Does nature pay a price for economic growth?

There is an argument, that as economies grow, the resultant pollution, waste, land clearing and climate change causes nature to decline. And as economies grow, so does the consumption of resources and energy.

Our resources are finite and yet we in Australia seem happy to extract them and sell them to other countries, (and sometimes we even buy them back again!), all in the name of growing our economy.

In 2018, Australia exported 887 million tonnes of iron ore, about 80% being sold to China. In 2019 Australia imported steel, mostly from China, to the value of $6.2 billion. (In the 2019-2020 financial year, the value of Australian iron ore exports was over $101 billion.)

Mt Tom Price iron ore mine WA (Wiki Commons)

A little earlier this year, 2020, Australia became the world’s biggest exporter of liquid natural gas. The extraction, transportation and burning of LNG releases carbon dioxide and methane (the two worst greenhouse gases) into the atmosphere. Emissions from Australia’s gas industry alone far outstrip any gains we have made from shifting to solar and wind energy generation.  

Coal seam gas field Qld (Lock The Gate)

 (Recently it was announced that two gas terminals will be built in Port Kembla NSW and Crib Point Vic, to accept gas imports from Japan, USA and other countries!?)

Let’s not even start with coal.

Loy Yang coal-fired power station Latrobe Valley

The extraction and export of our finite natural resources in the name of growing the economy, puts a considerable burden on the environment. However, it is not hard to argue that if economic activity is curbed, jobs are lost and standards of living decline. So, what is the answer?

Some researchers say that the environmental protection sector is capable of itself contributing to economic growth.

Scientists, technicians, skilled and unskilled workers are needed for designing, constructing, installing and maintaining wind and solar generators. Someone has to design, build and maintain sewerage systems and water treatment plants. Some people already are becoming very rich inventing and producing electric cars, super storage batteries, etc. 

Wind turbines Wonthaggi

Clean and green environments attract developers (some of who then destroy the very resource that makes them wealthy). Clean air, pure water, healthy food and a balanced and sustainable natural environment all contribute to a healthy community which results in benefiting the economy rather than costing it.

Any decline in nature is not due to economic growth per se, but more to the lack of effective policy and planning strategies to properly manage the issue. Governments at all levels are responsible for this.

 

Biodiversity offsetting in Victoria

In Victoria, State and Federal regulations require the loss of biodiversity by the removal, destruction or lopping of native vegetation due to development, to be compensated for by offset actions that generate no net loss in biodiversity.

It is the view of many in the community that generated gains due to offsetting lack transparency or plausibility, and are often overstated. 

Main South Rd - proposed roundabout places trees under threat

 

Under the Victorian Planning Scheme provisions, there is a three step hierarchy that developers are required to adopt in relation to native vegetation; “1) avoid the removal, destruction or lopping of native vegetation; 2) minimise impacts from the removal, destruction or lopping of native vegetation that cannot be avoided; 3) provide an offset to compensate for the biodiversity impact due to the removal, destruction or lopping of native vegetation.”

Princes Way west - linear corridor connection disrupted

  

Being within the provisions of the Victorian Planning Scheme, this three-step hierarchy is a requirement of any permit granted in regard to native vegetation – developers, councils and government departments must enact provisions 1), 2) or 3).

A casual observer might wonder if any attention is paid to this requirement at all.

McGlone Rd - once had connecting canopy

 

In Drouin, we are losing areas of native vegetation and fertile farmland with every new mega-development – Weebar Rd, both sides of McGlone Rd, and watch out for Gardner-Holman Rd and Main South Rd. Our landscape vistas and impressive town gateways are modified almost daily. Every mature tree removed from a roadside corridor – Princes Way west, McGlone Rd, etc – contributes to loss of biodiversity and according to regulations must be 1) avoided, 2) minimised or 3) realistically compensated for. 

References:

DELWP - Native vegetation removal regulations

Australian Govt Dept Agriculture Water and the Environment - Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Vegetation Link - Offsets explained

 

 

 

 

A few simple facts about forests

Riparian 'wet' forest - Toorongo Falls Reserve

 

·       Forests absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.

·       In one year, a hectare of forest will produce enough oxygen to sustain more than 30 people annually.

·       Forests take up water and transpire it back into the air to make rain.

·       Forests provide habitat for a myriad of animals.

·       Forests store carbon to help mitigate climate change.

·       Forests provide biodiversity – resilience, variety and number – the foundation of all ecosystems.

·       Forests often have important cultural, historical and recreational worth.

·       Forests are a source of food and timber products.

·       Australia’s forests, about 130 million hectares, represent around 3% of the world’s forests.

·       13 million hectares of the world’s forests are lost each year.

 

In Australia, a forest is defined as an area of land dominated by trees that have a height of at least 2 metres and a crown cover of 20% or more. Our forests consist mostly of Eucalypt (75%), Acacia (8%), Melaleuca (5%) and other – Callitris, Casuarina, Mangrove, etc (12%). (Australian Forest Profiles ABARES)

Alpine forest - Mt Baw Baw

 

Forests face many pressures: land clearing, urban development, mining, bushfire, climate change, weeds, pests and disease.

 

Coastal forest bushfire recovery - Grantville NCR

Well might we condemn the massive scale of deforestation in Brazil, Borneo, Indonesia, et al, but we are pretty good at chopping down trees ourselves. In 2015, the WWF Forests Report has Australia as the only western nation in the top ten countries for land clearing.

Land clearing for urban development - Drouin

 

“Queensland clears more land each year than the rest of Australia put together, and the rate at which it is destroying its vegetation is comparable with the infamous deforestation that occurs in the Brazilian Amazon.” (The Guardian March 2018)

 

Since European settlement in Australia, 29 mammals have become extinct and 1700 others are described as endangered or threatened. The greatest threat to wildlife survival in Australia is by far habitat loss due to land clearing.

Urban 'woodland' forest - Elizabeth Cl Drouin

 

Because of the wide range of ecological, economic and social benefits that forests provide, it is vital we employ the optimum sustainable forest management practices to protect them.

Forest-urban boundary - Drouin

 

Take a breath and thank a tree.