2019-07-15 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING REPORT                                                     15 JULY 2019

River. Not long after this decision, most of the coir experimental units had to be removed due to
damage which occurred over the summer period. The cause of the damage is not certain, but
believed to be boat propellers and anchoring. The coir log units were designed for experimental
purposes to test oyster recruitment and growth. Established reefs intended through the alliance
with The Nature Conservancy will be designed differently and should mitigate this issue.

The Nature Conservancy
As previously reported to Council, The Nature Conservancy has been established for more than 6
decades and is considered one of the most trusted non-government conservation organisations.
TNC work across over 74 Countries, has more than 600 scientists and has delivered hundreds of
successful projects with immense environmental and global impact.
The TNC vision is a world in which people and nature thrive, with their core mission being to
conserve the lands and waters of which all life depends. TNC have identified 8 key global
challenges which are:

        invasive species                             over fishing
        climate change                               urban sprawl
        agricultural expansion                       energy production and sprawl
        unsustainable wood products                  source water quality and waste water

They have further identified 5 core areas of focus to which it states can be the most immediate,
measurable and most powerful contribution to addressing the global challenges. These 5 areas
are:

       protect land and water
       tackle climate changes
       provide food and water sustainability
       build healthy cities
       connect people and nature

In late 2018, TNC offered Council an opportunity to establish a collaborative, mutually beneficial
strategic alliance which seeks to explore, investigate and address a number of these global
challenges at a local level with a specific and tangible focus on improving marine, aquatic and
estuary biodiversity and environments through the implementation of the next phases of the oyster
reef project.
In January 2019, Council accepted a proposal and agreed in principle to partner with the Nature
Conservancy in the next phases of oyster reef restoration, this report provides the formal Alliance
and Funding Agreement to guide that partnership arrangement with TNC over the next 3 years for
Council’s consideration.

Noosa Council-TNC partnership
This report provides an Alliance & Funding Agreement to undertake the next phases of the project
to restore oyster reefs in the Noosa River. The Agreement outlines funding of $1.2 million towards
this initiative from The Nature Conservancy and a matching investment from Council of $1.2 million,
over 3 years. The proposal seeks to establish a collaborative partnership between the Nature
Conservancy and Noosa Council as core funding agencies, however identifies that engagement
with a range of further key stakeholders and project partners including Kabi Kabi traditional owners
is fundamental to the initiative.
Specifically, the project will deliver restoration of oyster reefs at various locations (to be
determined) as one of the key components to restore the health of fisheries habitats, and therefore
fisheries, in the Noosa River. It also provides for The Nature Conservancy to provide support in
planning, expertise, peer review and preparing to implement other key river management and
coastal marine conservation initiatives.


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