Savanna Bites Issue 31

Bill sets future for NT parks | Tropical science hub | Military and the environment | Greenhouse monitor tools | NRM reforms | More information |

Bill sets future for NT parks

THE Northern Territory Parliament recently passed the Parks and Reserves Framework for the Future Bill that aims to provide a framework for settling Aboriginal land and native title issues in relation to a large number of the Territory’s parks and reserves. The Bill follows the uncertainty surrounding the future of NT’s national park estate after the 2002 High Court decision.

The decision meant that the declaration of 49 Territory parks and reserves was invalid, that 11 could be subject to claim under the Land Rights Act and all NT parks could also be subject to native title claims—including compensation claims.

A series of fundamental principles underpinning the new legislation include:

• all Territory Parks and Reserves will remain accessible to all people on a no-fee no-permit basis;
• current mining and exploration leases and applications and tourism operator concessions are guaranteed;
• a parks masterplan will be developed to expand and more effectively manage the parks’ estate.

Tropical science hub

NEW funding of $40 million will support world-class research on the Great Barrier Reef and tropical rain­forests. The funding will be provided under the Commonwealth Environ­ment Research Facility (CERF) that is aimed at creating national re­search hubs and building critical mass in areas of Australia’s environmental research strengths and national research priorities. CERF specifically supports proposals that demonstrate strong public good outcomes.

Funding of $3 million will initially be provided in 2005–06 to establish the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility and to consolidate the work of the Cooper­ative Research Centre (CRC) for the Great Barrier Reef and the CRC for Tropical Rain­forest Ecology and Management.

Military and the environment

THE way environmental aspects of major military training exercises will be assessed is set to change. Under the current system, each time Defence conducts a major exer­cise that may have a significant impact on the environment it is referred to Senator Campbell under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conserv­ation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

The new arrangement will seek to address all the environmental require­ments covered under the EPBC Act, so that future exercises will not need to be referred to the Environment and Heritage Minister if they meet agreed requirements.

Terms of Reference are available in the Strategic Assessments section, Dept Environment & Heritage website, see link below.

Greenhouse monitor tools

TWO new products from the Aust­ralian Greenhouse Office aim to help land managers monitor the effects of land use practices on greenhouse gas emissions. The National Carbon Accounting Tool­box and Data Viewer can be used on the user’s own computer.

The National Carbon Account­ing Toolbox will help answer quest­ions such as whether plans for planting trees to stabilise soils, protect water quality and provide habitat will also help reduce the amount of greenhouse gases re­leased into the atmosphere. The Toolbox , available on CD, provides ready access to the advanced com­puter modelling used in the National Carbon Accounting System.

The Data Viewer , available on DVD, contains a unique 30-year visual record of landscape and vegetation change in Australia since 1972 gen­erated from satellite images.

The viewer provides access to climate statistics for specific regions, includ­ing average rainfall and temper­ature trends over that time.

For more details on the National Carbon Accounting Toolbox or to order free copies, see details below.Note the Toolbox comes with the Data Viewer DVD

Also see Savanna Links , Issue 29, Landscape change history on view , see publications link below.

NRM reforms proposed

A REVIEW of National Competition Policy (NCP) reforms undertaken by the Productivity Commission has recommended a new reform approach to natural resource management issues including water reform, green­house gas abatement and manage­ment of biodiversity and native vegetation.

The Commission found that the benefits of NCP greatly outweighed the costs, and it has helped to meet some environmental goals, including the more efficient use of water.

The Commission has called for a new reform program, ideally coordin­ated by COAG, which would, amongst other things, build on the National Water Initiative to enhance water allocation and trading regimes and to better address negative env­iron­mental impacts.

From EnviroInfo 28 April 2005