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'The Wet Tropics, Australia's Biological Crown Jewels'

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'The Wet Tropics, Australia's Biological Crown Jewels' SUSTAINING THE WET TROPICS: A REGIONAL PLAN FOR NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT VOLUME 2A CONDITION REPORT: BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION Nigel Weston1 and Steve Goosem1,2 1Rainforest CRC, Cairns 2Wet Tropics Management Authority, Cairns Established and supported under the Australian Cooperative Research Centres Program © Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management, and FNQ NRM Ltd. ISBN 0 86443 711 0 This work is copyright. The Copyright Act 1968 permits fair dealing for study, research, news reporting, criticism or review. Selected passages, tables or diagrams may be reproduced for such purposes provided acknowledgment of the source is included. Major extracts of the entire document may not be reproduced by any process without written permission of either the Chief Executive Officer, Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management, or Executive Officer, FNQ NRM Ltd. Published by the Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management. Further copies may be obtained from FNQ NRM Ltd, PO Box 1756, Innisfail, QLD, Australia, 4860. This publication should be cited as: Weston, N. and Goosem, S. (2004), Sustaining the Wet Tropics: A Regional Plan for Natural Resource Management, Volume 2A Condition Report: Biodiversity Conservation. Rainforest CRC and FNQ NRM Ltd, Cairns (211 pp). January 2004 Cover Photos: Top: Geoff McDonald Centre: Doug Clague Bottom: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority CONDITION REPORT: BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION i PREFACE Managing natural resources for sustainability and ecosystem health is an obligation of stakeholders at all levels. At the State and Commonwealth government level, there has been a shift over the last few years from the old project-based approach to strategic investment at a regional scale. To oversee this investment, regional natural resource management (NRM) bodies have been established across Queensland and Australia. The new NRM Board for the Wet Tropics region, called FNQ NRM Ltd, was appointed in late 2003. The aim of this community-based Board is to take the Wet Tropics to the forefront of conservation and sustainable use of natural resources through strengthened community participation. One of the first tasks of the new Board is the preparation of a new NRM Plan for the Wet Tropics to strategically focus investment while incorporating the outcomes of previous planning in the region. At a high-level regional science meeting, held in November 2002, it was agreed that the Plan should be based on a clear documentation of the state of resources in the region. While there is a wealth of research publications on the region, there has been no synthesis of this material into a document for the consultation and plan preparation processes. This is the purpose of the current report. The information in this report deals with the first of the three overarching objectives that will direct decision-making under the extension of the NHT Program, namely biodiversity conservation. It is the second of a series of documents that will be co- produced as supporting information to the Plan (see introduction to this report). The principal authors of this report were Nigel Weston (Rainforest CRC, Cairns) and Steve Goosem (Wet Tropics Management Authority, Cairns). The authors wish to acknowledge the contribution made by others, including Nigel Stork (CEO, Rainforest CRC, Cairns and Chair, Wet Tropics Regional Science Panel), who edited the preliminary draft, as well as those who reviewed the document as organisational representatives. The Commonwealth and State governments should also be thanked for their support through the NHT Program extension. This report is designed to be used by planners and decision-makers involved in the development of the Wet Tropics NRM Plan. It should also be of use to others involved in NRM in the private sector and at the local, State and Commonwealth government levels. Indigenous and community groups, students and the public generally should also find the report, and those that follow, a valuable resource. I take pleasure in presenting it to the regional community. Mike Berwick Chair, FNQ NRM Ltd ii SUSTAINING THE WET TROPICS: A REGIONAL PLAN FOR NRM TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE.........................................................................................................................i LIST OF TABLES..........................................................................................................iv LIST OF ACRONYMS ..................................................................................................vi 1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 1 1.1. THIS REPORT............................................................................................... 1 1.2. BIODIVERSITY – WHAT IS IT? ................................................................. 1 1.3. AIMS OF THE REPORT............................................................................... 3 1.4. REPORT THEMES........................................................................................ 3 1.5. CONDITION-PRESSURE-RESPONSE FRAMEWORK............................. 4 1.6. REPORT PREPARATION ............................................................................ 4 1.7. DATA ACQUISTION.................................................................................... 4 2. COASTAL AND MARINE BIODIVERSITY ....................................................... 5 2.1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................... 5 2.2. CONDITION.................................................................................................. 5 2.2.1. REGIONAL SEASCAPE DIVERSITY ................................................6 2.2.2. REGIONAL ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY ............................................7 2.2.3. REGIONAL SPECIES DIVERSITY.....................................................8 2.3. PRESSURE .................................................................................................. 23 2.3.1. CLIMATE............................................................................................23 2.3.2. POPULATION GROWTH..................................................................27 2.3.3. DIRECT PRESSURES........................................................................27 2.4. RESPONSE .................................................................................................. 40 2.4.1. GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES .........................................................40 2.4.2. MARINE RESEARCH AND MONITORING....................................56 2.4.3. COASTAL COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT ...................................58 3. TERRESTRIAL BIODIVERSITY .......................................................................61 3.1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................61 3.2. CONDITION................................................................................................61 3.2.1. REGIONAL LANDSCAPE DIVERSITY...........................................61 3.2.2. REGIONAL VEGETATION DIVERSITY.........................................67 3.2.3. REGIONAL ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY ..........................................70 3.2.4. REGIONAL SPECIES DIVERSITY...................................................83 3.2.5. REGIONAL GENETIC DIVERSITY.................................................94 3.3. PRESSURE ..................................................................................................95 3.3.1. DIRECT PRESSURES........................................................................96 3.4. RESPONSE ................................................................................................113 3.4.1. NATIONAL INITIATIVES ..............................................................113 3.4.2. STATE INITIATIVES ......................................................................114 CONDITION REPORT: BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION iii 3.4.3. LOCAL INITIATIVES......................................................................121 3.4.4. WIDER COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT ......................................123 3.4.5. TERRESTRIAL PROTECTED AREAS...........................................125 3.4.6. MANAGEMENT OF THREATENED SPECIES AND ECOSYSTEMS .................................................................................136 3.4.7. RESEARCH AND MONITORING ..................................................140 4. LINKS TO THE NEW REGIONAL NRM PLAN .............................................143 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................147 APPENDIX A..............................................................................................................147 RARE OR THREATENED AUSTRALIAN PLANT (ROTAP) LIST FOR THE WET TROPICS PLANNING REGION APPENDIX B ..............................................................................................................164 RARE AND THREATENED ANIMALS OF THE WET TROPICS NRM REGION (INCLUDING COASTAL WATERS) APPENDIX C ..............................................................................................................169 WET TROPICS WILDLIFE OF SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE APPENDIX D..............................................................................................................174 APPENDIX E ..............................................................................................................176
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