2020-07-07 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                         7 JULY 2020


      Independent Scientific Expert – Ecological Service Professionals Pty Ltd
      Department of Agriculture & Fisheries – Fisheries Officer (within the assessment team for
       Fish Habitat Areas)
      Department of Agriculture & Fisheries – Fisheries Officer (with the aquaculture team)
      Department of Agriculture & Fisheries (Biosecurity Queensland) – Biosecurity specialist
      Maritime Safety Queensland – Sunshine Coast Area Manager, Marine Operations
      Department of Environment & Science – TBC
      Kabi Kabi traditional owners - TBC
Partnership projects
The Alliance & Funding agreement also identifies further opportunities for Noosa Council to take
advantage of this strategic partnership with The Nature Conservancy, specifically through
Objective Five;
     Provide technical and expert support to Noosa planning, implementation and evaluation
     associated with appropriate elements of the Noosa River Plan and other coastal and marine
     management plans.
Through a meeting with staff, two further initial areas were identified that TNC expertise would be
beneficial to Council, and these are identified within the Project Management Plan;
      (A5.4) Review and feasibility of opportunities for sustainable commercial and recreational
       fishing management options for the Noosa River.
      (A5.8) Assess feasibility of seagrass restoration in Lake Cooroibah as a method of reducing
       sediment resuspension and increasing invertebrate biodiversity.
The Nature Conservancy brings significant expertise in both of these areas and they will be
progressed within the scope of the current Alliance & Funding agreement. As part of the
agreement, a contract for an expert to map all seagrass beds in the Noosa River is, for example,
already in preparation. Both of these initiatives relate to specific implementation actions of the
Noosa Environment Strategy, and support actions within the draft Noosa River Plan.
The Nature Conservancy network of expert scientists can also be used for peer review of other
work undertaken by Council or that Council has engaged. To this point, TNC has provided expert
peer review on both drafts of the Noosa River Plan and the Noosa Fishing Futures paper.
Previous Council Consideration
Previous Council reports have set out quite a lot of detail on this project and for ease of reference,
links to those previous reports are provided here:
      General Committee Agenda, 15 July 2019 -
       https://www.noosa.qld.gov.au/downloads/file/641/2019-07-15-general-committee-agenda-
       pdf
      General Committee Agenda, 14 January 2019 -
       https://www.noosa.qld.gov.au/downloads/file/566/2019-01-14-general-committee-meeting-
       agenda-pdf
Ordinary Meeting Minutes, 18 July 2019, Item 8, Page 18
That Council note the report by the Director, Environment & Sustainable Development Department
to the General Committee Meeting dated 15 July 2019 and:
A.     Approve the Alliance and Funding Agreement with The Nature Conservancy provided as
       Attachment 1 to the report; and
B.     Authorise the CEO to make minor amendments to finalise the document and to sign and
       execute the Alliance and Funding Agreement with The Nature Conservancy.
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