As we come to the end of Biodiversity Month, we’d like to share a cross section of some of the great Healthy Land & Water projects that protect, conserve, and improve biodiversity right here in South East Queensland. To understand the significance of these projects to our region and our communities, it is useful to take a look at why biodiversity is important. Biodiversity encompasses every living thing that exists on our planet and the environment in which they live to form an intricate ‘web of life’.

We have one of the most diverse backyards

South East Queensland is internationally recognised for its unique ecosystems and abundant flora and fauna. The region is home to several thousand plant and animal species, many of which are endemic (meaning they are only found in South East Queensland). There are over 154 native plant communities, and a diversity of coastal, marine, and freshwater environments. South East Queensland’s Moreton Bay Ramsar Site and Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area are landscapes of international biodiversity significance.

Unfortunately, there are significant historical and ongoing threats to our region’s biodiversity including habitat loss and fragmentation, introduced species, poor fire management regimes, and climate change. This has led to over 150 ecosystems and 320 species being listed as threatened or near threatened.

The SEQ Natural Resource Management Plan (NRM Plan) sets out a coordinated set of actions seeking to conserve, manage, or enhance natural assets through proactive actions. It identifies key targets for our region’s biodiversity. Healthy Land & Water is providing the leadership in the review of the SEQ NRM Plan on behalf of the Australian and Queensland Governments and our members, with input from the community. Biodiversity is important to humans for many reasons, we depend on biodiversity for our sustenance, health, well-being, and enjoyment of life. We derive all our food and many medicines and industrial products from biological diversity.

The biodiversity book by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) describes five core and interacting values that humans place on biodiversity. Any loss or deterioration in the condition of biodiversity can affect human well-being and compromise these values:

• Economic — Biodiversity provides humans with raw materials for consumption and production. Many livelihoods, such as those of farmers, fishers, and timber workers, are dependent on biodiversity.
• Ecological life support— Biodiversity provides functioning ecosystems that supply oxygen, clean air and water, pollination of plants, pest control, wastewater treatment, and many ecosystem services.
• Recreation — Many recreational pursuits rely on our unique biodiversity, such as birdwatching, hiking, camping, and fishing.
• Cultural — Australian culture is closely connected to biodiversity through the expression of identity, spirituality, and aesthetic appreciation. Traditional Owners have strong connections and obligations to biodiversity arising from spiritual beliefs about animals and plants.
• Scientific — Biodiversity represents a wealth of systematic ecological data that help us to understand the natural world and its origins.

Biodiversity Month aims to promote the importance of protecting, conserving, and improving biodiversity and ensure our environments and habitats are preserved for future generations to cherish and enjoy. We hope you enjoy reading more about a cross-section of our projects at Healthy Land & Water aimed at improving biodiversity here in South East Queensland.

Moreton Bay Ramsar Site

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance is an international treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

Wetlands of International Importance in Australia are representative, rare, or unique sites – like Ramsar Sites – that are important for conserving biodiversity. Extending from the foreshores of Brisbane, Moreton Bay is internationally recognised as a Ramsar wetland for biodiversity and ecological significance and was listed as an internationally important wetland under the Ramsar Convention in 1993.

It is considered one of the most significant marine habitats on the east coast of Australia and has high indigenous cultural, recreational, and economic value.

Funding statement 

Environmental Restoration Fund – Migratory Shorebirds Project

The abundance of waterbirds and the significant proportion of some species’ global populations found in Moreton Bay meet two Ramsar criteria. The project implements priority actions to reduce threats to migratory shorebirds within the Moreton Bay Ramsar Site and in adjacent areas used by shorebirds that visit the Ramsar Site.

Healthy Land & Water is working with land managers, governments, Traditional Owners, community organisations, and researchers to undertake actions that protect and restore roosting and foraging habitats and build knowledge on habitats used by migratory shorebirds. Project actions are anticipated to benefit seven threatened migratory shorebirds including the Far Eastern curlew, Curlew sandpiper, Great knot, Red knot, Greater sand plover, Lesser sand plover, and Bar-tailed godwit.

This project is supported by Healthy Land & Water through funding from the Australian Government’s Environmental Restoration Fund.

Regional Land Partnerships – Mountains to Mangroves Project

The Mountains to Mangroves Project aims to reduce threats to the Ramsar site and its threatened species through controlling pest and domestic animals, improving ecological fire regimes, weed control, reducing impacts of vehicles and pedestrians, reducing sediment run-off, marine debris removal, coastal habitat restoration, and shellfish reef creation.

Healthy Land & Water is working alongside project delivery partners including private land owners, land managers, local land care groups, and Traditional Owners.

This project is supported by Healthy Land & Water through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

Coochiemudlo Island Melaleuca Wetland Project

The Coochiemudlo Island Melaleuca Wetland has high cultural and ecological values and is home to an endangered plant species and over 170 recorded native plant species. The wetlands provide habitat for the threatened wallum sedge frog, making it an important freshwater wetland within the Moreton Bay Ramsar Site. Unfortunately, Melaleuca Wetlands have diminished in South East Queensland due to coastal development pressures and weed invasion. The Coochiemudlo Island Melaleuca Wetland project aims to preserve and protect the wetlands. This is not only important for the ecosystem services it provides to the Moreton Bay Ramsar site, but also for the conservation of the Melaleuca wetland ecosystem which is in decline.

The primary weeding works were estimated to reduce weeds at key locations across the wetland by approximately 70%. During the project, the team unexpectedly found additional numbers of endangered plant species. This added an even greater conservation outcome for the project, which has strengthened the integrity of the Melaleuca wetland ecosystem and habitat for wetland fauna. This project has been delivered by Coochiemudlo Island Coastcare who has been caring for the island’s environment since 2013 using chemical-free methods. This group is continuing to care for the wetlands, with a maintenance weeding program planned for rollout over the coming years.

This project is supported by Healthy Land & Water through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

Sand dune stabilisation project at Woorim Beach

Bribie Island’s foreshore, which lies within the internationally listed Moreton Bay Ramsar Wetland, provides an important nesting habitat for the endangered loggerhead turtles of the South Pacific Ocean and a roosting habitat for migratory shorebirds. To address erosion along Bribie Island’s eastern sand dunes, the Moreton Bay Regional Council has introduced a sand back-passing system to rebuild the dunes that protect coastal development.

Erosion has caused dunal vegetation to diminish. As a result, the sand dunes are exposed to artificial light pollution from the street and houses, which disorients the loggerhead hatchlings. When the turtles hatch, they can head towards this artificial light instead of the light on the horizon out to sea The community-led Woorim Beach Foreshore Rehabilitation Project recently completed the weeding and native planting of two hectares of sand dunes along Woorim Beach. This work aims to revegetate and stabilise the sand dunes that protect the nesting and hatching turtles. The work also enhances the diversity and abundance of coastal flora and fauna. Maintenance of the site will continue into the future.

This project is supported by Healthy Land & Water through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program and the Bribie Island Environmental Protection Association (BIEPA), Barung Landcare with Queensland Government’s Skilling Queenslanders for Work, and Moreton Bay Regional Council.

Environmentally Friendly Moorings

Seagrass meadows form one of the most important marine habitats globally and occur in shallow coastal waters including many parts of South East Queensland and Moreton Bay. Traditional block and tackle moorings destroy seagrass as the mooring chain drags on the sea floor, resulting in dead zones with very little habitat value or sea life. Healthy Land & Water coordinates the Environmentally Friendly Mooring program which aims to recover seagrass in priority areas by working with mooring owners to replace existing blocks and tackle moorings with environmentally friendly designs. The project is delivered in close consultation with State Agencies, Traditional Owners, community groups, and the boating community.

Healthy Land & Water is currently delivering a four-year Environmentally Friendly Mooring program delivered through the Offsets team for the Department of Environment and Science (DES). This will see the delivery of 116 more Environmentally Friendly Moorings within the Moreton Bay Marine Park. So far, more than 230 traditional block and tackle moorings have been replaced with Environmentally Friendly Moorings within Moreton Bay and more are scheduled to be replaced in the near future.

The Environmentally Friendly Mooring program is a partnership with Maritime Safety Queensland, the Department of Environment and Science, Gold Coast Waterways Authority, the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC), environmentally friendly mooring installers, and mooring boat holders.

Environmental Restoration Fund: Living Waterways

The Living Waterways project aims to improve water quality in the lower Brisbane River by engaging and educating the community on ways to improve the natural environment, waterways, and water quality. The Lower Brisbane catchment has flow-on effects to the downstream Moreton Bay Ramsar Wetland, making it an important resource to protect. The Lower Brisbane Project is comprised of the Three Mile Scrub Project, the Clean Up Program, and the Living Waterways Program.

 FUNDING STATEMENT

Three Mile Scrub

Situated along the banks of Enoggera Creek, the area between Ashgrove and Newmarket, originally known as Three Mile Scrub, is an area of significant historical and botanical importance. Unfortunately, vine weeds and urbanisation threaten the riparian canopy along this stretch of creek, and if left untreated they may kill the canopy trees and result in the destabilisation and erosion of the creek bank. If this were to occur it would increase sediment loads to Enoggera Creek and the downstream environments including the Lower Brisbane River and the Moreton Bay Ramsar Wetland. This project aims to regenerate the riparian corridor and return the area to its remnant ecosystem through a program of removing invasive weeds, planting native species, and undertaking bank stabilisation. This will reduce the amount of sediment loads flowing into Moreton Bay.

Funded by the Australian Government through the Environmental Restoration Fund, this exciting project in urban Brisbane is delivered in proud partnership with Save Our Waterways Now (SOWN), Davidson Street Bushcare, Brisbane City Council (BCC), and the Oxley Creek Catchment Association. By 2023 primary weeding and revegetation will be completed along nine hectares of the Three Mile Scrub riparian corridor to improve riparian habitat quality, resilience, and connectivity.

This project is supported by Healthy Land & Water, through funding from the Australian Government’s Environment Restoration Fund.