2016-12-12 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                             12 DECEMBER 2016


 Noosa River is the healthiest river system in SEQ with consistent A- to B+ report card ratings;
 A network of diverse wetlands is present, of good ecological condition and encompassing
   over 16,000 ha. Many are recognised as being of national or state significance; and
 Over one third of the shire is covered by protected reserves which play a critical role in
   conservation management locally and for the broader SEQ region.

Biodiversity Threats

Primary threats to Noosa’s biodiversity are identified as follows:
 Climate change – Noosa Shire’s biodiversity has a high exposure and sensitivity to predicted
   impacts of climate change. This includes increased disturbance to or loss of natural
   ecosystems, flora and fauna due to –
   o   increased storm surge and coastal erosion;
   o   more frequent and intense flooding and storm activity;
   o   higher mean temperatures and increased number of extremely hot days;
       greater intensity, spread and frequency of bushfires; and
   o   more frequent weeds encroaching into disturbed ecosystems.
   Vulnerable communities may include rainforests, eucalypt forests, saltmarshes, mangroves,
   wetlands, plant eating species (i.e. native folivores such as Koalas), and species vulnerable
   to mass die-off in hot conditions (such as flying foxes).
 Weeds and pest species – outcompete and prey on native species, smother and degrade
   natural ecosystems and can reduce or eliminate ecosystems functions. Examples include
   aquatic pest animals that prey on fish, crustaceans, frogs and reptiles, garden escapees of
   exotic plant species, pest animals preying marine turtles, exotic vines in rural bushland areas,
   and rural pests that degrade pasture and cause illness and injury to livestock and spread
   disease.
 Vegetation clearing – to make way for housing, infrastructure and agriculture – though this
   has slowed considerably in recent decades due to local and state vegetation protection laws
   and land use controls. A total of 584 hectares of remnant vegetation has been cleared post
   1997 (1% of the remnant vegetation extent). Clearing of non-remnant woody vegetation
   (regrowth vegetation and scattered trees) still occurs and is the main contributor of land
   clearing in Noosa. These values provide landscape connectivity, potential threatened
   ecological communities once mature, potential habitat trees and some threatened species
   habitat;
 Habitat fragmentation and development – from past broad-scale clearing and ongoing
   development, resulting in loss of connectivity, barriers to movement and habitat disturbance
   and loss for terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity;
 Degrading processes – such as erosion and sedimentation into waterways, increasing litter
   and declines in soil health;
 Changing fire regimes - including changes to the natural frequency and intensity of fires
   which can destroy ecological communities, alter recruitment patterns, and increase
   susceptibility to weeds. Specific vegetation communities at risk include rainforest and dry vine
   thickets, wet sclerophyll forests, heathlands and Melaleuca wetlands; and
 Conflicts between humans and wildlife – mostly around urban areas where there is more
   people and cars and domestic pets that attack wildlife. Also recreational use impacts from
   illegal or uncontrolled activities such as arson and off-trail access to national parks and
   reserves.




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