Tony Moore Brisbane Times 19 Sep 12;
Australia's Environment Minister Tony Burke has called for a "higher level of protection" for threatened seagrass beds along the Australian coastline.
Australia now has a mass of seagrass beds about one and a half times the size of Tasmania surrounding the country.
In 2004, a major research body including James Cook University and the Great Barrier Marine Park Authority estimated there was 6000 square kilometres* of seagrass in shallow water.
In the deeper waters outside the Great Barrier Reef, the university estimated there was 40,000 square kilometres of seagrass.
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However, almost one-third of the world's seagrass has been lost in the past decade, Mr Burke said yesterday.
Mr Burke has told the "Coast to Coast" conference in Brisbane today it was time to lift the environmental protection of seagrass beds.
"I would like to start to move towards putting some areas of seagrass into a higher level of protection," he said.
Mr Burke said seagrass absorbs carbon at three times the rate of an average forest.
"It's an extraordinary asset, environmentally, in every way, in issues other than habitat, as well," he said.
However, Mr Burke said it was up to state governments to change their environmental policies too offer the protection.
"I am urging the state governments to work with industry because we can get the best quality offsets, if they are willing to a higher level of protection over some of the seagrass meadows," he said.
Mr Burke said companies that dredged close to seagrass beds were required to fund research projects and land management.
"But we are ending up with environmental outcomes which could be far more effective, if we had some seagrass meadows going into a higher level of protection," he said.
Mr Burke did not clearly explain the criteria of how seagrass beds should be protected from projects, instead insisting untouched seagrass beds could be protected under offsets.
Greens Senator Larissa Waters said an offset plan did not go far enough and called on Mr Burke to protect all invaluable seagrass beds.
"These offsets are like being allowed to trash the Eiffel Tower because you've donated to the upkeep of the Taj Mahal," she said in a statement.
Senator Waters said it was "ridiculous" to think dugongs and other marine animals could travel hundreds of thousands of kilometres to other seagrass beds that supported marine animal populations.
Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell said he would be happy to talk to the federal government about an offset scheme, but he was concerned about duplication.
"There are a number of challenges presented by what the minister is proposing, but I'm happy to have the conversation," he said.
World Wildlife Fund spokesman Sean Hoobin said floods and cyclones in Queensland in recent years had wiped out massive areas of the marine habitats.
"It is well and good to set aside certain areas and say that they'll be better protected, but how exactly you do that is the challenge," he told said.
The Capricorn Conservation Council wanted to know the locations of seagrass beds to be protected and how quickly protective measures could be taken.
Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche said mining companies understood marine ecosystems were damaged by poor water quality, coastal development and natural disasters such as floods.
Mr Roche said mining companies understood the need to protect seagrass beds.
"As long as it's a comprehensive plan that's dealing with all of those issues, then our sector will play its part," he told AAP.
However Mr Roche said mining companies would have concerns if the scheme added to their costs or caused delays in approving developments.
- additional reporting by AAP
Seagrass recovers after Brisbane floods
AAP The Australian 19 Sep 12;
SEAGRASS beds that support dugong and fish populations in Moreton Bay recovered within a year of the devastating 2011 Brisbane floods, researchers have found.
CSIRO marine ecologist Dr Russ Babcock says seagrasses had to cope with more than one million tonnes of sediment and pollutants carried by flood water runoff.
But he said there had been a remarkable recovery.
"Seagrass cover in Moreton Bay declined by half shortly after the floods," Dr Babcock said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Seagrasses are affected by the seasons and we expected to see some reduction during winter, but it was great to see them regenerate to pre-flood levels less than 12 months later."
The CSIRO was able to document the effects of the flood on coastal waters as far north as Fraser Island.
Researchers used technologies including remote sensing and robotic underwater gliders that took continuous readings of the flood plume on voyages of over 100km.
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Dr Babcock said it was important to understand how ecosystems such as Moreton Bay responded to extreme events, which can set the scene for ecological trends for many years to come.
"For example, although seagrasses have recovered from the 2011 flood, there are areas of the bay where seagrasses have still not recovered from floods in the 1990s," he said.
"Understanding the reasons for these different responses is important if we are to manage and conserve or restore the ecological values of Moreton Bay."
Dr Babcock will present the research at a coastal management conference in Brisbane this week.
Group concerned about plan to protect seagrass beds
ABC Yahoo News 18 Sep 12;
A North Queensland environmental group says it is concerned measures to protect seagrass beds from coal port developments will not improve the conservation of sensitive areas.
Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has called for a discussion with the states on ways to better protect seagrass beds by offering resource companies the chance to purchase offsets.
He told a Brisbane conference that developers already use offsets on land to clear an area but improve habitat in another.
Mr Burke says the plan could be administered by the State Government.
The conditions could potentially cover a proposed new coal terminal at Balaclava Island off Rockhampton, or the expansion of the Abbot Point and Hay Point in the state's north.
He says the same principle applies under the sea but has rarely been taken up because of issues with tenure.
"It's pretty hard to buy a quarter-acre block of ocean," he said.
"They don't tend to be sold in those terms."
Mr Burke says where underwater offsets have been used they have not delivered high quality environmental outcomes.
He says mining companies are already paying for research programs as part of an ocean management plan.
"When you have a dredging project, there are already environment costs that hit the bottom-line of a company," he said.
"The most effective thing they could pay for would be to put other areas into higher areas of protection and improve the quality of other seagrass meadows."
No evidence
However, Mackay Conservation Group spokeswoman Patricia Julien says there is no evidence to show the offsets would work.
"Seagrasses already grow where they can grow, where there's suitable areas," she said.
"How can you demonstrate scientifically that there'll be areas where the seagrasses can establish successfully?
"It would be a lovely 'get of out jail' project if it worked, but it's got to be shown to work."
Sean Hoobin, from environmental group WWF, says more detail is needed from the Federal Government.
"It's well and good to set aside certain areas and say they'll be better protected, but how you do that - that is the challenge," he said.
Further consideration
Meanwhile, Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell says seagrass offsets are already available to mining companies and have been used as part of the Curtis Island development in central Queensland.
Mr Powell says while the idea poses some challenges it is worth further consideration.
"It is a case of ensuring that we have the environmental standards," he said.
"Companies know that they need to meet certain environmental standards.
"Again I reiterate what I've heard today is that the Minister [Burke] wants to have a conversation - I'm happy to be part of that conversation."
Miners back coastal protection plan
Miranda Forster AAP The Telegraph 18 Sep 12;
QUEENSLAND miners have tentatively backed a plan to compensate for the damage their dredging works cause to seagrass beds.
However, the Australian Greens say the federal government's plan won't halt the decline of the nation's coastal environment.
Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke told a coastal environment conference in Brisbane it was time for the states to "start a conversation" about mining companies offsetting dredging damage to seagrass beds.
Miners whose developments harmed seagrass beds would pay to protect healthy beds in other locations, or restore damaged ones.
He told about 200 delegates and other dignitaries at the Coast to Coast conference - including Queensland's environment minister - that action was needed now to halt the decline in the important marine habitats, which come under state jurisdiction.
The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) says the industry would be happy to lend support, in proportion to its role in damaging the seagrass.
Marine ecosystems were also being damaged by poor water quality, coastal development and natural disasters such as floods, QRC director Michael Roche said.
"As long as it's a comprehensive plan that's dealing with all of those issues, then our sector will play its part," he told AAP.
Mr Roche said mining companies would have concerns if the scheme added to their costs or caused delays in approving developments.
The Australian Greens said an offset plan didn't go far enough and called on Mr Burke to protect all invaluable seagrass beds.
"These offsets are like being allowed to trash the Eiffel Tower because you've donated to the upkeep of the Taj Mahal," Greens Senator Larissa Waters said in a statement on Tuesday.
She said it was "ridiculous" to think dugongs and other marine animals could travel hundreds of thousands of kilometres to other seagrass beds that supported marine animal populations.
Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell said he would be happy to talk to the federal government about an offset scheme, but he was concerned about duplication.
"There are a number of challenges presented by what the minister is proposing, but I'm happy to have the conversation," he told reporters outside the conference.
WWF spokesman Sean Hoobin said floods and cyclones in Queensland in recent years had wiped out massive areas of the marine habitats.
"It is well and good to set aside certain areas and say that they'll be better protected, but how exactly you do that is the challenge," he told reporters.
The Capricorn Conservation Council wanted to know the locations of seagrass beds to be protected and how quickly protective measures could be taken.
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