2022-04-12-P&E Agenda - Item 6 - Attachment 1 - TNC Noosa_Oyster Project _6_Monthly_Report

    •     Supporting a PhD student from Griffith University who is studying the diversity of oysters and their settling patterns
          in the Noosa River.

    •     Finalising a grant to Noosa Parks Association who is undertaking a baseline scientific study of sedimentation patterns
          in the Noosa River.

    •      Finalising community information packages related to the reef build. Information packages include letters to
          residents adjacent to Weyba Creek (Noosa Sound) sites, as well as those affected by the load out site at Hilton
          Esplanade. This is part of the community engagement plan.


Reef Builder
In January 2021, TNC launched the Australia-wide Reef Builder initiative. The initiative aims to bring shellfish reef ecosystems
back from the brink of extinction across Australia– for the benefit of both people and nature. The initiative is a partnership
between the Australian Government and TNC.

For Noosa, Reef Builder resulted in a cash injection of an additional $1.2m for reef building on top of the already $1.2m
already committed to the project from TNC and the Thomas Foundation and the $1.2m committed by Noosa Council.

The additional Reef Builder funds means the project can restore oyster reefs at all 4 restoration sites thus more than meeting
TNC’s contract obligations. A presentation about the national Reefbuilder program is attached (see Appendix 1).

Unforeseen issues arising and project adaptation
The following were unseen and required an adaptive management response:

Permits

There is no efficient state planning and approvals process for marine restoration in Queensland. TNC has had to navigate
multiple layers of tenure and environmental protection over the Noosa River and has required the development of
sophisticated restoration and site management plans, detailed risk assessments, multiple regulatory code and environmental
assessments, ecological mapping, and site engineering, as well as multiple contingency measures for the construction and
site management aspects of the project.

While TNC supports the thoroughness of the process, it has taken more time than was originally forecast in the partnership
agreement to negotiate Queensland’s development approvals process.

TNC has responded to this situation by:

- Partnering with bathymetric, ecological, and engineering consultants to help collect data, undertake analyses, and populate
the restoration plan and regulatory code assessments.

- Regularly liaising with stakeholders and agency staff.

- Actively enlisted the support of the Noosa TAG to advise on technicalities.

- Engaging two casual assistants to help with data acquisition, assessments and community consultation and engagement
actions,

- Engaging consultant firm ICM to specifically to support TNC through the complex permit application review and submission
process, and

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