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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
RAINFOREST
BACKGROUNDER & ACTION ALERT!
Australian
Rainforest Rescue Needed: Electrical
Power
Grid to put a "Hole in the Heart of Daintree"
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Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
3/8/96
OVERVIEW
& SOURCE
In one
small area of coastal lowland rainforest, the Daintree, in
Australia,
approximately 20,000 Ha (about 50,000 acres) provides a
home to
ninety families of plants--possibly "the highest diversity
of
plant families anywhere in the world. Some of the rarest and
most
endangered plants in the world live here; and 85 of 120 rare
and
threatened species; and others of biological importance are
found
only on private land. Many of the plants, such as
Idiospermum,
have lived here for 120 million years."
This
amazing biological resource is under renewed attack, despite
having
been declared a World Heritage Area.
Here the threat to
the
rainforests is ill conceived development within the Danetree's
ecological
boundries, and the accompanying long proposed grid-
connected
electrical power system. This plan to
increase
electricity
generation in the area would significantly reduce this
biological
system.
With
the recent change of Australian government, national
government
policy on state government plans for large scale power
development
are unclear. In response to this very
rapid change in
policy
in the Daintree, the Cape Tribulation Tropical Research
Station
has begun providing some information on Daintree
conservation
on the following WWW page:
http://www.ece.jcu.edu.au/ece/misc/capetrib/rescue.html
Their
appeal for ACTION TO SAVE RAINFORESTS is our WORLD FOREST
ACTION
ALERT OF THE WEEK, because of the small amount of time left
to slow
biological diminishment in the Daintree, despite, or maybe
because
of, its "preserved" status.
The following background
information,
as well as an appeal for letters to Australian
government
officials, should make YOU an expert on the subject--
certainly
informed enough to raise ecological concerns with grid
electrical
power construction effects on small remnant,
biologically
rich, rainforest systems.
This
Daintree information pack contains the follwoing four items:
ITEM 1:
POWER STRUGGLE IN THE DAINTREE from _The Australian
Magazine_,
good overview of situation
ITEM 2:
Summary of anticipated impact on the Daintree area from
the
provision of grid power
ITEM 3:
History of the Power Struggle in the Daintree
ITEM 4:
What you can do to help; including addresses and contact
information
The
Daintree needs to become a model of sustainable development if
this
very unique biotic and diversity engine is to prove viable
ecologically
and economically in the future. Local
groups in the
area
are appealing for YOUR HELP encouraging the new State and
Federal
Governments to promote already viable alternative energy
sources
and to permanently stop introduction of grid power to the
Daintree.
g.b.
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TEXT STARTS HERE:
ITEM #1
Daintree
Rainforest Rescue
POWER
STRUGGLE IN THE DAINTREE
from
The Australian Magazine, Jan 10 1993
If we
think of Daintree, we think of virgin Australian tropical
rainforests
and magnificent coral reefs. But Daintree means other
things
too- the long struggle of environmentalists to prevent
rapacious
development, and the dramatic battle over the road
between
Cape Tribulation and Bloomfield.
In
1983, the Bloomfield road blockade brought the Daintree to
world
attention, and was instrumental in leading to its World
Heritage
listing. The blockade provided all the advertising
backpackers
and investors needed, and they still come in droves,
buying
beer, buying land...
The
Daintree is STILL Under Threat
The
Daintree consists of the region north of the Daintree River
and
extending some 70km to the Bloomfield river. Much of this land
is
heavily forested steep mountain slopes and uplands of the
coastal
range, and is largely national park, and is not currently
under
threat.
However,
the accessible coastal lowlands , which constitute less
than 5%
of the Daintree, receive almost all the tourist vistations
and the
settlement pressure.
It is
this small area of coastal lowland rainforest, approximately
20,000
Ha, which is home to ninety families of plants- probably
the
highest diversity of plant families anywhere in the world.
Some of
the rarest and most endangered plants in the world live
here;
and 85 of120 rare and threatened species; and others of
biological
importance are found only on private land. Many of the
plants,
such as Idiospermum, have lived here for 120 million
years.
Flowers
of the tree, Idiospermum australiense. Idiospermaceae,
considered
to be the world's most primitive flowering plant, now
grows
in only a few very small areas in the Daintree region.
Who has
Power in the Daintree?
When
the Queensland National Party was in government seven years
ago,
they attempted to provide grid-connected electrical power to
the
Daintree, leading the way to massive development. The local
community
fought this, assisted by a sympathetic Queensland Labour
Government
which came to power in 1989. Now, the Queensland
National/Liberal
coalition is back in power;
the new
Minister for Mines and Energy has vowed to supply grid
power
to the
Daintree.
Following
the recent Australian Federal elections, the National-
Liberal
coalition party have been returned to power.
We
anxiously await their position on these issues, and hope that
they
will act as a counterbalance to the new State Government's
support
for development in this region.
ITEM
#2, Cape Tribulation Tropical Research Stations Information
The
Fight for the Daintree Goes On.
Summary
of anticipated impact on the Daintree area from the
provision
of grid power.
THE
DAINTREE
The
Daintree is a small area of coastal lowland rainforest (est
20,000Ha),
and is notable for being home to the highest diversity
of
plant families in Australia. The region has 95 families of
plants,
with over1000 species and 500 of these species are trees
representing
70 families. Of 19 known families of primitive
angiosperms,
11 are found in the Daintree. In contrast, the
forests
of South America contain only nine families of primitive
angiosperms.
In the Daintree, there are more plant groups with
primitive
characteristics than in any other tropical forest in the
world.
The region is regarded by biologists as a living museum of
plants
originating in the Gondwana supercontinent. For this reason
it was
included
in the
Wet Tropics World Heritage Area in 1988.
THE COW
BAY SUBDIVISION
Australia's
most unique and threatened plants are in Daintree's
coastal
lowland rainforest. Of this wilderness, 60% is contained
in a
1000-block real estate subdivision. Of the 120 known rare and
threatened
plant species in the Daintree region, 85 are found on
private
land; some tree species are only represented by a few
trees
on freehold blocks. The Cow Bay subdivisional area is
estimated
at 3300 Ha, comprising over 1/3 of the total remaining
lowland
ecosystems of high conservation value in the Daintree.
Development
of this subdivision alone will result in a township
of
3000, which would obliterate critical rainforest habitats,
cause
the extinction of many plants. Further, the impacts of human
activity
surrounding those blocks (trail-bikes, cats, dogs, weeds)
will
roughly double the area affected.
World
Heritage land tenure in the Daintree. This map shows the
area of
the Daintree under threat. The areas in red are rainforest
under
private ownership which are not protected; those in blue are
World
Heritage listed. Other colours are National Park. The red
line
represents the approximate boundary of lowland coastal
rainforest
(under100m elevation). The subdivision (the dark
spidery
lines in this picture) lies within the red area.
SUMMARY
OF HISTORY OF DAINTREE UNDER PAST GOVERNMENTS
* 1978
- Quaid 750 block subdivision in Cow Bay approved (State
Liberal/National
Party Government)
* 1981
Cape Tribulation National Park declared (but with future
road
reserve excised) (State Liberal/National Party Government)
*
1983-84 built Cape Tribulation to Bloomfield road. (State
Liberal/National
Party Government)
* 1988
- World Heritage listing of Wet Tropics (Federal Labour
Government)
*
Daintree Rescue Plan (State Labour Government)
*
Funding of 13.5 million for Buy-back to match Federal
funding.(State
Labour Government and Federal Labour Government)
* July
1993 - moratorium on grid power north of the river (State
Labour
Government)
*
Establishment of Alternative Energy Advisory Group with $5M
(State
Labour Government)
* Nov.
1995 declaration of "No new Grid Power accross the Daintree
River"
(State Labour Government)
* 1996
Establishment of the Daintree RAPS scheme, for a $15,000
rebate
for Renewable Energy installations north of Daintree River.
(State
Labour Government)
* Mar.
96 Cancellation of RAPS Scheme (State Liberal/National
Party
Government)
ITEM #3
POWER
STRUGGLE IN THE DAINTREE - HISTORY
It was
1983 when a battle to prevent the forcing through of a
coastal
road between Cape Tribulation and Bloomfield brought the
Daintree
to the world's attention. The road went through, but
generated
so much publicity and interest that by 1988 all non-
freehold
land in the Daintree was listed as part of the Wet
Tropics
World Heritage Area. However publicity had a dual impact;
it also
acted as a drawcard so effective that "visiting the
Daintree"
is now on every backpacker's Sydney-Cairns-Bali-Nepal
tour.
And increased tourist trade has resulted in local population
growth.
Aiding settlement in the Daintree has been the infamous
Quaid
subdivision, carried out with minimum fan-fare and with
National
Party Government support in the late 70's. George Quaid,
a
particularly far-sighted and politically powerful local real
estate
developer, purchased many leasehold blocks in the Cow Bay
region
of the Daintree and a compliant State government freeholded
them.
These blocks were later subdivided into 750 private
settlement
blocks, and agressively offered for sale during the
1983
Cape Tribulation-Bloomfield Road blockade, with the slogan
"Save
the rainforest, buy your 1Ha block, near creeks and
beaches".
Blocks sold like hotcakes. The Cow Bay subdivisional
area is
estimated at 3279 Ha, approx 60% of the total coastal
lowland
area, comprising 1/3 of the total remaining lowland
ecosystem
of the region.
World
Heritage land tenure in the Daintree.
This
map shows the area of the Daintree under threat. The areas in
red are
rainforest under private ownership which are not
protected;
those in blue are World Heritage listed. Other colours
are
National Park. The red line represents the approximate
boundary
of lowland coastal rainforest (under100m elevation). The
subdivision
(the dark spidery lines in this picture) lies within
the red
area.
World
Heritage protection is only extended to leasehold and Crown
lands.
The flat coastal lowland core area which has been carved up
for the
Quaid subdivision, and which has a large proportion of the
threatened
species, has no protection whatsoever.
Buying
a block of rainforest for high ideological purposes is one
thing,
but keeping up the payments or paying the exorbitant rates
imposed
by the Douglas Shire Council, is another. Many blocks
passed
into liquidation and were resold for rate arrears. Many
people
did try to settle here, but while the Dry season is
wonderful,
the Wet is impossible to tolerate without the benefits
of
electric fans and air-conditioning. Worse, many blocks are
inundated
during the Wet; the Daintree gets over 4m of rain per
year,
most of which occurs during the summer months. Promises of
imminent
provision of grid power by real estate salesmen and the
local
electricity authority have encouraged many to settle and
build
inappropriate buildings for the climate, requiring grid
electricity
to make them liveable. At four per family per block,
the Cow
Bay subdivision could result in a settlement of 3,000
people,
larger than Mossman, the nearest township (and local
government
centre). Take a look at the detailed map- the
subdivision
resembles the segments of a parasitic tape-worm
winding
through the centre of what is unarguably one of the most
botanically
diverse region of Australia. pix - trashed block
This
scene is all too common in the Daintree - ill-advised
clearing
and panic clearing - "Don't let them find something on
your
block, they'll stop you building". One extinction has been
ascribed
to this practice.
In the
words of the Wet Tropics Management Agency's Director Peter
Hitchcock,
this sub-division is the "Hole in the Heart of the
Daintree".
In
1992, just prior to the Queensland State election, a campaign
was
waged by local conservationists and residents - against the
political
right, developers, and the local power utility FNQEB -
to
block the provision of grid power to the area north of the
Daintree
river. The campaign was successful; it focused attention
on the
problem, encouraged the newly formed Wet Tropics Management
Authority
to be a little more outspoken, and helped set up the
Daintree
Rescue Program. The Daintree Rescue Program has expended
a great
deal of time and generated volumes of paper, but delays
and
bureaucratic bungles have virtually nullified its
effectiveness.
The Federal Government contributed 11.5 million
dollars
towards buying back environmentally significant privately
owned
blocks, and bullied the State government into matching this.
Of
this, $17 million has been allocated for land buy-back over
three
years. However, only $2-3 million of this has been used to
date in
buying 15 blocks (5%) of the 300 blocks offered. The
extreme
slowness of the bureaucratic process, coupled with
considerable
foot dragging by the Qld. Dept. of Lands (which has
assigned
only one assessor to this project) mean that changes in
government,
Federal or State, can seriously endanger the Rescue
Program.
Two
positive outcomes of the Daintree Rescue campaign were
community
driven. The first was a revegetation program which has
seen
roadside verges replanted with native forest species. The
second
was a detailed botanical audit of the diversity and
distribution
of plant species on private land. This audit has
alerted
us to the extreme danger posed to many species by
further
settlement and land clearing.
A new
Development Control Plan for the Daintree (DCP3), was
initiated
by the local council in 1989 and had massive support
from
the community. It had the potential of becoming a model
document,
one that would control the rampant and inappropriate
development
that was ocurring in the region. Mike Berwick, a new
"green"
presence in the otherwise intensely conservative Douglas
Shire
Council, became Council chairman in1991 and put his weight
behind
the Development Control Plan revisions. Predictably, they
became
bogged in a divisive political climate. Seven years later,
the DCP
has yet to be passed into law. Mike Berwick has become
increasingly
disenfranchised by the real-politik of the area; the
Daintree
is losing an effective voice; and it still does not have
any
effective control over development.
In
1993, with $5 million funding, the State Government set up the
Alternative
Energy Advisory Group (AEAG). It aimed to set up
alternative
means of power generation in the Daintree, and to put
off the
repeated demands for grid-connected power by a small but
highly
vocal group of local residents. The AEAG is a bureaucracy;
its
intent was excellent, but the setting up of demonstration
systems
dragged, and two and a half years later the first overly
elaborate,
solar-diesel, alternative energy demonstration
systems
were finally installed, both on Government buildings. A
small
commercial system was put up in November 1995 at the Cape
Tribulation
Tropical Research Station.
In
November 1995, the then Minister for Energy announced that no
grid
power would extend north of the Daintree River. This was
coupled
with the announcement that all property owners could
qualify
for a $15,000 rebate for the installation of an renewable
energy
power system- quite sufficient for most people's needs.
A
commercially available, Australian made unit Renewable Energy
power
generating system, "Pyramid Power" installed at the Cape
Tribulation
Tropical Research Station. This system has 12x 80 watt
panels
and can deliver 5KWH on a normal sunny day, which with
adequate
battery storage, is more than sufficient for the needs of
a
normal household, in combination with basic energy conservation
practices.
The "Pyramid" supplies 240V AC from a solid-state
sinusoidal
inverter.
A
"Solar Fair" and trade exposition was held at Cow Bay following
this
announcement. While a general acceptance of the utility of
alternative
power sources already existed, this demonstration of
available
technology really convinced all but the most intent
doubters.
In February 1996, the Queensland Goss Labour government
was put
out of office through an upset victory by the
National/Liberal
coalition during a by-election. We now have
the
same party back in power that made the Quaid sub-division and
the
Bloomfield Road possible. The newly appointed Minister for
Energy,
Tom Gilmore, (National Party) appears intent on reversing
the environmental
gains so painfully made to date.
The
March 2nd Australian General election saw the Liberal/National
Coalition
elected, which does not bode well for satisfactory
treatment
of environmental concerns in the "Lucky Country".
Your
help is most urgently needed to protect this highly
threatened
environment by encouraging the new State and Federal
Governments
to speed up the buy-back program and to permanently
stop
the introduction of grid power to the Daintree.
ITEM #4
WHAT
YOU CAN DO TO HELP
Please
write, call or fax the following individuals to share your
concern
over continued inappropriate development in biologically
rich
rainforests crucial for all our survival.
You are also
encourage
to use this information for your own newsletters,
rewriting
and shortening at your discretion.
NATIONAL
GOVERNMENT
Prime
Minister of Australia
The
Hon. John Howard
Parliament
House, Canberra
Australia
Phone
0-6 277 7700 Fax 0-6 273 4100
Minister
for the Environment
Parliament
House, Canberra
Australia
Phone
0-6 719 8100 Fax 0-6 273 4130
STATE
GOVERNMENT
Mr Rob.
Borbidge
Premier
of Queensland
Parliament
House
Brisbane
4000
Phone
0-73 224 5100 Fax 0-73 221 1206
Mr Tom
Gilmore
Minister
for Mines and Energy
Phone 0-73
224 2170 Fax 0-73 229 3238
Mr.
Brian Littleproud
Minister
for Environment
Phone
0-73 227 8819 Fax 0-73 221 7082
Howard
Hobbs
Minister
for Natural Resources
Phone
0-73 8963688 Fax 0-73 391 8078
Mike
Berwick
Douglas
Shire Council:
Front
Street
Mossman
4873
Phone
0-70 981 555 Fax 0-70 981 902
Callers
from outside Australia should add the Country Code (61)
and
delete the leading (0)eg. 61 70 981 555
For
additional information contact:
Hugh
Spencer
Hugh.Spencer@jcu.edu.au
Cape
Tribulation Tropical Research Station
PMB5
Cape Tribulation, 4873
Australia
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pieces;
though ultimate responsibility for verifying all
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