The Reef Plan Annual Report 2003/04 covers the period from December 2003 to June 2004, and related activities which occurred during the development of the plan. This is the first annual report on the progress of the Reef Plan.
The annual report includes analysis of the highlights, actions on track or completed, actions of concern, overall progress and key strategic issues in relation to:
Highlights
There was significant progress following the release of the Reef Plan in December 2003, including:
- implementation of $1 million worth of “no regrets” actions agreed to in the Memorandum of Understanding between the Australian and Queensland Governments for co-operation to protect the Great Barrier Reef from land sourced runoff , resulting in:
- eco-efficiency agreements with the Fertilizer Industry Federation of Australia and CANEGROWERS to facilitate industry led promotion of best management practices, including the FERTCARE (non-government site) national product stewardship program and increased COMPASS (non-government site) workshops
- development and implementation of the Douglas Shire Water Quality Improvement Plan through the Australian Government Coastal Catchments Initiative
- completion of modelling of sediment and nutrient ‘hot spots’ in the Reef catchment published by Brodie et al. 2003 (Further work is underway to refine the models)
- commissioning a Chemical Review of Diuron (in progress)
- agreement by the Australian and Queensland Governments to the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) Bilateral Agreement. This includes a commitment to the conservation and management of wetlands across the State through the NHT’s Queensland Wetlands Programme. The Australian Government will invest $7.5 million over five years, to be matched by the Queensland Government by in-kind investment. Its sister program, the Great Barrier Reef Coastal Wetlands Protection Programme, has funded a review of wetland incentive programs and allocated $2 million to a two year pilot program to fast track the delivery of on-ground activities to conserve and manage wetlands in Reef catchments
- provision by the Australian Government of $6.063 million over the next 3 years to fund the implementation of a long-term water quality and ecosystem health monitoring program in the Reef lagoon (Strategy I.4). The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) is coordinating this program with the Queensland Government’s catchment wide monitoring and the monitoring programs of the Regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) Bodies
- introduction of new legislation by the Queensland Government in May 2004 that will result in the cessation of broadscale clearing of remnant vegetation by the end of 2006 across the state. The legislation was accompanied by a $150m assistance package for landholders including $8m to promote best management practice and $12m for incentives to assist in the conservation of high value vegetation which may not otherwise be protected. These initiatives will directly assist in delivering a range of Reef Plan actions
- Provision of $5m by the Queensland Government, as part of the Smart State building fund, to expand existing water monitoring capacity across the state. A substantial proportion of this allocation will be invested in reef catchments to a meet the commitment for enhanced monitoring capacity
- Continued investment by the Australian and Queensland Governments, in collaboration with research organisations and Regional NRM Bodies, in research, development and extension programs for agricultural land uses in Reef catchments
- The development of the Reef Module to provide guidance on how Reef Plan requirements can be addressed through Regional NRM Plans
- Establishment of the Catchment-to-Reef program to minimise the effects of agriculture on the Reef lagoon. The program, led by the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Rainforest and the CRC for Reef will receive Australian Government funding of $1.2 million over three years to develop new tools for mitigation and monitoring of water quality and ecosystem health
- The funding of the CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country program, to deliver better and more targeted research and development programs in the Reef catchments
- Developing and delivering the strategically targeted Queensland Environmental Protection Agency nature refuge program, which includes support tools and assistance to landholders. This has resulted in the addition of 23 nature refuges protecting 83 895 hectares in the Reef catchment from July 2003 to June 2004. The target for the nature refuge program is 1 million hectares statewide by 2010
- Promoting sustainable land management and best management practices in high risk Reef catchments through a partnership with agricultural industries to develop a Farm Management Systems approach
- Providing three biodiversity planning assessments for the Central Queensland Coast, Brigalow Belt and northern sections of the SEQ bioregions for regional NRM bodies and rural communities to underpin community conservation initiatives and property management planning
- The announcement of $2 million in funding for the mapping and inventory of wetlands within the Reef catchment by 2006
- Establishing environmental values and water quality objectives in Douglas Shire and Mary River Basin, and developing draft Queensland Water Quality Guidelines as a blueprint for future management of these waterways.
Last reviewed 15 December 2006
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