The Bugle - 25 August
In news this week
Regional NRM group stories
Government updates
- JSC congratulates groups on performance reports
- [Almost] everything you wanted to know about Queensland agriculture now on the regional NRM web site
- Minister approves the "dirty dozen" pollutants plan
Natural resources news
- 2006 Eureka Prize winners announced
- Aussie snakes fight back against invading toads
- How dirty is the bottom of the Harbour?
- Biocontrol delivers a $10 billion result
$100,000 pumped into Burdekin horticulture
Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM Group and hotriculture peak body Growcom are working together to improve water quality and water use efficiency in the Burdekin Dry Tropics horticulture industry.
Funded by the Natural Heritage Trust and the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality, the project is providing incentives for growers to upgrade and improve their farm management and irrigation practices.
Growcom's Callum Rowe said funds were going straight to on-ground works. Eleven applications worth $40,000 had been approved so far, with that total to grow to about 20 projects.
"At the end of the day, most changes are made for a financial benefit but the proposed improvement has both economic and environmental advantages. For example, if you use less fertilizer by measuring it you save money, you contribute to sustainability, and you also save on your water bills," Mr Rowe said.
Growers can apply for funding for projects related to farm mapping and planning, improved irrigation systems and improved water management, including soil conservation works, sediment traps and water quality monitoring.
For more info, contact Water for Profit Program Leader Scott Wallace on 4613 1066 or 0408 135 002 or Egberto Soto on 0427 580 942.
TopJSC congratulates groups on performance reports
The Joint Queensland-Australian Government NRM Steering Committee (JSC) has congratulated regional NRM, State-wide Investment Project (SIP) and statewide and strategic reserve project groups on the submission of their performance reports.
The JSC considered the reports at its meeting in Brisbane earlier this week and congratulated Queensland for its reporting processes, which considered to be one of the best in Australia.
Performance reporting helps the JSC track the progress of NRM activities throughout Queensland. It also gives the groups a great opportunity to promote their successes and improvements in the condition of natural resources.
The JSC acknowledged the big effort that some groups had put into their reports. The groups will receive the JSC's response to their reports shortly.
For more information, contact Nicole Blackett or Claire Carter via CP.PerfReporting@nrm.qld.gov.au
[Almost] everything you wanted to know about Queensland agriculture now on the regional NRM web site
Profiles for agriculture in Queensland are now available on the regional NRM web site.
The profiles transform data based on the Agricultural Census 2001and the Census of Population and Housing 2001 into easily accessible information. The profiles are matched to the boundaries of Queensland's NRM regions.
The profiles provide information on:
- employment in all sectors, and a detailed breakdown of employent across agricultural industries
- agricultural commodities and practices (and an analysis of their contribution to the region)
- comparisons between a region's agricultural commodities and practices and those in the rest of Queensland.
View the agricultural profiles
For more info, contact Beth Clouston on 3224 7734.
Minister approves the "dirty dozen" pollutants plan
The Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell, has approved Australia's plan to help reduce damaging and long-lasting pollutants in the environment.
Senator Campbell said the national implementation plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants ( POPs) was an important step in Australia's efforts to reduce some of the world's most hazardous and environmentally enduring substances.
" POPs are chemicals that stay in the environment for a long time, circulate around the planet and accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms. They are toxic to humans and wildlife and have been found in remote parts of the Arctic many thousand of kilometres from their origin," Senator Campbell said.
"The 12 POPs identified by the convention are aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, mirex, toxaphene, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), dioxins, furans and hexachlorobenzene (HCB)."
Copies of the plan are available from the Department of Environmenta and Heritage web site.
See the POPs web site for more information about the Stockholm Convention.
2006 Eureka Prize winners announced
More than $200,000 was awarded to 29 winners at the 17th annual Australian Museum Eureka Prizes dinner, compered by Anton Enus from SBS, Sandra Sully, from Network 10, and Adam Spencer from ABC 702 Radio at Sydney's Royal Hall of Industries this week.
Some 900 leaders of government, science, industry, academia and the media were present at what is the largest single annual event in Australia celebrating and rewarding outstanding science and science communication.
Among the guests were Australian of the Year Professor Ian Frazer, Professor Barry Marshal, 2005 Nobel Laureate and Australian astronaut Andy Thomas.
Aussie snakes fight back against invading toads
Snakes are tougher and more caring than we think, according to one of this year's Eureka prize winners.
Australian snakes and lizards are survivors - evolved to wait out Australia's harsh climate until the good times come, Australia's foremost reptile researcher, Rick Shine, said.
"And they seem to be successfully fighting back against the invasion of the cane toad. We don't appear to have lost any species to the invaders yet. The snakes are rapidly evolving to avoid cane toads, and even to tolerate cane toad venom."
How dirty is the bottom of the Harbour?
We know the condition of the water in Sydney Harbour and other estuaries, bays and rivers but what about the mud at the bottom? Until now, there have not been consistent ways to measure these sediments that are essential to aquatic life.
Research by a team from CSIRO's Centre for Environmental Contaminants Research, led by Dr Graeme Batley, has developed the tools to provide the answer. And their reward is the $10,000 Land & Water Australia Eureka Prize for Water Research.
Prior to 2002, there were no standard guidelines on how to measure the environmental impact of contaminated sediments in Australia, under local conditions.
Four years later and the team has created a wide range of reliable assays and procedures.
Their "Handbook of Sediment Quality Assessment" has turned out to be a best-seller - with more than 15,000 downloads from their website. And their work is being used not only in Sydney Harbour to assess the impact of remediated Harbour-side industrial sites, but also at ports and mines around the country.
Go to the CSIRO's Centre for Envronmental Contaminants Research web site
Biocontrol delivers a $10 billion result
Biological control of weeds introduced into Australia has delivered a return of close to $10 billion, making it one of the most successful scientific programs in the nation's history, according to a new report.
In the 103 years since work began on finding a solution to the huge infestation of prickly pear across eastern Australia, the technique of using natural enemies of weeds to counter them has returned an average of $95.3 million a year, an economic impact assessment by the AEC Group has found.
The report was commissioned by the Cooperative Research Centre for Australian Weed Management (Weeds CRC) and launched recently by Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation Minister Eric Abetz.
"This is a truly Australian success story," Weeds CRC Chief Executive Officer Dr Rachel McFadyen said.
Biocontrol is the use of insects or diseases which naturally and selectively attack the target weed, reducing the damage it does to Australian food production and the environment.
Thought for the week
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by things you didn't do than by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
Mark Twain
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To view past issues of The Bugle visit the regional NRM web site.
The Bugle is a weekly newsletter published by Community Partnerships, the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Water, highlighting regional NRM activities
Last updated 29 August 2006