The Bugle - 20 October 2006
In news this week
Regional NRM group stories
Government updates- Report highlights social research innovations for NRM
- Time running out for community grants
- Evaluation probes value of state-wide programs to regional NRM
- Pest Offensive is cost effective
- National Reserve System program gets top marks
- Reef Plan helps east coast inshore fishery under review
- Pictures worth a thousand words (and $15,000)
Natural resources news
- Farmers spend $3.3 billion on natural resource management: ABS
- Celebrate Science Day
- Managing the carbon cycle
- Workshop builds empowerment and engagement skills
- Measuring the real costs of volunteering
Farmers are stirring the dust in the wetlands
Land owners who are battling the big dry in the Condamine have been heralded as heroes – in the struggle to protect and research the region's wetlands.
A partnership has been forged between the Condamine Alliance and Greening Australia Queensland to protect important Condamine wetlands and conduct research, at a time when many people in the region have almost forgotten that wetlands exist.
"Our research showed us that people were saying: 'What wetlands? It's too dry for wetlands'," Greening Australia's Steve Cupitt said.
"Despite the drought, cattle are still damaging the wetlands, carp are still muddying the water, there are still insufficient buffers between productive country and wetlands, and remnant vegetation isn't regenerating along the banks."
These are the findings of the first stage of the wetlands project undertaken by Greening Australia Queensland on behalf of the Condamine Alliance Natural Resource Management Group through the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality.
"Many of the landholders are aware that wetlands need to be protected, but just don’t have the finances to spare or are simply uncertain of what needs to be done. It was very heartening to be welcomed by every landholder we visited. They welcomed us on to their property and many even expressed an interest in assisting us with research and surveys," Mr Cupitt said.
"Funding will be provided for fencing, weed control, revegetation and ongoing assessments, and most importantly, these landholders are improving the prospects of the region for the future."
For more info, contact Greening Australia's Sarah Bishop on 3902 4404 or 0400 144 221.
Caring for rainforest on the North Pine River
Riverside rainforest on the North Pine has been restored on the North Pine River, near Dayboro as part of the Living Green Program.
Over a 10-day period, up to 20 volunteers per day removed a large area of cats claw creeper - a vigorous, smothering vine weed, from a large area of rare remnant "King Scrub" lowland rainforest near Dayboro. Rainforests such as this rely on their canopy to provide shade and to control their temperature, cats claw is a "canopy killer" capable of climbing up trees from the forest floor to the canopy, then completely smothering and eventually killing very large rainforest trees.
The Boral Living Green Program is a community-business partnership between Boral and Conservation Volunteers Australia that assists communities to restore and maintain important community green spaces across Australia. The work was undertaken under the Riparian Management Incentive Scheme, which provides support to landholders to undertake waterway restoration works in the Pine Rivers Catchments. The scheme is run jointly by Pine Rivers Catchment Association and SEQ Catchments.
For further information contact Tim Odgers, Pine Rivers Catchment Association on 3325 1577.
Report highlights social research innovations for NRM
A report highlighting the results of research into social issues that affect natural resource management has been released.
The report summarises what was learned over three years through the Queensland Social Research Development and Extension project (SEO3) under the National Action Plan on Salinity and Water Quality.
The research considered the social issues that regional NRM groups thought were critical to natural resource management.
The report overviews eight research projects and provides an inventory of reports, publications, tools and other research outputs which may be useful to a range of NRM stakeholders, including regional NRM groups, community NRM groups, government agencies, students and other social researchers.
Research projects addressed topics including:
- Building Healthy Social Networks
- Strategies to Support the Interaction of Social and Natural Systems
- Regional Partnership Agreements
- Oral History
- Catchment Scorecards
- Assessing the Uptake of Farm Management Systems
- Capacity Modelling for M&E
- Identifying Community Capacity.
For more info or to receive the report in hard copy, email John Mackenzie at the Department of Natural Resources and Water's Community Partnerships.
Time is running out for community grants
Time is running out for applications for the Department of Natural Resources and Water’s 2007 Community Awareness Grants.
Community groups and schools can apply for up to $5000 and grants of up to $10,000 are available where projects are a genuine collaboration between two or more organisations.
The theme for this year's grants is Working together – Protecting, repairing, restoring the environment.
Successful applicants have until the end of May 2007 to complete their projects, some of which will be featured during Queensland Resources Week.
Application forms and guidelines are available from the Department of Natural Resources and Water web site.
Applications close 27 October 2006.
Evaluation probes value of state-wide programs to regional NRM
An evaluation of the relevance and value of state-wide investment programs (SIPs) to regional natural resource management is underway
The SIP evaluation originally began last year but has recommenced under a new consultancy, UniQuest (a consortium of consultants: Dr Ann Peterson and Michelle Walker in association with Mary Maher & Associates)
Uniquest is working with NRW's Community Partnerships to carry out the evaluation, which will be guided by a steering committee with representatives from regional NRM groups and the Queensland and Australian Governments.
The evaluation is to include:
- the extent of the projects' contribution to building capacity
- determination of the projects' relevance to the regional planning and implementation process
- assessment of the potential and actual effectiveness of SIP projects' consultation, engagement and communication processes
- determination of the SIP projects' contribution to changes in on-ground practices (where appropriate).
The evaluation will consist of:
- preliminary assessments of SIP initiatives
- broad scale survey and analysis
- detailed investigations and analysis of case studies
- evaluation report
- post-evaluation workshop.
The evaluation is expected to be completed by February 2007.
Responses to initial contacts and questionnaires by the original consultants will be used by the new consultants to inform future work.
Community Partnerships acknowledges the time and effort already given to this process and thanks everyone concerned for their continued enthusiasm and participation.
For more info, contact Claire Carter on 3224 2323.
Pest Offensive is cost effective
A new $11 Million Queensland Government program to target pest animals and weeds will generate enormous savings on control programs, Natural Resources and Water Minister Kerry Shine said.
Mr Shine said applications for grants of at least $50,000 are being invited for the Government's Reclaim the Bush – A Pest Offensive program as part of the Blueprint for the Bush initiative.
"The program aims to tackle pest animal and weed issues across the State over the next three years," Mr Shine said.
"The program will encourage local governments, state agencies, regional natural resources management bodies and indigenous communities to work together on targeted projects."
Mr Shine said a study commissioned by the Local Government Association of Queensland found for every dollar spent on weed and pest animal management can deliver up to a $6.40 benefit.
Mr Shine said funding targeted prevention of news threats as well as woody weeds, wild dogs, feral pigs and preventing the spread of weeds and pest management in indigenous communities.
"With weeds costing Queensland more than $600 million each year and pest animals costing a further $110 million each year, it is important that we take action," Mr Shine said.
"The Pest Offensive is a major new investment by the Government in tackling the weed and pest animal scourge. I urge groups and communities to consider programs that could be funded by it."
Applications for funding close 13 November. Further info is available from the NRW web site.
National Reserve System program gets top marks
The Australian Government's National Reserve System ( NRS) has been lauded as an outstanding flagship of biodiversity conservation, according to an independent evaluation released this week.
Since 1997, the NRS has seen more than 10 per cent of the continent's land set aside for conservation and protection of Australia's unique wildlife.
Australian Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell, released the evaluation by the former Director-General of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Mr Brian Gilligan.
Reef Plan helps east coast inshore fishery under review
Management arrangements for East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery, Queensland's largest fishery, are under review.
The review aims to ensure the sustainable use of the fishery for the 750,000 recreational fishers and approximately 500 commercial operators using the area.
A major source of fish for this area is the Great Barrier Reef. The Reef is at risk from polluted water run-off, with much originating from broad-scale sources such as soil erosion caused by land-clearing, over-grazing, the destruction of wetlands and excessive use of chemicals like pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers.
The Reef Water Quality Protection Plan is helping recreational and commercial fishing by assisting rural land managers reduce sediment, nutrients and chemicals entering creeks and rivers flowing into the Reef.
The Queensland East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery is the largest and most diverse fishery in the state with fishers able to catch many of Queensland's most popular fish including barramundi, threadfins, mackerel, tailor, whiting, bream, flathead, shark and sea mullet. The fishery stretches from Cape York down to the Queensland-New South Wales border.
To learn more about the review visit the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries web site.
To learn more about the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan visit the Reef Plan web site.
Pictures worth a thousand words (and $15,000)
Land & Water Australia has launched a national photography competition to recognise the role water plays in our landscapes, lifestyles and livelihoods.
Land & Water Australia is celebrating 15 years as a leading investor in natural resource management, research and knowledge.
You can enter photographs for the chance to share in $15,000 in prizes. Entries close 16 November. The best overall photograph selected from the three categories (landscapes, lifestyles, livelihoods) will be awarded $4,000 cash; the winner of each individual category will win $2000 cash.
This is a great opportunity for land managers to showcase their activities that are contributing to the implementation of the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan. By using best management practices water quality can be improved, reducing sediment nutrients and chemicals in runoff entering the waterways which flow to the Great Barrier Reef.
To find out more about the competition visit the Land & Water Australia web site.
To find out more about the Reef Plan visit the Reef Plan web site.
Farmers spend $3.3 billion on natural resource management: ABS
Australian farmers reported spending $3.3 billion on natural resource management during 2004-05, according to an Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) survey released last week.This money was spent managing or preventing weed, pest, land and soil, native vegetation or water-related issues on their agricultural holdings.
More than $1.1 billion was spent on weed prevention and management, while land and soil-related activities accounted for $900 million of total expenditure.
Regional NRM groups can get information specific to their region by contacting Community Partnerships' John Mackenzie on 3224 7741.
Celebrate Science Day
A one-day conference celebrating the scientific achievements of the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality's State-level Investment Projects will be held at Indooroopilly on 29 November.
Presentations will cover scientific outcomes relating to water quality, salinity, sustainable agriculture, capacity building and social and economic aspects of natural resource management.
Science Day is free, but registration is required for entry. Register before 20 November.
For more info, visit the Science Day web site.
Managing the carbon cycle
If you're in the Kingaroy area, a forum on how to manage climate change by storing more carbon and water in the soils may be of interest.
The "Managing the Carbon Cycle Forum" is at Kingaroy Town Hall on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 October.
There's free wine, cheese, olive and peanut tasting at the welcome reception on Tuesday 24 October from 5-7pm.
For more information call UNE Conference Company on 02 6772 2154.
Workshop builds empowerment and engagement skills
The two-day "Measuring Engagement, Measuring Empowerment" workshop to be held in Brisbane next month is designed to build skills of natural resource managers.
The workshop will be presented by Dr Kate Roberts and Dr Jeff Coutts.
For more info, visit the workshop web site.
Measuring the real costs of volunteering
The rising cost of volunteering has become a major issue for volunteers and not-for-profits alike.
An online survey will capture information about what volunteering costs volunteers and the organisations that host them.
The results will assist the Costs of Volunteering Taskforce, which is looking at a proposal to deal with these costs through the taxation system.
The taskforce is urging all volunteers, not-for-profits and businesses with volunteering programs to complete the survey by Thursday 16 November.
More information about the survey and volunteering in general is availble on the taskforce's web site.
Thought for the week
Few resource problems are so important, while so little publicised, as…the disappearance of our soil. Each year, billions of tonnes are washed away by rainfall and blown away by the wind.
The New Gaia Atlas of Planetary Management
TopWe welcome your contributions and feedback. If you have any comments or suggestions for The Bugle please contact Paul Rees.
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 and Water, highlighting regional NRM activities around Queensland.
Last updated 19 October 2006