15 Aug
2006 - WWF today called upon the Queensland Government
to legally protect wetlands and develop a 20-year
Sea Change Plan to help protect the Reef and the
coastline - where 9 out of the top 10 growth areas
are in Queensland.
A new WWF report released today
shows efforts across Queensland to conserve wetlands
are failing, with over 70 per cent lost in some
Reef catchments.
“Queensland needs to legally
protect wetlands from being drained, filled in,
over-grazed or polluted. New South Wales legislated
20 years ago to protect coastal wetlands. It’s
time Queensland did the same,” said Richard Leck,
WWF-Australia Marine and Coastal Policy Officer.
The report A Case for Queensland
Wetlands Law Reform, produced by the Environmental
Defenders Office, proposes a wetlands Environment
Protection Policy to prohibit very damaging activities,
such as draining.
“No wetlands means no Reef.
Wetlands are the kidneys of rivers and filter
out sediments and pollution being washed onto
the Reef,” Mr Leck said.
The Noosa-to-Port Douglas coast
needs a Sea Change Plan, to manage rampant growth
by implementing existing laws and coastal plans.
“We are loving the coast to
death. Queenslanders want to live near the beach
because its beautiful and low-stress. They don’t
want to be hemmed in by tourist resorts, factories,
golf courses and six-lane highways.
“With the massive amounts of
population growth in Queensland's coastal areas,
the coastline is increasingly resembling suburban
sprawl with little of the uncrowded vistas and
natural features that make a trip to the beach
so enjoyable,” Mr Leck said.
“If we don’t act now, we’ll
see the sprawl and unsustainable growth of southeast
Queensland creep further and further north.”
Copies of the report A Case
for Queensland Wetlands Law Reform may be downloaded
from the WWF website www.wwf.org.au
Richard Leck, National Marine and Coastal Policy
Officer
Angela Heck, Communications Manager, WWF-Australia
