TOPS TO LAKES INITIATIVE Connecting the landscapes of the Great Lakes for biodiversity conservation and the provision of environmental, economic and social services Draft Program Overview for Council Discussion November 2013 Table of contents 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 The Tops to Lakes Initiative – what is it? ................................................................... 1 1.2 Enhancement of environmental services functions .................................................. 5 2 Direction .......................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Vision ......................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Goals .......................................................................................................................... 8 2.3 References and related projects ............................................................................... 8 3 Existing conservation and connectivity .......................................................... 10 4 Actions ........................................................................................................... 17 4.1 Tools ........................................................................................................................ 17 Acquisition ....................................................................................................................... 17 Development incentives for conservation purposes ....................................................... 18 Private conservation (PVP, VCA) ..................................................................................... 18 Non‐government conservation agencies ........................................................................ 19 Strategic planning ............................................................................................................ 19 Development assessment planning ................................................................................. 19 Corporate investment/ sponsorship/ bequests .............................................................. 20 5 Partnerships ................................................................................................... 22 6 Evaluation and reporting ............................................................................... 24 7 References ..................................................................................................... 25 Further information This Program Overview has been prepared by Great Lakes Council’s Natural Systems Section. For further information or comments on any aspect of this Strategy please contact: Great Lakes Council Manager ‐ Natural Systems Gerard Tuckerman Great Lakes Council Senior Ecologist Mat Bell Postal Address PO Box 450 FORSTER NSW 2428 Phone (02) 6591 7222 E‐mail [email protected] The Great Lakes Council Natural Systems Branch would like to thank the following people who contributed to the development of this Program overview: Name Agency/ Group Garry Reynolds Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Sara Gipton GreenFleet Kevin & Di Johnston Landholder ‐ Upper Karuah Annabel Kater Landholder ‐ Upper Karuah Robyn Lamond Karuah ‐ Great Lakes Landcare John McKenzie Landholder ‐ Upper Karuah Garry Reynolds Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Peter & Lynda Scaife Landholder ‐ Upper Karuah Geoff Taylor Landholder ‐ Upper Karuah James Whelan Landholder ‐ Upper Karuah Tops to Lakes Initiative – Program overview 1 Introduction 1.1 The Tops to Lakes Initiative – what is it? The Tops to Lakes (T2L) Initiative is a long‐term strategic program that seeks to deliver, through Council vision and action and community and agency partnerships, coordinated decision‐making that achieves: 1. The protection and reinstatement of environmental services functions within the natural landscape (including, but not limited to, the provision of water flows and water quality protection and improvement) 2. The conservation and re‐establishment of biodiversity and habitat resilience and connectivity across the Great Lakes 3. The recognition of the importance of natural areas for their cultural significance and for their contribution to recreational opportunities and spiritual wellbeing To achieve this, Great Lakes Council, together with partnering agencies and the community, will utilise a suite of tools, actions and opportunities. The Great Lakes Local Government Area contains a number of conservation reserves and protected areas. Currently, approximately 22% of the land area is contained within protected areas. These reserves contain areas of significant natural assets and features of outstanding cultural and recreational significance. However, conservation and restoration programs have been typically undertaken in the absence of a broader strategic framework. As such, many of protected areas are isolated or of less than optimal size and shape. Land protection is generally not representative across the landscape, with conservation biased to so‐ called “unproductive” areas and parts of the public native hardwood forest landscape. Existing reserves also do not reflect the protection of significant landscapes for ecological resilience or essential environmental services provisions. Environmental attributes underpin the regional economy on which residents and tourists to the Great Lakes rely. Enhancing and restoring the resilience and integrity of the natural environment thus achieves far‐reaching social and economic outcomes. Thus, the Tops to Lakes Initiative aims to connect and conserve ecosystems across the 3,374km2 Great Lakes LGA, from Barrington Tops on the Great Dividing Range to the coastal landscapes from Black Head in the north to Hawks Nest and the northern foreshore of Port Stephens in the south. The Great Lakes LGA is located on the New South Wales’ mid north coast and within the NSW North Coast Bioregion (Thackway & Cresswell 1995). It is wholly within the Hunter region of the Local Land Services. In 2011, the Great Lakes LGA contained some 35,601 permanent residents all of whom share a lifestyle built on the outstanding natural attributes. The region also attracts many visitors and tourists from around Australia and the world. The natural environment and the quality of 1. Tops to Lakes Initiative – Program overview aquatic, estuarine and near‐shore marine environments are significant tourist drawcards and tourism is a major driver of the regional economy. Further, the natural resources of the Great Lakes landscape provide the economic foundation for primary production (mainly fish, oysters, beef, dairy products, timber) and resources industries. As such, a functional and resilient natural environment is essential for our economic and social well‐being. The exceptional and varied biodiversity of the Great Lakes region has immense environmental value. There is a remarkable diversity running from the mountain forests in the Great Dividing Range, to the low coastal hills at the foot, through the fast flowing rivers slowing in the meandering river valleys, on to the broad coastal flood and sand plains, and through the dunes. These fringe the popular sheltered estuaries that open though breakwaters and bays and which are guarded by the towering seacliffs overlooking the Pacific. The landscape gems include World Heritage‐ listed Gondwana Rainforests and Ramsar‐listed and nationally‐important wetlands. Figure 1: The Great Lakes Local Government Area and major national environmental assets The Great Lakes LGA contains or is home to: Parts of the World Heritage‐listed Gondwana Rainforests (and Wilderness areas) within the Barrington Tops National Park The internationally‐recognised Myall Lakes Ramsar wetland within Myall Lakes National Park 2. Tops to Lakes Initiative – Program overview Two wetlands of national significance: the Wallis Lake estuary and the Port Stephens estuary Over 1,317 species of native plants, including 31 listed threatened plant species Over 466 species of native animals, comprising: o 66 species of native mammals, including 28 listed threatened species o 38 species of native frogs, including 6 listed threatened species o 59 species of native reptiles, including 4 listed threatened species o 303 species of native birds, including 45 listed threatened species Plate 1: Lindernia alsinoides, a threatened species, growing in swamp sclerophyll forest at Failford (Mat Bell, GLC) The area is under pressure from urban and rural development and other land use activities. Historic clearing has fragmented parts of the natural landscape, leading to a decline in environmental function, resilience, diversity and integrity. The 1997 Wallis Lake Hepatitis A outbreak and blue‐green algal blooms in the Myall Lakes system demonstrate the sensitivity of the natural environment as well as the environmental and economic consequences of human‐induced ecological impairment. Remediation of ecological dysfunction and impairment are key aims of the Tops to Lakes Initiative. The areas that are the focus of the Tops to Lakes Initiative have been refined in collaboration with partners and stakeholders and are based on documented scientific, cultural and economic priorities. It is implicit that biodiversity conservation recognises and respects appropriate future development and land use opportunities and