2020-09-14 GC Agenda - Item 7 - Attachment 2 - Independent Scientific Review of Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

The Partnership agreement will be reviewed after three years (July 2022). The total operating budget is
$2.4M, inclusive of $1.2M from TNC and $1.2M from Noosa Council, with the expectation that TNC will
raise additional funds to support further oyster bed restoration.
An Executive Level Forum from each party is responsible for the cooperative arrangements under the
agreement. A Technical Advisory Group (TAG) (including independent experts) has been established to
advise on the shellfish restoration project.
The agreement commits to the restoration of oyster reefs in the lower estuary, and technical support for
the Noosa River Plan. Schedule A to the agreement sets out a series of objectives, deliverables (outputs),
timeframes, measures and delivery responsibilities. Each objective is further developed in the project
management plan for the Bring Back the Fish Project (The Nature Conservancy, 2020).

         2.2 Bring Back the Fish Project
The goal of the Bring Back the Fish Project (‘the project) is to:
                     “improve the environmental health of the Noosa River Estuary through active
               restoration and conservation activities that engage the Noosa Community in meaningful
                      conservation and support economic and community wellbeing” (The Nature
                                              Conservancy, 2020, p. 10)

The Project has a number of objectives, each with multiple activities. The primary objective is the
restoration of shellfish ecosystem, initially at two locations and then (subject to successful establishment at
these sites) at other locations throughout the estuary. The objectives described in the Project Plan
(paraphrased details in brackets) are as follows:

         A-1     Project establishment and management (project governance, management, communication
                 and reporting);
         A-2     Site selection (identify restoration sites for phase 2 and 3);
         A-3     Community engagement (strengthen community interest, support and participation);
         A-4     Oyster ecosystem restoration; and
         A-5     Noosa River Plan (provide technical and expert support to Noosa Council).
The Project Plan notes (on pg. 9) that more recent dialogue between TNC and Noosa Council has identified
additional initiatives to explore potential for seagrass restoration in Lake Cooroibah, and opportunities for
sustainable commercial and recreational fisheries in the Noosa River. These additional activities will
incorporated into the current objectives (A2 and A2).
The Project Plan specifies a set of deliverables, with timeframes, measures and responsible parties
identified. Table 1 below provides a summary version of the project objectives and deliverables.

Table 1. Project objectives and deliverables
    Objectives                                               Deliverables1
    A1         Establish effective project governance,       A1.1       Establish Technical Advisory Group (TAG)
               management, communication and
                                                             A1.2       Appoint Project Manager
               reporting sufficient to successfully
               implement shellfish restoration               A1.3       Project Implementation Plan and MER
               project                                                  Plan
                                                             A1.4       Participate in public forums
                                                             A1.5       Annual project reports & final report


1
    Deliverables have been paraphrased for brevity. For full description, refer to Table 1 in the Project Plan pg. 10-15


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