A bio-diverse area under threat

The Daintree Rainforest,Queensland Australia

• This is a CASSOWARY it’s my height of marginally bigger- about 1.75 m tall!!!

• It is a relation of the more well known Emus, like which it CANNOT fly!!!

• It can ONLY be found in the Daintree forest

• It is severely threatened close to wild extinction- only 500 left

• Vital to ecosystem as scatters seeds of over 100 species of plants

• Without this bird eating seeds and then dropping them further away seeds would not spread through large areas of forest

• It is a protected species and since 1999 numbers have increased from 54 to 500 in wild!!!

Why worry about me?Surely there are more important things in the

world!

Where?

• The Daintree forest lies on the North East coast of Australia in the area called Queensland, it's a part of the larger area known as the wet tropics.

• It runs parallel to the other Australian wonderland the Great Barrier Reef

• The wet tropics are a world heritage site, covering an area of 900,000 hectares (1/2 size of Wales)

Where?

Why is the Daintree so special?

• 135 million years old- oldest in world

• Has plants there older than human life on Earth!!!!

• Home to greatest no. of plant/ animal species that are rare, threatened anywhere in world!

• Of world’s 19 primitive plants 12 are found here

High annual rainfall (2000m+) in intense convectional storms

Low daily temp range- rarely below 22 at night or above 32 in day

120 days with rain per year

Low annual temp range

High humidity

Vegetation• Deciduous tress, but look evergreen, as year

round growing season means trees shed leaves at different times

• 1% of sun reaches floor- shrubs etc adapt to lack of light

• About 200 species of tree in an area size of football pitch

• Soil has thick litter layer, as leaves continuously fall, but humus is thin due to rapid decomposition in humid conditions

• Nutrients are rapidly leached (drawn down into and lost in soil)

• Reddish in colour due to high concentration of iron and aluminium

• Has Australia’s largest range of ferns

• Highest no. of ENDEMIC mammals anywhere in Australia

• Has near ½ Australia’s bird species- 13 ENDEMIC

• ¼ of Australia’s frogs- 20+ of which are ENDEMIC

• Greater diversity of freshwater fish in Australia

• Has 65% of Australia’s butterfly and bat species

• 28 of 36 mangrove species

The IDIOT FRUIT- a primitive plant species –ENDEMIC to the region

Ulysses butterfly- symbol of the rainforest

Ecosystem services• Provisioning- things that can be obtained-

• Regulating- benefits obtained by regulating the ecosystem-

• Cultural- non material benefits

• Supporting- necessary for all other services provided

Timber, food, medicines, commodities like rubber, pets, clothing, fruit, species

Climate regulation, intake of Carbon, prevention of soil erosion, waste treatment, protection of water quality

Ecotourism, local cultures, traditional lifestyles

Level of photosynthesis, water cycle impacts, nutrient cycling

Services provided by the Daintree

• Carbon Sequestration- Daintree plants and trees store carbon in leaves which reduces pollution and regulates climate

• Medicine- 25% of drugs are from rainforests, including chemicals to treat diabetes, heart disease, malaria, arthritis and traditional headache tablets. Many Daintree plants are identified as containing cancer fighting properties

• People of the rainforest- rainforest aborigine people are the original owners of the forest- the natural rainforest and its processes are integral to these people and the way they live

• Tourism- ½ million tourist visits a year from home and abroad, come for scenery- unique combo of forest, coast and mountains and the GBR all together- nowhere else like this on Earth

• Logging- began in 1930s in the 80s arguments ensued between conservationists and timber industry- decided continued logging at then rate UNSUSTAINABLE.

Tasks

1) Group task• Group 1- draw a spider diagram or like to show

how a tourist would view the Daintree• Group 2- same but from logging company

viewpoint• Group 3 same but from conservationist viewpoint• Group 4 same but from Cassowary viewpoint• Group 5 same but from a local governor from

Douglas Shire Council view• Group 6 same but from a local person perspective• You have 5 minutes then feed info back to other

groups2) Which of the above mentioned conflict with each

other? In what ways? Come up with a conflict matrix to highlight these.

What are the threats to the Daintree?

Tourism-

a) Worth 141.7 million Australian $ a yearb) Most come to see the scenery and the forestc) Many partake in destructive activities there- such as fishing,

4 wheel drive tours, walking, reef diving, horse ridingd) Ferry carries 700 vehicles across river dailye) 0.5 million visitors annuallyf) Stay an average of 3.8 daysg) Increased accommodation since 1991- 20 b+bs, 1278 beds

nightly, 176 camping places actually in Daintree AND 58 b+bs, 8822 beds and 770 camp itches in local area

h) 70% of tourists visit independently- 30% with registered coach companies

i) Recent improvements- road tarmac increasing visitor numbers

j) Visitors think there’s too much accommodation and enough walking tracks already in place

Growth and change in Port Douglas

a) Population 4000b) Large visitor numbers have led to decline in small local

shops replaced by a small supermarketc) Property booms- some sold land to developers others

priced from marketd) 2 new resorts just nearing completion, 2 underway and 2

more in process of planninge) Small forest areas have been divided up and sold to

developers- some have been built on and environmental concerns have been addressed others have been turned to cattle ranches

f) Red cedar became extinct in 2000 after builder removed allg) If land clearing isn’t stopped 85 rare plant species stand to

be lost

Limits to developmentLimits to development

1) Ferry capacity limits traffic, population and visitor levels

2) No Mains electric north of river- so people there have to generate own through RAPS, own generators or solar power

3) Local services only support small local population- no mains water or sewer disposal system

4) In 2000 planners gained permission for a McDonalds on site, but now it has been withdrawn- citing a destruction of local values and too much change as reasons

Deforestation

• Began in late 1860’s to cultivate sugar cane production continued to early 1990s

• Most clearance today, for pasture (86%), with remainder cleared for crops (10%), mining infrastructure and settlement (4%)

• Shift from central to southern Queensland away from Daintree

Tasks

• Which threat/s to the Daintree do you perceive to be the biggest? Why?

• What are the causes of deforestation? Classify into social, economic and environmental

Managing the Daintree

Who is involved in the management? Key players

1) Wet tropics management authority

2) Douglas Shire Council (till2008) then Cairns regional council

3) Australian Rainforest Foundation

4) Wildlife preservation society of Queensland

5) Australian Tropical Research Foundation

6) Rainforest cooperative research council

Wet tropics management authority

• Formed 1990• Based in Cairns, main functions-• Developing and implementing plans and policies• Researching and monitoring enhancing

understanding of the importance of the heritage area- monitoring state of wet tropics

• Developing management agreements with landholders and aborigines’

• Providing education through visitor centres• Funding • Promotion of the area

Douglas Shire council

• Aims were to gradually reduce population in Daintree

• Increased ferry coasts to limit numbers, but numbers still increasing

• Rejected plans for a bridge across river to replace ferry and rejected another ferry option- on grounds that extra visitors and pop. Would endanger rainforest

Rainforest cooperative research council

1) Community development- • 12-1400 people to live in area and be involved in

stewardship and conservation of land• Base employment on tourism, organic Farming, tropical

horticulture and small business ops.• Settle about 600 blocks of land2) Biodiversity conservation- • adopt settlement and land management practices on private

land to protect the outstanding biodiversity• Identify biodiversity hotspots for conservation for no

development• Identify threats from wild animals• 540 blocks remain unsettled

Report from 2000- found unless action was taken, area wouldsee increase in residential development, loss of biodiversity andreduction in attractiveness to tourists. They implemented these

strategies to try to build a SUSTAINABLE future for the area

3) Douglas Shire Council/ Cairns regional council-• Introduce planning controls for biodiversity conservation• Ensure settlement densities are sustainable4) Electricity supply- • When settlement densities are at sustainable level, use

underground cables to extend supply far north as copper creek

• People north of copper creek remain on RAPS5) Indigenous people-• Recognise the rights of aboriginal peoples to own land

and promote their culture within the forest6) Water supply and waste management- • Keep water extraction from streams and underground

supplies within sustainable limits• Use best available domestic tech for waste disposal

7) Roads and ferry• Ferry to remain gateway to area as essential access• Improve tourist facilities south of river and recreation

facilities north of• Reduce forest cut backs- the road to cap tribulation

should be a green tunnel with windows through the forest to mountain and coast scenery

8) Tourism-• Increase tourist numbers to 550,000 to boost and

maintain local economy• Increase no. of tourists staying for 7ral nights or more

and revisiting area• Monitor tourist impacts and ensure sustainability9) Financing• Use ferry income to assist community services

infrastructure and conservation• Establish Daintree Land trust to support land acquisition

and pay compensation for lost land• Meet cost of priority purchase and financial incentives for

conservation• Subsidise electricity supply

Australian Rainforest Foundation (ARF)

• Not for profit organisation dedicated to education, research and habitat rehabilitation- involved in variety of projects-

• Operation Big Bird- creation of 250km wide wildlife corridor to help protect the Cassowary- path will link Cairns too southern coast town of Cardwell- these help biodiversity by enabling species movement to feed, breed and colonise

• Australian govt has funded ARF for range of conservation initiatives- including BUY BACK, process of buying back land from developers who previously purchased it to reduce development.

• Encourages remaining developers to do so in an eco way through education

Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland

• Community based not for profit conservation group. Committed to a sustainable future for people and wildlife

• Support ban on development in the area

Australian Tropical Research Foundation

• Created 1993• Oversee operation of visitor centres and

education facilities at the Cape tribulation tropical research station and the wet tropics visitor centre- highlight global importance of the tropical forest ecosystem

Tasks1) Read through the previous slides about managing

the Daintree, complete the following-2) On an A3 page draw a 4 circled Venn diagram. The

4 circles should contain the following headings-

3) Put all the aforementioned proposals into your Venn diagram, some may apply to multiple areas add accordingly

i. Biodiversity protectionii. Limiting developmentiii. Educationiv. Economic incentives

Tasks

• There are obviously conflicts in the ways different groups want to manage the Daintree

• How far are the conflicts a case of economic v environment? Is anything as important? Why?

• How would you manage it? Which ideas would you keep/ discard? Why? Other ideas? Sustainability?