This World Soil Day is putting the spotlight on what can be done to address some curly issues with soil that are estimated to cost Australia more than $1 billion per year in lost production.
Soils contribute approximately $63 billion per year to Australia’s economy through agricultural production and directly contribute to a $100 billion Australian agricultural sector by 2030.
For over 20 years the health of South East Queensland’s waterways has been monitored and reported on via a comprehensive Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program (EHMP), providing a snapshot of the health of waterways of the region in the form of an annual Report Card.
The internationally recognised program provides a regional picture of the state of Quandamooka (Moreton Bay), the region’s waterways, catchments, and community quality of life, enabling a coordinated approach to catchment management.
Healthy Land & Water is the current entity coordinating the EHMP in collaboration with a diverse range of community, industry, and government partners.
Healthy Land & Water and a host of its partners across South East Queensland are delivering a range of activities to reduce threats and restore habitat in and around Quandamooka (Moreton Bay), alongside project delivery partners including Traditional Owners, private landowners, land managers, and local environmental groups.
The region’s waterways provide many important benefits such as clean and safe drinking water, habitats for recreational and commercial fishing, and a reliable water source for agricultural productivity.
Rivers, creeks, lakes, and beaches that are easily accessible are important places of recreation where locals can walk, cycle, swim, boat, fish, camp, picnic, and socialise. South East Queensland residents also spend and save money using local waterways for recreation, which contributes to the economic value of the area.
A key signifier of a healthy marine ecosystem, seagrass, has returned to many areas of Quandamooka (Moreton Bay) thanks to combined efforts and long-term targeted investments in catchments across South East Queensland.
There has been significant long-term recovery of seagrass in southern Deception Bay which was lost entirely in 1996. Seagrass meadows in Bramble Bay, which have not been seen since the 1970s, have also recovered over the past two years and are now widespread in waters off the southern Redcliffe Peninsula.
The Report Card provides an assessment of the ecosystem health of South East Queensland’s waterways via A-F health grades. The release of the annual Report Card results is the culmination of twelve months of scientific monitoring at 312 freshwater, estuarine, marine, and event monitoring sites throughout the region as part of the Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program, the EHMP.
Collaboration is a major success factor in science-practice partnerships according to a new research paper.
The practical research delved into the key enabling and limiting factors that influence the success of science-practice partnerships.
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Healthy Land & Water
Level 11, 240 Queen St
GPO Box 735
MEANJIN (BRISBANE)
QLD 4001
Australia
Healthy Land and Water Ltd
ABN 91 115 662 989
