2016-12-12 General Committee - Attachment 1 to Item 6 - Biodiversity Assessment Report

                                                                         Noosa Biodiversity Plan – Biodiversity Assessment Report



5.3       Con se rv a t io n sig nif ic an ce a s se s sm ent
Areas and issues of conservation significance are considered to be biodiversity values that are of high
value and at high risk to threatening processes. Within the Noosa Shire an analysis of significant
biodiversity values within development prone and climate change vulnerable areas identified a number of
values that are of conservation significance. These are listed in the matrix below.


                                                                                  RISKS


                                                Development risk         Climate change vulnerability        Weeds & pests
            SIGNIFICANT BIODIVERSITY VALUES




                                              • TEC                                                       • All values
                                              • Remnant significant      • Saltmarsh TEC
                                                species habitat          • Lowland Rainforest TEC
                                              • Remnant wetlands &       • Other rainforest communities
                                                watercourses             • Wetlands
                                              • Remnant corridors &      • Wet sclerophyll forests
                                                linkages                 • Coastal headland and fore
                                              • Remnant locally /          dune heaths
                                                regionally significant
                                                species habitat
                                              • ERE, Of concern, least
                                                concern remnant
                                              • Potential to be TEC
                                                (regrowth)
                                              • Regrowth
                                                watercourses
                                              • Regrowth significant
                                                species habitat
                                                potential
                                              • Regrowth corridors &
                                                linkages
                                              • Regrowth under-
                                                represented REs
                                              • Endangered regrowth




Within the context of existing statutory and non-statutory mechanisms, a number of these conservation
values are already addressed under State and Commonwealth legislation and conservation initiatives.
However, others values are only partially protected and some are not addressed or have no level of
protection at all. These values are of relevance to planning and conservation management. For the
Noosa Shire this includes:

      •    Remnant vegetation
      •    Locally and regionally significant species habitat
      •    Endangered regrowth vegetation
      •    Regrowth vegetation with TEC, watercourse, corridor and significant species habitat values.

Climate change as well as weeds and pests are threats that occur across Noosa irrespective of the level
of protection. Nonetheless there are management actions that can be done at a local level to reduce
these threats and build adaptive capacity through healthy, well connected ecosystems, including:

      •    Taking a proactive risk management approach to weeds and bushfire risk in protected areas
      •    Maximise the condition and extent of protected areas




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