24
Jan
Jan
Important conservation values are being ignored as Queensland’s major parties engage in a war of words over tourism.
22
Jan
Jan
In 2017 we fought to protect national park land on Lindeman Island under threat of commercial development. Hard work by NPAQ and others made the government and developer back down from revocation – Lindeman Islands National Park tenure is safe, for now. We will continue to be the voice for our state’s precious national parks but we need your support! Your financial assistance means we will continue our work protecting Queensland national parks.
16
Jan
Jan
Before we follow other states starry eyed about potential short-term gains, let us examine the costs and benefits of existing ecotourism developments. With this knowledge, there is an opportunity to demonstrate real leadership rather than copy others.
National Parks, Nature Refuges, Private Reserves
Public hearing on Special Wildlife Reserves clarifies flora is included
25
Jul
Jul
Discussion on a Bill to establish Special Wildlife Reserves (a new class of privately-owned protected area) at an Agriculture & Environment Committee hearing has cleared up some confusion around the name and produced many interesting perspectives, including AgForce’s fears over “locking up land”.
19
Jul
Jul
Highlighting the importance of the various land tenures in the protected area estate and the role they play in aiding endangered species, the estimated population of wild northern hairy-nosed wombats – one of the world’s rarest species – has almost doubled since the successful reintroduction program commenced at the Richard Underwood Nature Refuge in 2009. There’s more cause for celebration, with the arrival of the species’ first joey recorded in Queensland for five years!
Indigenous Conservation, National Parks
Cape York spaceport land returned to Traditional Owners under landmark agreement
18
Jul
Jul
Land once slated for the world’s first commercially-operated international spaceport has this year been given back to Traditional Owners. Two months after the handback ceremony in Cairns in May, Andrew Picone from the Australian Conservation Foundation looks at the importance of the landmark decision and the benefits of Aboriginal ownership and joint management of national parks.
Indigenous Conservation
NAIDOC Week celebrations include 10-year anniversary of Indigenous Land and Sea Rangers program
06
Jul
Jul
Ten years equals almost 5000 turtle nests protected, 110,000 feral animals removed, 27 tonnes of fishing nets cleaned up on Queensland’s ocean foreshore and much more! The Indigenous Land and Sea Rangers can be mightily proud of their achievements as this fantastic program completes its first decade.
Adele Pedder of the Australian Marine Conservation Society delves into the importance of marine protected areas and the risk associated with exposing the proposed Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve to intensive fishing practices.
Queensland Environment Minister Steven Miles has introduced a Bill to Queensland Parliament to create a new category of protected area: Special Wildlife Reserves. NPAQ President Michelle Prior looks at the increasingly important role played by private protected areas and cautions that there is potential for public protected areas to become more focused on nature-based recreation and tourism.
The State Budget has allocated an extra $40 million over two years for national parks, however only $5 million of that will potentially go towards operational funding and conservation planning. The rest is essentially a tourism spend disguised as environmental dollars. Learn why the Queensland Government’s boast of a record environmental spend isn’t all it’s made out to be.