Draft Queensland Protected Area Strategy Have Your Say! – Notes to Guide Your Submission

Draft Queensland Protected Area Strategy Have your say! – notes to guide your submission

Submissions due: 5pm Friday 24 February 2017

Submissions by email to: [email protected]

Useful documents: Draft Queensland Protected Area Strategy, 2016 Building Nature’s Resilience: A Draft Biodiversity Strategy for Queensland, 2010 Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010-2030, 2010 Australia’s Strategy for the National Reserve System 2009-2030, 2009 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Nature Conservation Act 1992

Summary of actions from Draft Protected Area Strategy (A1-A18) EDO NQ response (R1-R18)

Expanding and better managing the protected area system In general:

The strategy needs to ensure a representative system of parks and reserves by adopting a whole of landscape approach – see pages 16 and 27 of the Qld Biodiversity Strategy.

This Strategy needs to acknowledge and incorporate the Qld Biodiversity Strategy.

This Strategy needs to acknowledge and incorporate the long history of Commonwealth policy contained in Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010-2030 and Australia’s Strategy for the National Reserve System 2009-2030.

Applaud the acknowledgement that there is an urgent need to declare protected areas now. (See guiding principle 10 on page 5 of the Strategy.)

A1: Besides the Environment Roundtable, an informal protected area co-ordination group will be established to bring together the major conservation land owners, managers, and investors to co-ordinate and co-operate on the acquisition, management and resourcing of protected areas.

R1: Conservation groups, whose campaigns are usually the precursor to the declaration of a national park, should be included in this co-ordination group in order to ensure that broad public interest views continue to inform decisions about the protected area estate.

The scientific community including conservation scientists, universities and academics, whose research, knowledge and experience is vital to our understanding of protected areas, should also be included in this co-ordination group in order to

ensure that conservation science continues to inform decisions about the protected area estate.

A2: Continue to innovate and build on the success of existing initiatives being implemented by government that engage traditional owners in protected area management.

A3: Continue working with traditional owners to dedicate and manage land as Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land (CYPAL) National Parks.

A4: Continue to facilitate Indigenous participation in protected area management, including through the Queensland Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger Program (ILSR).

A5: Recognise Indigenous Protected Areas by including them in Queensland’s protected area reporting.

Private protected areas A6: Protect private lands of outstanding conservation value from incompatible land uses by creating a new class of privately managed protected area (Special Wildlife Reserve) under the Nature Conservation Act.

R6: This is essential and fills a gap in the existing legislation. It overcomes the mischief seen in the Bimblebox Nature Reserve example, where a mining lease was granted over land in a private nature refuge. Currently mining, logging and grazing rights are decoupled from private conservation rights. Landholders need the assurance and confidence that conservation rights are exclusive of any other interests in land.

Special wildlife reserves could be useful to conserve habitat for the protection of specific species, such as golden-shouldered parrots, bilby, bandicoot and northern bettong.

However, the creation of these private reserves should not be at the expense of the public system. The public system should remain the core of the protected area estate.

A7: Recognise conservation as a consistent lease purpose on leasehold land where a protected area has been declared.

R7: This may be an opportunity for a broader review of the categories of lease purposes and lease conditions to align with current conservation and land management policies and obligations. See target at p 40 of the Qld Biodiversity Strategy.

A8: Broaden the range of regulatory tools available under the Nature Conservation Act to better protect privately managed conservation lands.

R8: Agree that QPWS should have a broad range of enforcement mechanisms to ensure the maintenance of high standards of conservation and management required to keep land in the protected area estate.

However, this should be part of a broader education, incentives and enforcement regime. Any changes to the NC Act should seek to implement the object of the Act, which is nature conservation, and implement the Qld Biodiversity Strategy 2010.

A9: Consider alternative and innovative ways to deliver the NatureAssist incentives scheme to encourage the establishment, and assist in the ongoing management of private protected areas.

A10: Explore and facilitate uptake of alternative income streams such as carbon schemes, stewardship approaches and offsets schemes on private protected areas.

A11: Investigate options to reduce government charges and other disincentives for private protected area owners.

A12: Explore options with local government for protecting their significant conservation reserves in Queensland’s protected area system.

R12: Important to set baseline standards for inclusion in public estate and for management requirements.

Explore opportunities with local government to create refuges for urban flying-fox camps.

State-owned and managed protected areas In general:

Challenge the underlying assumption that national parks are a financial black hole. There is plenty of evidence that national parks are good for local economies. National park visitation brings in billions of dollars to Queensland through tourism. See for example Valuing Tourism Spend Arising From Visitation to Queensland National Parks. There is no need to find new and novel ways to raise funds for national parks.

A13: Review revenue and funding mechanisms to reflect the value of the benefits provided by the parks estate with the aim of ensuring the consistency within the existing fee structure and with other states and promoting a more equitable and transparent system.

A14: Explore alternative options to encourage partnerships, volunteering, sponsorship, and promotional activities that contribute to park management.

R14: Query what shape this would take. Don’t want the McDonald’s Great Barrier Reef National Park!

A15: Undertake socio-economic analysis to identify potential economic and social benefits associated with the parks estate to help inform investment decisions and partnership opportunities.

R15: Ensure that the conservation sector is included as a stakeholder in carrying out any socio-economic research and analysis.

The State should take advantage of the extensive work already carried out in relation to the value of tourism. See for example Valuing Tourism Spend Arising From Visitation to Queensland National Parks

A16: Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service aims to balance and promote responsible community use of protected areas while ensuring similar opportunities are available for future generations to enjoy. We will do this using contemporary and adaptive management tools and by continuing our funding commitment to best practice management.

R16: QPWS framework to guide allocation of funds and resources for managing the parks estate – can the public comment on this?

Third party management activities – consider invasive species control, particularly roaming predatory domestic animals (cats and dogs).

A17: Develop a legislative mechanism under the Nature Conservation Act to allow for sole or partnership management of National Parks by third parties, such as conservation groups and Traditional Owners.

R17: Important to set baseline standards for inclusion in the public estate and for management requirements.

The risk is that this is akin to divesting land and nature conservation obligations to private interests. The public interest in nature conservation will be lost if that occurs.

Note that TOs are not third parties on their own land.

A18: Prepare a prospectus to encourage international and domestic philanthropic investment in the parks estate.

R18: Needs strict controls

This is an opportunity for government to make explicit its policy that there will be no resort-based development on islands in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Shaping the future of Queensland’s protected area system A19: Develop a medium-term target for working towards 17% terrestrial protected area coverage, including relative contributions of private and public areas.

R19: Support a medium-term target. The quantity and the public to private ratio are less important than the quality and representativeness of the areas – see Qld Biodiversity Strategy.

The public protected area estate should remain the overwhelming core of the protected area estate.

Challenge the underlying assumption that we need to limit ourselves to a 17% target.

If a target is set, the target should be legislated for and reported on.

Regards, Tania Heber, principal solicitor EDO NQ 21 February 2017