Monday, February 17, 2020

Poor governance kills more native plants and animals than bushfires


We have all been dismayed at the reported loss of native wildlife throughout the recent devastating bushfires. Images and stories of dead and fleeing animals have created a global response. Estimates of a billion animals lost and some species brought to the brink of extinction have prompted donations of food, equipment and medical supplies on an unprecedented scale.

Photo credit: abc.net.au
However, ecologists have been reporting devastating losses of wildlife and vegetation for decades. Australia has one of the worst records for species extinction worldwide. According to the New South Wales Government figures, 517,956 hectares of native bushland were cleared from 1998 to 2015. WWF-Australia estimates that this killed at least 9.1 million mammals, 10.7 million birds, and 67.1 million reptiles – more than 86.9 million animals in total—based on averages of measured animal densities (link wwf.org.au).

Recommendations from environmental impact studies, EIS, conducted prior to many development projects are often watered down or even ignored by developers with little or no penalties applied (link The Conversation Sept 2019). This non-adherence to law is happening at all levels, from major coal-mine developments on farmland and wilderness, to small housing estates in urban centres.

Photo credit: nationaltrust.org.au
Required offsetting is either not carried out or is conducted in a completely inappropriate manner resulting in continual degradation of ecosystems, fragmentation of habitat and losses of species from an area. Offsets don’t necessarily require a like for like replacement and consequently the actual number of animals or plants that are lost from an area are sometimes not replaced at all. 


Offsets also tend to result in smaller and more isolated patches of habitat being available to native flora and fauna creating a significant decline in biodiversity. These small areas make the animals and plants within them even more vulnerable and prone to extinction during a bushfire.

Late last year, the Federal Government launched a review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (link EPBCAct review). Some experts are concerned that the review may end up weakening environmental protection in Australia and developers will be able to continue to avoid complying with regulations even more blatantly.

Sustainable development requires steadfast compliance



Thursday, February 6, 2020

Urban trees can save money


Much world-wide research concludes that trees in urban spaces contribute significantly to the economy.

And, even in Australia:
1 A survey by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland found that homes in leafy Brisbane streets were valued up to 30% higher than those in streets with few trees. (Plant, L. (2006). Brisbane: “Beautiful one day, perfect the next” - Is there room for improvement - LINK)

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2 Broad-leaved trees in the northern suburbs of Perth were found to increase the median property values by as much as $16,000. (Pandita, R., Polyakovb, M., Tapsuwanc, S. & Morand, T. (2013). The effect of street trees on property value in Perth, Western Australia - LINK)

3 Brisbane’s street trees provide an estimated annual benefit of $1.6million in air pollutant removal, carbon sequestration and rainfall interception. (Proceedings of the 7th National Street Tree Symposium, 7-8 September 2006, Adelaide, SA. Adelaide: TREENET - LINK)

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4 In the Melbourne City, each tree is estimated to provide ecosystem services to the value of $160pa. (Nursery and Garden Industry Australia. Estimating the benefits of Australian street trees, a pilot study - LINK).

5 All of Moreland City Council’s street trees have a combined amenity value of over $270 million. (Moreland’s Urban Forest Strategy 2017 – 2027 -LINK)

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6 A typical street tree in Adelaide is estimated to provide gross annual benefits of about $420. (Brindal, M. & R. Stringer (2009). The value of urban trees: Environmental factors and economic efficiency - LINK)

7 An Australia-wide survey concludes that for a property with a base value of $500,000, Australians are happy to pay up to $35,000 more to buy a home in a leafy neighbourhood. (Fig 9, P21, Valuing Trees: What is Nature Worth. A research report commissioned by Planet Ark - LINK.)

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Why do we still cut them down?

PS 1:
The San Diego County Trees project has a cool Tree Plotter website (LINK). You can click on a particular tree plotted on an interactive map and up will come photos and data including the eco-benefits, such as absorbing stormwater runoff, energy conservation, air quality and carbon sequestration, etc.

PS 2:
Look for the Friends of Drouin's Trees at the Ficifolia Festival. Come and meet the team of tree huggers. There will be give-aways - even some trees - games for the kids, count the rings, information sheets, etc etc.