Public Consultation Guide for Lowland Tropical Rainforest of the Wet

Lowland Tropical Rainforest of the Wet Tropics Bioregion NOMINATED AS A NATIONAL THREATENED ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY

CONSULTATION GUIDE

Note to Traditional Owners: This guide is supplemented by the ‘Australian Government information for Traditional Owners about Lowland Rainforest’ consultation guide, available at https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/nominations/comment/lowland-tropical-rainforest-wet- tropics-bioregion

The Lowland Tropical Rainforest of the Wet Tropics Bioregion ecological community was nominated in 2017 and is undergoing an assessment by the independent Threatened Species Scientific Committee to determine if it meets the criteria for listing as nationally threatened under national environment law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

The Lowland Tropical Rainforest of the Wet Tropics Bioregion includes the plants, animals and other organisms typically associated with a type of lowland tropical rainforest that is found in the Wet Tropics of North Queensland. The ecological community is a structurally complex, evergreen tall forest with a relatively high species diversity (compared with other Australian rainforests), a predominance of large-leaved (mesophyll, leaf surface area 20 - 182 cm2) tree species, and a high representation of plant species from the families Myrtaceae (especially Syzygium) and Lauraceae. Vines and lianas, and epiphytes, are relatively common, and in an Australian context, so are herbaceous ground layer plant species. The ecological community also includes lowland mesophyll vine forests with Archontophoenix alexandrae (Feather Palm Alexander Palm) and/or Licuala ramsayi var. ramsayi (Fan Palm), typically occurring on poorly drained alluvial plains.

Lowland Tropical Rainforest in Broadwater State Forest, QLD. © Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. 1

Consultation details Comments are sought on the draft Conservation Advice and the Committee’s assessment of the Lowland Tropical Rainforest of the Wet Tropics Bioregion as potentially endangered to critically endangered. Comments close on 19 May 2021. About the assessment The national environment law defines an ecological community as an assemblage of native species that inhabits a particular area in nature within Australia. Ecological communities may also take condition into account and exclude highly degraded areas from listings. An ecological community can be eligible for listing as threatened if it is shown to be at risk of extinction in the wild, in accordance with prescribed criteria. The simplest form of extinction is when an ecological community has been totally destroyed and all occurrences have been lost or removed. However, it is more common for ecological communities to become extinct by transformation over time rather than complete loss – becoming different communities with different characteristic species. The criteria used to determine the level of risk for an ecological community are set out in the EPBC Regulations. There are six criteria, each representing a different type of extinction risk. An ecological community is considered threatened if it meets the thresholds under any of the six criteria, it does not need to be threatened under all of them. The overall threat category is determined by the highest threat category met - vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. Ecological communities listed as either Critically Endangered or Endangered are protected under the national environment law for future generations. The decision to list an ecological community as nationally threatened is made by the Australian Government environment Minister. It follows a rigorous and transparent assessment by the Department and Threatened Species Scientific Committee, in the form of a Conservation Advice to the Minister. When an ecological community is approved for listing by the Minister, the Conservation Advice is published. This describes the ecological community, outlines the threats and why it meets listing criteria, and provides guidance on priority research and recovery actions that could be undertaken to help conserve it. An approved conservation advice for this ecological community would provide advice to help manage threats to biodiversity values in the region at a landscape scale, supplementing conservation measures for other matters of environmental significance already in the region, such as threatened species, migratory birds and Ramsar sites. About the Lowland Tropical Rainforest The Lowland Tropical Rainforest occurs in the Wet Tropics bioregion of north Queensland, from around Ingham (just south of the Cardwell Range) in the south to north of Cape Tribulation. These areas have retained stable lowland rainforests during historical climate fluctuations. The distribution of the ecological community coincides with three main subregions: Herbert (Herbert River valley), Tully (Tully and Murray River valleys), and Innisfail (Valleys of the Barron, Mulgrave, Russell and Johnstone rivers, and Liverpool Creek). There are also minor areas in the Daintree-Bloomfield (Bloomfield, Daintree, Mossman River valleys and associated ranges and tablelands) and Macalister subregions (Macalister Range).

An indicative distribution map is available on the public consultation webpage at: https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/nominations/comment/lowland-tropical-rainforest-wet- tropics-bioregion

Lowland Tropical Rainforest, compared with other rainforest types in the region (e.g. littoral rainforest and upland rainforest), is generally recognisable in its canopy features, including being highly irregular, much more open (e.g. in its long-undisturbed state), and containing large fig trees. Variation in rainforest structure type (e.g. component Regional Ecosystems) can be broadly correlated with rainfall patterns associated with the height and orientation of the adjoining mountain ranges, soil drainage and soil nutrient availability.

Due to the stability of the ecological community over time, patches can be important long-term fauna refuges and sites of speciation. The ecological community provides critical feeding and breeding habitat for Casuaris casuaris (Southern Cassowary), Alectura lathami (Australian Brush Turkey), and numerous migratory bird species. Seed dispersal is undertaken by species such as Pteropus conspicillatus (Spectacled Flying-Fox), the Southern Cassowary and Uromys caudimaculatus (Giant White-Tailed Rat). In addition, both known species of tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus bennettianus and D. lumholtzi) occur in the ecological community, their distributions separated by the Daintree River. 2

Historically, the area has been extensively cleared for land uses including timber harvesting, mining, agriculture (e.g sugarcane and grazing country), and rural-residential development and associated infrastructure. Cyclones occur in the region and are a natural disturbance but can cause additional damage to the ecological community because the fragmented landscape can cause more severe wind damage. Climate change is also predicted to impact the ecological community with the capacity of flora and fauna species to adapt to changes in temperature and rainfall uncertain.

Some parts of the ecological community are palm-dominated, particularly in poorly drained areas, such as the Fan Palm (Licuala ramsayi var. ramsayi) forest in the Daintree region, shown here. © Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.

How is the Lowland Tropical Rainforest ecological community identified?

The ecological community can be identified by the following features (refer to the draft Conservation Advice for full details):

Landscape • Lowland Tropical Rainforest is restricted to the Wet Tropics Bioregion (Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia, IBRA V7, DoE 2012), with approximate limits around Ingham in the south and north of Cape Tribulation in the north. • It occurs principally on fertile soils, which may be derived from alluvium, basalt, metamorphic and granite substrates (more likely on colluvial material in the latter two scenarios). • The climate over most of the extent can be described as aseasonal, with rainfall expected throughout the year. The ecological community typically occurs in areas with high annual rainfall (>1300 mm to > 3500 mm per annum). • The ecological community is typically confined between sea-level and 80-100m above sea level (asl) in most occurrences, with the core former distribution being predominantly between 0 – 40m asl. However, it can also be found up to approximately 300-350m asl where substrate and other conditions support the ecological community, for example on fertile basaltic lava flows in the East Palmerston and Mena Creek areas west of Innisfail.

Vegetation • Trees of Lowland Tropical Rainforest are typically tall (at least 25 m), with well-developed buttresses, evergreen (rarely semi-deciduous) and with mesophyll leaves (surface area 20 - 182 cm2) being the most common leaf or leaflet size. Epiphytes of all sizes are found on tree trunks and branches. Vines are typically common. A well-developed sub-canopy tree layer is usually present as well as a sparse shrub/sapling layer, indicating a seedling bank. Ground herbs and ferns are common to uncommon, but grasses are rare. Palms are common in damp soils, and otherwise scattered through the forest. • The palm-dominated rainforests are distinctive structural sub-types of the ecological community, with a conspicuous and significant proportion of the upper strata (canopy layer) comprising either Archontophoenix alexandrae (Feather Palm, Alexander Palm) and/or Licuala ramsayi var. ramsayi (Fan Palm). • Typically, there is an absence or relatively low abundance of species from the genera Eucalyptus, Corymbia, Melaleuca and Casuarina. • The community is subject to relatively frequent (and often high intensity) tropical cyclonic events, although some areas may be topographically protected. It is common that parts of the community are naturally in a highly-disturbed state. Cyclone impacted parts of this ecological community are characterised by an uneven canopy densely draped with vines.

The Queensland Government also has laws on vegetation clearance and protecting State-listed vegetation communities that may apply to certain activities. The Queensland the Vegetation Management Act 1992 (NVMA) regulates the clearing of regional ecosystems, especially those listed as “endangered” or “of concern”. Regional ecosystems that correspond (at least in part) with the ecological community are found in the table below:

Regional Ecosystem ID Regional Ecosystem short description NVMA class

7.3.3 Mesophyll vine forest with Archontophoenix alexandrae on poorly drained alluvial plains of concern

Mesophyll vine forest with Licuala ramsayi on poorly drained alluvial plains and alluvial 7.3.4 areas of uplands of concern

Simple-complex mesophyll to notophyll vine forest on moderately to poorly-drained 7.3.10 alluvial plains of moderate fertility of concern

7.3.17 Complex mesophyll vine forest, on well-drained alluvium of high fertility endangered

7.3.20g: Simple notophyll vine forest with Corymbia torelliana, Eucalyptus tereticornis, C. intermedia, E. pellita, Acacia celsa, A. cincinnata and A. polystachya emergents and co- 7.3.20 dominants. Alluvial fans of the moist rainfall zone, of the foothills and lowlands. of concern

Simple-complex semi-deciduous notophyll to mesophyll vine forest on lowland alluvium, 7.3.23 predominantly riverine levees endangered

7.3.25c: Riverine wetland or fringing riverine wetland. Closed forest of Tristaniopsis exiliflora and Xanthostemon chrysanthus. Stream banks, on well drained alluvium 7.3.25 adjacent to Pleistocene sand dunes of concern

7.3.35 Acacia mangium and/or A. celsa and/or A. polystachya closed forest on alluvial plains endangered

7.3.38 Complex notophyll vine forest with emergent Agathis robusta on alluvial fans of concern

7.3.49 Notophyll vine forest on rubble terraces of streams of concern

7.3.50b: Riverine wetland or fringing riverine wetland. Low notophyll vine thicket with 7.3.50 emergent Melaleuca fluviatilis. Coarse gravel beds in fast flowing streams. of concern

7.8.1 Complex mesophyll to mesophyll vine forest on well-drained basalt lowlands and foothills least concern

Regional Ecosystem ID Regional Ecosystem short description NVMA class

Complex mesophyll vine forest of high rainfall, cloudy uplands on basalt, including small 7.8.2 areas of wind-sheared notophyll vine forest on ridgelines least concern

7.8.11 Closed vineland of wind-disturbed vine forest on basalt foothills and coastal ranges of concern

Complex notophyll vine forest dominated by Backhousia bancroftii, on basaltic terraces 7.8.12 and scree slopes of the North Johnstone River of concern

7.8.14 Complex notophyll vine forest with emergent Agathis robusta, on basalt of concern

Simple-complex mesophyll to notophyll vine forest on moderately to poorly drained metamorphics (excluding amphibolites) of moderate fertility of the moist and wet 7.11.1 lowlands, foothills and uplands least concern

Notophyll or mesophyll vine forest with Archontophoenix alexandrae or Licuala ramsayi 7.11.2 on metamorphics of concern

7.11.3 Semi-deciduous mesophyll vine forest on moist to dry metamorphic foothills of concern

Complex notophyll vine forest with Agathis robusta emergents on foothills and uplands 7.11.7 on metamorphics least concern

Acacia polystachya woodland to closed forest, or Acacia mangium and Acacia celsa open 7.11.8 forest to closed forest, on metamorphics of concern

7.11.10 Acacia celsa open forest to closed forest on metamorphics of concern

7.11.12 Simple notophyll vine forest of moist to very wet metamorphic uplands and highlands least concern

Complex mesophyll vine forest on fertile, well-drained metamorphics of very wet and wet 7.11.23 footslopes of concern

Closed vineland of wind-disturbed vine forest of metamorphic slopes, often steep and 7.11.24 exposed of concern

Simple-complex mesophyll to notophyll vine forest on amphibolites of the very wet 7.11.25 lowlands and foothills of concern

Wind-sheared notophyll vine forest of exposed metamorphic ridge crests and steep 7.11.28 slopes of concern

7.11.30 Simple notophyll vine forest of Blepharocarya involucrigera on metamorphics of concern

Simple-complex mesophyll to notophyll vine forest of moderately to poorly-drained granites and rhyolites of moderate fertility of the moist and wet lowlands, foothills and 7.12.1 uplands least concern

Notophyll or mesophyll vine forest with Archontophoenix alexandrae or Licuala ramsayi, 7.12.2 on granites and rhyolites of concern

Semi-deciduous mesophyll vine forest on granites and rhyolites of the moist and dry 7.12.6 lowlands and foothills of concern

Simple to complex microphyll to notophyll vine forest, often with Agathis robusta or A. 7.12.7 microstachya, on granites and rhyolites of moist foothills and uplands least concern

7.12.9 Acacia celsa open forest to closed forest, on granites and rhyolites of concern

Simple to complex notophyll vine forest and semi-evergreen notophyll vine forest of 7.12.11 rocky areas and talus, on moist foothills and uplands on granite and rhyolite least concern

Regional Ecosystem ID Regional Ecosystem short description NVMA class

Acacia mangium and A. celsa open forest to closed forest or A. polystachya woodland to 7.12.12 closed forest of granite and rhyolite foothills of concern

Simple to complex notophyll vine forest, including small areas of Araucaria bidwillii, of 7.12.16 cloudy wet and moist uplands and highlands on granites and rhyolites least concern

Deciduous microphyll vine forest and/or blue-green algae-covered granite and rhyolite 7.12.38 boulderfields of concern

Complex mesophyll vine forest on fertile, well-drained granites and rhyolites of very wet 7.12.39 and wet lowlands, foothills and uplands of concern

7.12.40 Closed vineland of wind-disturbed vine forest on granites and rhyolites of concern

Podocarpus grayae, Callitris endlicheri and Acacia celsa heathland/shrubland on steep 7.12.41 rocky granite slopes of the Hinchinbrook Island uplands and highlands of concern

Notophyll vine forest with Flindersia brayleyana and Argyrodendron polyandrum on 7.12.42 granite uplands of Great Palm Island of concern

7.12.44 Simple notophyll vine forest dominated by Blepharocarya involucrigera on granite of concern

Microphyll vine forest with Gossia bidwillii +/- Araucaria cunninghamii, on steep granite 7.12.46 talus and boulder slopes of the Palm Islands of concern

Wind-sheared notophyll vine forest on exposed granite and rhyolite ridge crests and 7.12.48 steep slopes of concern

Notophyll vine forest and thicket with Planchonella euphlebia and Podocarpus grayae on 7.12.49 granite of concern

Table 1: Regional Ecosystems (Queensland Herbarium, 2019) that may be components of the Lowland Tropical Rainforest of the Wet Tropics Bioregion ecological community (adapted from Metcalfe & Lawson, 2015). Vegetation Management Act class and Biodiversity status definitions are given at: https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/plants-animals/plants/ecosystems/biodiversity-status/

Myrtle rust is a relatively recent threat but can severely affect some plant groups of Lowland Tropical Rainforest. © Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.

Why is the Lowland Tropical Rainforest considered threatened? The draft assessment in the draft Conservation Advice indicates that the Lowland Tropical Rainforest may be eligible for listing as Endangered or Critically Endangered. The ecological community encompasses an area of 16,476 km2 with the Area of Occupancy estimated to be approximately 60,000 ha (600 km2). This limited distribution has resulted from the threats of land clearing, fragmentation, cyclone impact and climate change. Land clearing has had a significant impact on this ecological community, resulting in a total decline of approximately 70%. With initial colonisation by Europeans in the mid-19th Century, the Wet Tropics bioregion was used for timber harvesting. Key rainforest canopy and valuable hardwood species were heavily logged. In the late 1800s the rainforest also began being cleared for mining, sugar and dairy farming, with an increase in clearing during the sugarcane boom of the 1880s. Since the mid 20th Century land clearing has occurred for rural-residential development and associated infrastructure. In addition, many areas of the ecological community are susceptible to surrounding land uses that affect the surface and sub-surface water flows. The ecological community is one of the most heavily fragmented forest types in the bioregion. Estimates suggest median patch size of the ecological community is about 3 ha, with 80% of patches less than 10 ha in size. Therefore, remnants experience considerable edge effects. For example, margins of patches are exposed to increased light levels, wind speeds, greater temperature extremes, and reduced humidity compared to rainforest interiors. This type of disturbance favours growth of invasive weed species and alterations in species composition, resulting in the ongoing loss of species diversity. Reductions in geographic distribution are one of the key symptoms of extinction risk for ecological communities. A significant reduction in geographic distribution almost certainly comes with a significant loss of diversity in the community. As the area an ecological community occupies declines, so do carrying capacities for component species, niche diversity and opportunities for species to access resources or avoid competitors, predators and pathogens. If the areas lost have fragmented or isolated the remaining occurrences, these may not retain sufficient species or genetic diversity for the ecological community to survive over the long term. These changes will increase risks for individual species and reduce an ecological community’s ability to sustain its characteristic biota, even if the distribution is not continuing to decline. Fluctuations in rainfall and temperature due to climate change, as well as changes to cyclone events poses additional threats to the ecological community. The ability for flora and fauna to adapt to these changes is uncertain. It is likely that climate change will particularly affect species diversity and will affect the geographic range of some species leading changes in species assemblages. Threats like land clearing and fragmentation mentioned above compound the effect of climate change by creating barriers (e.g. roads, powerline corridors) to the dispersal of fauna, seed and pollen. All these factors reduce the ecological function of the remaining patches of Lowland Tropical Rainforest. Reductions in ecological function are one of the key symptoms of extinction risk for ecological communities. Ecological function refers to the ability of communities to support their full diversity of species and to sustain their functional roles, such as nutrient cycling, provision of food or shelter, predation, decomposition, pollination etc. Environmental degradation may diminish the ability of an ecological community to sustain its characteristic native biota by changing the variety and quality of environmental niche space available to individual species. These changes will increase risks for individual species and reduce an ecological community’s ability to sustain its characteristic biota, even if the degradation is not continuing.

Lowland Tropical Rainforest surrounding a sugarcane farm. © Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.

An Orange-footed Scrubfowl (Megapodius reinwardt). © Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Credit: Brian Furby Collection

Why is it important to protect this ecological community? Our native ecological communities are part of Australia’s rich and diverse natural heritage. Their occurrence in the landscape enriches the environment in which we live, and provide many important biodiversity, social and economic functions. They are a signature natural asset important to Indigenous cultures, local communities, and landholders. There are therefore many reasons why it’s important to keep what’s left of the Lowland Tropical Rainforest, and to recover or expand remnants. These reasons include:

• The ecological community includes habitat for at least 31 state or nationally threatened species and many migratory bird species. This includes animal species such as the Southern Cassowary, Red Goshawk, Spectacled Flying-Fox, Northern Quoll, and the Australian Lace-lid frog; and plant species such as the Blue Antler Orchid, Native Moth Orchid, Chingia australis (a fern), and Orange Tamarind.

• Birds, bats and other animals that live in the rainforest can help to control pest rodents and insects that attack nearby crops or plantations and also play an important role in the pollination of native and crop plants.

• These rainforests are an essential clean water source to surrounding areas. • Many of the species found within these forests have traditional and valuable medicinal properties. • Rainforests can sequester and store atmospheric carbon for thousands of years.

• They also provide a focus for local recreation activities and tourism.

A Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius). © Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Credit: Brian Furby Collection.

How will the Lowland Tropical Rainforest be protected? Together with threatened species, threatened ecological communities are protected under the EPBC Act as a matter of national environmental significance. The aim of listing is to prevent further decline and promote and help recovery through land manager and community efforts. Once listed under the EPBC Act, protection for threatened ecological communities comes down to three main things:

• Better management of bushland in and around threatened ecological communities • Funding and programs for activities that improve or protect the threatened ecological communities • Regulation of new activities that may significantly impact the threatened ecological communities.

How will national protection affect Traditional Owners? Please refer to the ‘Australian Government information for Traditional Owners about Lowland Rainforest’ consultation guide for further information to that outlined in this guide: https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/nominations/comment/lowland-tropical-rainforest-wet- tropics-bioregion.

How will national protection affect other land managers, including farmers? How you may be affected if the ecological community is listed depends on whether you have an occurrence of good quality Lowland Tropical Rainforest on your land; and what you intend to do with any such areas. Listing is intended to further support land managers who want to continue managing occurrences of Lowland Tropical Rainforest that still remain in good quality, for future benefits. Supportive practices have helped to retain Lowland Tropical Rainforest remnants. For instance, some remnants are intentionally set aside because they include watercourses or serve as shelter for stock and windbreaks for croplands and pastures.

If no new actions are intended, then the listing won’t affect you. Land managers who want to retain a good quality rainforest or intend to restore any areas of vegetation on their properties may apply for funding to help with their conservation.

Landholders who have the threatened ecological community on their property may be able to access opportunities to manage threats that impact both natural systems and agricultural productivity (e.g. invasive plants and pest animals). Opportunities are available to restore remnants through current or future Australian Government natural resource management programs, such as National Landcare. Talk with your local NRM agency or Landcare group for more advice on any opportunities.

What about water management implications? Listing the Lowland Tropical Rainforest ecological community is unlikely to affect existing water allocation processes. It is important to note that water extraction will remain regulated by state governments. Large water related infrastructure projects with the potential to have a significant impact on the ecological community would need to be considered in the same way as is required already for other EPBC Act matters of national environmental significance that occur in the region such as other threatened ecological communities, threatened species and migratory species.

Buffer zones are recommended to protect the Lowland Tropical Rainforest and avoid a decline in condition, but they are not considered part of the ecological community itself. There are already state and federal requirements to mitigate impacts within buffer zones, for example through the application of setback distances from riparian zones and groundwater dependent ecosystems, to enable protection of various threatened and migratory species, and maintain ecological processes.

National protection only applies to new actions likely to cause significant damage to occurrences of these forests that remain in relatively good condition.

Business as usual for many routine activities

The listing of a threatened ecological community under the EPBC Act will not prevent land managers from continuing to use land or water in the same way they were previously, providing they do not significantly change or intensify their activities.

It is important to note that the EPBC Act only regulates activities that have, or may have, a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance, including threatened ecological communities. Whether or not an action is likely to have a significant impact depends on the sensitivity, value and quality of the environment which it impacts, and on the intensity, duration, magnitude and geographic extent of the impacts.

The normal activities of individual landholders, residents and Local Councils will typically not be affected by a listing. Routine property maintenance, land management and other established activities, such as most farming activities or ongoing road maintenance, are continuing activities and/or unlikely to have a significant impact. They do not require consideration under the EPBC Act.

For instance, the following actions are unlikely to require approval under the EPBC Act: • Continuation of existing grazing, cropping or horticultural activities; • Maintenance of existing roads, fences, access tracks or firebreaks; • Maintenance of existing farm gardens or orchards; • Maintenance of existing farm dams, weirs or water storages; • Maintenance of existing pumps, irrigation systems and drainage lines; • Replacement and maintenance of sheds, buildings, yards and fences; • Control of weeds and management of pest animals on individual properties or roadsides.

In all these activities, landholders are encouraged to avoid any severe impacts to ecological communities, and to help restore remnants. For example, landholders should try to avoid native vegetation clearance and detrimental hydrological changes in or adjacent to an ecological community, and protect them from nearby activities, such as spray drift from fertiliser, pesticide or herbicide sprayed in adjacent land.

Note that human settlements and infrastructure where an ecological community formerly occurred do not form part of the natural environment and are therefore not considered to be a part of a listed ecological community. This applies to sites that have been replaced by crops or exotic pastures, or in other situations where a listed ecological community occurs in a highly-degraded or unnatural state.

Referral of actions with significant impacts

The main consideration if the ecological community was listed would be to undertake an environment impact assessment and refer for approval of a new activity that could significantly impact1 upon good quality areas of the rainforest. Significant impacts are likely to affect the sensitivity, value, and quality of the environment where an action is proposed to occur. Most activities are already considered through state and local vegetation and water regulations. EPBC Act referrals usually apply to major projects, for instance major new road works, new housing and industrial developments, or proposals to convert large areas of intact rainforest to other land uses.

If Lowland Tropical Rainforest was listed, activities likely to require referral include, but are not restricted to: • Clearing large areas of relatively good quality native vegetation for development on or close to an occurrence of the area; • Fragmentation through construction of large new roads, tracks or fencing through a rainforest; • Significantly changing natural drainage and local water flow or recharge patterns; • Or major use of herbicides or fertilisers.

Some agricultural activities may need approval, but only if you have relatively good condition Lowland Tropical Rainforest on your property and want to substantially change the way you use land or water in a way that will have a significant impact on the area. In some cases, avoiding the need to refer, or gaining approval for a particular activity that may have a significant impact, may require using alternative ways to carry out the proposed activity to reduce impacts on a listed ecological community. These alternative ways are often required for state approval as well. Nevertheless, before you make any changes to the way you use your land that could result in irreversible or long-term significant loss of a protected ecological community, it is best that you first check to see whether EPBC Act approval is needed. In particular, if you thought your actions could have a significant impact on the ecological community. It this is the case, the requirement would be to:

• Check you have the right type of vegetation present and if it’s in good enough condition to be referred. • Plan to avoid or minimise impacts to vegetation occurrences, especially the best quality occurrences.

1 Significant impacts are likely to affect the sensitivity, value, and quality of the environment where an action is proposed to occur. For more information on the Significant Impacts Guidelines see: www.environment.gov.au/epbc/publications/significant-impact-guidelines-12-actions-or- impacting-upon-commonwealth-land-and-actions

• Talk with the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.

Where can I get more information?

The draft Conservation Advice and other information about how to make a submission, including questions to guide your responses, are on the website of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/nominations/comment

Advice about Australian Government environmental funding programmes (e.g. National Landcare or the Environmental Restoration Fund) can be found online at: www.environment.gov.au/about-us/grants-funding

Australian Government natural resource management initiatives are located at: www.nrm.gov.au

Information about the EPBC Act referral and assessment process is available on: www.environment.gov.au/protection/environment-assessments/assessment-and-approval-process

Further information for farmers on the national environment law and agricultural development is available at: www.environment.gov.au/land/farmers

If you need further information, contact the Department’s Community Information Unit by: phone on 1800 803 772 (freecall); or email [email protected]