviate the affects of drought on Australia's farmers.
The forum will also include speakers from central Queensland mining companies on their work with land and water issues, and experts on algal blooms, Landcare, scientific research and controlled traffic farming.
To register for the forum, contact Jennifer Gleeson on 4993 1004.
Sustainable landscape incentives make good cents
Land managers in the Mackay Whitsunday region are being paid to improve the condition of their soils and water through their regional body's Sustainable Landscapes Program.
The program is the primary way on-ground work is occuring in the region.
For example, sugar cane land managers can receive incentives for things like minimum-till operations and incorporating legumes as fallow crops.
Incentives are also available to construct sediment detention basins and artificial wetlands to trap nutrients and sediments on he farm, provide and extra source of irrigation water and improve the quality of water in local streams and waterways.
For more information about the Sustainable Landscapes Program, contact the Mackay Whitsunday NRM group's Sustainable Landscapes Program Officer, Will Higham, on 49 535 285 or Phillip Trendell from BSES on 4954 5100.
New guide shows how to get the big bucks
A new guide shows regional NRM bodies how to develop relationships with potential investors and secure funding.
While regional bodies recognise the potential for investment from financial institutions and mining companies, many haven't known how to build a relationship with potential investors or how to make their investment proposals stand out from the crowd.
The Condamine Alliance's Building Investment Relationships for the Future project shows the way towards greater independence from government grants. Its "How To" manual provides critical information necessary for a successful business approach.
Building Investment Relationships for the Future is a NAP-funded, State-level Investment Project (CB07).
The Condamine Alliance will present its business model and "How To" manual to other regional bodies at a workshop in Brisbane on 13 December 2005. Invitations will be forwarded to regional bodies shortly.
For further information, contact the Condamine Alliance's Fran Holt on 4620 0117.
What to do about climate change? Government consults Queenslanders about hot, wild future
Queenslanders could be living in radically changed climates within the next generation and the State Government is asking their thoughts on the how best we should adapt to the changing times.
In State Parliament yesterday, Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Henry Palaszczuk and Minister for the Environment Desley Boyle released a discussion paper on climate change and its predicted effects on Queenslanders.
Mr Palaszczuk said the Climate Smart Adaptation Paper would allow the public to have their say on the future direction of climate change adaptation in our State.
"Queenslanders are already experiencing the effects of climate change as our days get warmer and our rainfall continues to decline," Mr Palaszczuk said.
"For example, it is predicted in the next 25 years, Brisbane's average climate will be more like Rockhampton and Mackay's climate will be more like Townsville's."
Environment Minister Desley Boyle said it was vital to come up with ways to minimise the impacts of climate change.
"We are asking the public to read the discussion paper and send in their submissions online or via email, fax or post," she said.
The submissions will help shape the development of a Queensland Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan during 2006.
Read the Ministers' joint media release and view the discussion paper online at the Consult Queensland web site.
Comments must be provided by 3 March 2006.
NRM facilitators to receive a $24 million boost
Australia's NRM facilitators will be able to continue their hard work with the Australian Government announcing a $23.8 million boost for the next two years.
More than 100 facilitators are located throughout Australia and are involved in Landcare, Bushcare, Coastcare and Rivercare, as well as supporting local governments and Indigenous land management.
Facilitators work directly with regional bodies to help them plan and implement catchment-wide projects and, most importantly, play an important role in guiding bodies through the NRM funding process.
Facilitators also play an advisory role and report community progress to government to work out how things can be improved.
The announcement coincided with this year's facilitators' forum in Melbourne. This year's theme was "Innovation in Partnerships".
Reef Water Quality Protection Plan flows into the IMPAC symposium
Some of the outstanding work people are doing for the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan was featured at the inaugural International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC1) in Geelong from 23-28 October.
More than 700 international delegates attended the week-long conference, which was the first international congress to focus on the management of the full range of marine protected areas, including coastal waters, reefs, high seas and remote locations.
IMPAC1 was hosted by Parks Victoria, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the World Commission on Protected Areas in partnership with the Australian Department of Environmental and Heritage, the World Conservation Union and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority.
Issues showcased at the Queensland Government booth included marine parks (Moreton Bay, Hervey Bay, Woongarra and Great Barrier Reef Coastal Marine Parks), protecting fish habitats, the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait ship positioning system and the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan (including regional NRM bodies' contributions).
For more information about the IMPAC1 congress, please contact Helen Whan on 3238 3327 or for information on how you can make a difference, visit the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan page on the Premier's web site.
Community Activity Grants assessment begins
Applications for the 2006 Community Natural Resource Awareness Activity Grants have now closed, with nearly 70 applications received. The majority of these were either from primary schools or were in a partnership with schools.
The selection process is about to get underway and all applicants, whether successful or unsuccessful, will find out their fate by Christmas. The selection panel is made up of representatives from the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (NR&M) and Queensland Water and Land Carers.
The theme for the 2006 round of grants is "Queenslanders, naturally resourceful". All activities will take place in Queensland Resources Week, held annually in the last week of May.
Last year, 45 projects worth almost $94,000 were funded and raised awareness throughout the state about the importance of our land, water and vegetation resources.
For more information, contact Adam Richardt from NR&M on 3239 3860.
Reporting the State of the Environment
Queensland's third State of the Environment report is to be published in 2007.
The Department of Natural Resources and Mines is a major contributor to these reports, which are required every four years and describe the condition of environmental aspects, trends in condition and assess society's response to these changes.
Each report is separated into eight major themes: atmosphere, land, inland waters, the coastal zone, biodiversity, human settlements, natural and cultural heritage, and towards sustainability.
A DPSIR (Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) model is used in the assessment, and so cause-effect relationships are assumed. Within each theme, a series of indicators aer used to monitor environmental condition. The EPA is preparing an online system (SoE Online) to allow more regular updates of the state of the environment and this system is likely to be unveiled at the end of the year.
Which soil is that?
Now you can find out, with the launch of CSIRO's new web tool - the Australian Soil Resource Information System (ASRIS).
The system can be used to access a variety of soil information, including a general description of soil types and their fertility, erodability, water storage and soil depth.
The information is displayed using coloured maps, satellite images, tables, graphs and photographs. The online geographic information system allows you to zoom into a region of interest, produce customised maps and save the results.
The ASRIS can be found on the CSIRO web site.
The lord of the rings?
Have you ever noticed the five rings on the front cover of the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan and wondered what they represent? Carl Glen has a couple of theories:
"My first theory is the rings represent a river. Water flows from the upper catchment, increasing in volume as it flows out onto the reef.
"My second theory is the rings represent the water quality problem getting bigger and bigger. A bit negative maybe?
"My favourite theory is that the smallest ring represents me causing a problem by using too much fertiliser on my property which runs into a creek. I wrongly assume it's just one small mistake that won't affect the Great Barrier Reef. Successive rings are more people adding to the problem and so on.
"This theory is my favourite because, thanks to the work industry, regional groups and the government are doing through the Reef Plan, we are reversing the direction of those rings and turning back the negative effects.
"So, I think the rings represent all of us being able to make a difference. Each of our individual actions will combine and add up to a huge difference to the quality of the water flowing onto the Great Barrier Reef."
For information on how you can make a difference, visit the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan page on the Premier's web site.
Get a job!
The CSIRO's Sustainable Ecosystems division in Cairns is looking for a regional natural
resource systems planner to work in partnership with FNQ NRM Ltd and the Rainforest Cooperative Research Centre on FNQ's regional plan.
The pay is $76,000 - $103,000 + superannuation.
For more information visit the CSIRO careers website or phone 1300 301 509.
We welcome your input and feedback on this newsletter. If you have any contributions, comments or suggestions please contact Shona Strachan or Paul Rees.
To view past issues of The Bugle visit the regional NRM web site.
The Bugle is a weekly newsletter published by Natural Resource Management Arrangements, Natural Resources and Mines, highlighting regional natural resource management activities around Queensland.
Last updated 05 April 2006