2019-01-14 General Committee Agenda - Attachment 1 to Item 2 - Noosa River Partnership Proposal

The Nature Conservancy


    3.2.    Funding Sources
    This project is funded through a public-private partnership including:
       $1.2M from the Nature Conservancy
       $1.2M from Noosa Council
       $1.2M from various other sources yet to be secured (likely State Government,
       corporate businesses and private individuals, trusts and foundations).


The Nature Conservancy and project partners will endeavor to secure the $1.2M during the
first 18 months of the project, with resource acquisition to be led by The Nature
Conservancy’s Business Development Team (see 7.0 below). The unsecured $1.2M
component of the project will be used to support Phase III construction (see Project
Construction Phases below).

    3.3.    Project Description and workflow

This project seeks to restore an oyster reef system comprised of several individual but
connected reef patches (collective known as a reef ecosystem) throughout the lower
sections of the Noosa River estuary. The project builds on the ecological studies and trials
led by University of Sunshine Coast (2016-2018) identified as the feasibility component of
this project (i.e. Phase I, see 6.1. below).

The project workflow encompasses four work streams:


    1. Planning, governance and communication
    The first 12 months of the project will deliver activites required to effect successful
    ecosystem restoration and community engagement. These include: Development of a
    project implementation plan, project risk assessment, communications framework,
    habitat suitably modelling, community volunteering projects, reef design and
    construction briefs, permits, project governance and monitoring and evaluation reporting
    framework.


    2. Reef restoration and long-term management
    This phase of the project focuses on the procurement of materials and in water
    construction of oyster reefs. Activites associated with this phase will be outlined in the
    project implementation plan and include: preparation of tender documents and legal
    contracts for procurement of materials and reef construction by third parties, final
    preparation of reef design, locations and site management, execution of permit
    requirements and reef construction. The long-term management and tenure of
    restoration sites including the harvest of oysters and associated marine life is an
    important component of the project which should be negotiated amongst stakeholders
    prior to reef construction. This component is best led by the responsible governing
    agency and guided by TNC and stakeholders.


    3. Community engagement and volunteering


   Noosa River Partnership                                                             Page | 9