POLICY WWF Policies for the 2013 Western Australian Election. Securing Our Natural Way of Life

Transcription

1 POLICY 2013 WWF Policies for the 2013 Western Australian Election Securing Our Natural Way of Life

2 Cover: Buccaneer Archipelago, Kimberley Paul Gamblin / WWF-Aus WHAT WE VALUE Western Australia boasts a wealth of environmental wonders, unique wildlife, and bountiful natural resources. We live in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Our stunning coastlines, towering forests, scenic gorges and rivers, and lush wetlands along with the colourful wildflowers and diversity of animals make this part of the world unique. The Southwest Australia Ecoregion, revered internationally for its biodiversity, is a sanctuary for many endangered and unique species. The Kimberley is one of the Earth s great natural and cultural treasures, featuring some of the most extraordinary landscapes and wildlife in Australia. At the same time, our state also supports one of Australia s premier wine regions and a significant agricultural region in the WA Wheatbelt. Everlastings, Western Australia Katherine Howard Page 2

3 WHY THEY NEED PROTECTION Western Australia may be booming economically right now. But what is in store for our future? Our natural way of life in WA is not secure. Biodiversity and natural resource assets are under increasing threat as WA undergoes unprecedented development, copes with the demands of rapid population growth and faces an increasing need for greater on-ground management of parks and species. Without decisive action, the price may be irreversible impacts on our state s biodiversity and wild places, places of cultural significance, agricultural productivity, and tourism icons such as the Margaret River region, Kimberley coast and Broome. WHAT WE NEED FROM GOVERNMENT Achieving integrated landscape management, biodiversity conservation and economic development will always require active leadership by government. We know we can have jobs and a strong economy without destroying the places we love and the biodiversity that provides vital ecosystem services. WWF-Australia is calling on all candidates and political parties contesting the 2013 Western Australian state election to stand up and secure our natural way of life. The next WA Government should commit to protecting our unique biodiversity, the ecosystems that provide support for all Western Australians and the places we love, so that we leave a healthy, diverse, clean environment for future generations. WWF has developed a five-point plan for the next WA Government to secure our natural way of life: Protecting Our Precious Wildlife and Habitat: commit to strong, new legislation to protect and manage biodiversity World Class Kimberley Marine Park: increase marine protection including a Great Kimberley Marine Park The Kimberley: Like Nowhere Else: develop an environmental protection plan for the entire region A Sustainable Vision for Southwest WA: low impact development and a nature-based economy Investing in a Clean Green WA Economy: begin the transition to renewable energy. Page 3

4 HONEY POSSUM HENRY COOK Page 4

5 1. Protecting Our Precious Wildlife and Habitat A Strong, New Law to Protect and Manage Biodiversity Existing legislation to protect and conserve biodiversity, and specifically our unique and threatened species is inadequate, out-dated and needs significant reform as a matter of urgency. A new Biodiversity Conservation Act can provide for the protection of biological diversity and systematically promote the ecological restoration of Western Australia s damaged and degraded landscapes. The new law needs to ensure the protection of Critical Habitat for threatened species and other biodiversity values and provide a strong framework to prevent future losses through an ecosystem approach to biodiversity conservation and management. The next WA Government should: 1. Commit to enacting contemporary biodiversity conservation legislation to be drafted in consultation with key stakeholders including conservation groups in the first year and finalised by the middle of the next term. 2. Agree the legislation will be science-based with threatened species listing status determined by a well-resourced Expert Advisory Panel. 3. Allocate $2M per year to map Critical Habitat for threatened species, populations and ecological communities with priority given to the Southwest Australia Ecoregion (SWAE) and the Kimberley over the next term. 4. Include severe penalties (based on a penalty unit system) for the unlawful interference, damage and destruction of threatened species and ecological communities, as well as unlawful actions that cause the loss of and damage to Critical Habitat. These penalties should exist with limited exemptions and be backed up with strong and well-resourced enforcement. 5. Ensure the new legislation protects habitat for threatened species and ecological communities, and listing a threatened species or ecological community has consequences for planning, development approval and clearing approval processes. 6. Require the legislation to be supported by strong and clear accountability and transparency mechanisms that ensure full public scrutiny of all applications and assessment, as well as with the listing processes for threatened species and ecological communities. 7. Establish a body to independently monitor and report on the effectiveness of the legislation on an annual basis. Page 5

6 SNUBFIN DOLPHIN Aleks Terauds 2. A World Class Kimberley Marine Park Increased marine protection including A Great Kimberley Marine Park Establishing a Great Kimberley Marine Park with Indigenous joint management would create a global icon in the far north of equal status to Ningaloo and the Great Barrier Reef. More than 20,000 humpback whales migrate to the Kimberley s near-pristine waters from Antarctica each year to calve, and six of the world s seven species of marine turtle call this region home. Only about five per cent of the Kimberley marine environment is currently safeguarded from the threats of fishing and damage from industrial development such as oil and gas drilling. The next WA Government should: 1. Build on existing marine reserves in the north-west with the creation of a world class Broome to the Border Great Kimberley Marine Park to be finalised over the next term of government. 2. Include all Kimberley state waters under levels of protection equivalent to the Ningaloo and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Parks, to ensure the delivery of a comprehensive, adequate and representative system of marine protection. 3. Develop a management planning regime incorporating Joint Management principles in partnership with Indigenous Traditional Owners. 4. Invest $20M over four years to support development and implementation of the Great Kimberley Marine Park. 5. Deliver indicative management plans in the next term of government for at least two major marine parks outside the Kimberley with priority given to the Dampier-Pilbara Coast and the South Coast Page 6

7 3. A Sustainable Vision for Southwest WA Low impact development and a nature-based economy The Southwest Australia Ecoregion, incorporating all the land in South West Australia in a triangle from Geraldton to Esperance including Perth, is one of the most important areas in the world for biodiversity conservation. It is internationally revered for its plant biodiversity as well as being the last sanctuary for a large number of endangered and unique animal and plant species. Threats such as clearing for agriculture and urban development, along with the impact of introduced species, continue to take a huge toll on our native wildlife. The next WA Government has the opportunity to create a new approach to development where nature is highly valued and co-exists alongside people living in more compact communities. The next WA Government should: 1. Commit to developing and implementing a sustainable vision for the whole of Southwest Australia based on non-intrusive, low impact development and a regional economy that recognises and values nature and biodiversity as green infrastructure. 2. Develop regulatory and incentive mechanisms to encourage higher density, more sustainable development and ensure optimal, efficient land uses across the State, and particularly in the Perth and Peel regions of the Swan Coastal Plain. 3. Dedicate $40M over 4 years for a Threatened Species Rescue Package to support job creation linked to revegetation programs, encouraging bio-diverse carbon farming programs, pest and weed management programs and to protect the habitat of threatened plants and threatened animal species such as black cockatoos, quokkas and the numbat. 4. Increase the area of land protected as part of the conservation estate to achieve a comprehensive, adequate and representative target of at least 17% conservation of all vegetation associations across the Southwest Australia Ecoregion. 5. Create a network of new nature reserves across and surrounding the Perth and Peel regions to protect its unique flora and fauna and provide amenity and recreation to residents, and commit funding to the on-going management of these reserves. 6. Establish a $5M pilot project to utilise existing landscape scale bioregional assessment mapping to develop biodiversity protection targets across the Southwest Australia Ecoregion and ensure that these are integrated into every level of land use planning, along with the principles of ecologically sustainable development. Black-flanked rock-wallaby, Southwest Australia s central Wheatbelt granites Phil Lewis and Mike Griffiths / WWF-Aus Page 7

8 4. The Kimberley: Like Nowhere Else Develop a protection plan for the entire region The Kimberley, our vast natural wonder, is one of the Earth s great natural and cultural treasures, featuring some of the most extraordinary landscapes and wildlife in Australia. The next WA Government needs to look to a more sustainable economic and ecological future for the Kimberley. The next WA Government needs to resist growing pressure to industrialise the Kimberley, by rejecting development such as the proposed gas processing facility at James Price Point. The next WA Government should: 1. Articulate a vision for economic development in the Kimberley based on its globally recognised environmental and landscape values and its rich cultural heritage. 2. Develop an agreed program to secure a world class system of protected areas across the Kimberley region, with Traditional Owner consent, and facilitate Aboriginal joint management across all tenures to protect both cultural and conservation values. 3. Support Traditional Owners in the expansion and management of Indigenous Protected Areas and joint State/IPA management arrangements over existing and new parks and reserves. 4. Work with Kimberley Indigenous communities to further develop sustainable economic enterprises that are based on valuing and protecting the region s unique natural and cultural values. 5. Support Land and Sea Management initiatives and Indigenous job creation by committing $5M per year for operational and program funding in Kimberley communities, with specific efforts to promote the involvement of women who are currently under-represented in state and commonwealth programs. 6. Provide permanent and comprehensive terrestrial and marine protected areas for Horizontal Falls. Boab tree (Adansonia gregorii) at sunset, central Kimberley TANYA VERNES / WWF-AUS Page 8

9 Windmill Park, Germany CHRIS MARTIN BAHR / WWF-CANON 5. Investing in a Clean Green WA Economy It s time to begin the transition to renewable energy Western Australia is particularly vulnerable to climate change. The impacts on our internationally recognised biodiversity and the world famous Ningaloo reef, and the million-dollar tourism industry it supports, will be significant. Not to forget impacts on urban water supplies, agriculture, and mining infrastructure. Our state also has extraordinary potential as a source of cheap renewable energy such as wave, geothermal, solar and wind. An integrated package of reforms and incentives will ensure a significant and continually growing proportion of Western Australia s energy needs will be met from renewable energy sources. The next WA Government should: 1. Help low-income households become more energy efficient through a targeted household efficiency program. 2. Set a renewable energy target of 45% by 2030 and provide financial incentives such as large scale auction, large scale feed-in-tariff, or grants to attract renewable energy to WA. 3. Introduce a moratorium or emissions performance standard to prevent new or expanded coal-fired power stations. 4. Support the national Renewable Energy Target (RET) Scheme, the carbon price and Clean Energy Finance Corporation, all of which will support renewable energy development in WA. Page 9

10 WWF-Australia Protecting Our Precious Wildlife and Habitat A Sustainable Vision for Southwest WA Low impact development and a nature-based economy Commit to strong, new legislation to protect and manage biodiversity THE Kimberley: LIKE NOWHERE ELSE Develop an environmental protection plan for the entire region Investing in a Clean Green WA Economy Begin the transition to renewable energy WWF policies for the 2013 Western Australian Election World Class Kimberley Marine Park Increase marine protection including a Great Kimberley Marine Park WWF-Australia Why we are here To stop the degradation of the planet s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. wwf.org.au 1986 Panda symbol WWF WWF is a registered trademark Authorised by D. O Gorman, Herdsman Lake, Flynn St, Wembley WA 6913 Panda Cottage Herdsman Lake Flynn St (cnr Selby St) Wembley WA 6913 PO Box 4010 Wembley WA 6913 Tel: Fax: enquiries@wwf.org.au wwf.org.au ABN WWF is a science-based conservation organisation and is politically non-partisan. WWF encourages the adoption of policies that will deliver enduring outcomes for the environment. PAUL GAMBLIN / WWF-AUS WWF.ORG.AU