THE KOALA KILLERS ARE AT IT AGAIN Tree counts undertaken over the years by organizations such as WWF have consistently shown that within Moreton Bay Regional Council (and Caboolture Shire Council before it) more trees are cut down and more vegetation is removed than in virtually any local council district in Australia. These vegetation removal practices have failed to place much value on the ecological value of the affected areas. The recent decision to approve the Petrie bypass road is an example. Although other options were available, and were recommended by MBRC staff, Council chose to ignore those options and instead voted to put the road though one of the few remaining koala habitats in MBRC. As a result of this piecemeal approach, the remaining habitat areas in MBRC are essentially non-contiguous land areas that cannot be viable in the long term as habitat areas for threatened species such as koalas. These areas are far too small. As a result the koala population in MBRC has been plummeting downwards. So it was refreshing and encouraging to see the MBRC DRAFT Planning Scheme attempt to address some of these issues by planning for the establishment of environmental corridors that would link these remnant threatened areas. Those corridors would allow migration of fauna between the land areas and would potentially make them more sustainable and viable. But that would also make life more difficult for developers who might have to set land aside for the creation of those corridors. And that would just not be acceptable at MBRC. So last week, and for reasons that can only be guessed at, Council removed the need for provision of those corridors from the DRAFT Planning Scheme. This will confine the fauna, such as koalas, to the current unconnected remnant habitat areas. In all likelihood, this will seal their fate and will result in their extinction. The MBRC area was once home to a very healthy and sustainable population. In just a few short years, that population will all but disappear thanks to short-sighted decisions like these. For more background information on this decision, see the attached letter from one concerned community group. mybribieisland.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MBEA-Letter-re-Removal-of-Environmental-Corridors.pdf
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 00:21:10 +0000
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