Landclearing

The report documents the devastating impacts of landclearing. The Brock report identifies that species numbers decline dramatically after clearing due to loss of habitat and fragmentation. Other impacts such as soil erosion, sedimentation of waterways, invasion of weed species, altered fire regimes and contamination of soil and water from pesticide and other chemical use, further contribute to land and water degradation.

Launching the report Jann Crase, ECNT and Environs Kimberley's woodlands campaigner said "It is time for us to stop thinking that clearing is not an issue up here" Ms Crase said. "There has already been a huge increase in clearing over the last 5 - 7 years and it is set to drastically increase due to agricultural and horticultural expansion planned on a massive scale"

"The Northern Territory has the chance to prevent the kind of soil and water degradation which has choked the life out of Australia's great river systems and left vast tracts of agricultural land unusable because of salinity."

CLEARING MOVES NORTH - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Landclearing, the removal of native vegetation, represents the single greatest threat to Australia's biodiversity, and is responsible for much of Australia's wide-scale land and water degradation. Destruction of habitat, a direct result of land clearance, is one of the main causes of loss of biodiversity. It is believed that up to 20 bird species, 21 mammal species, and 97 plant species have become extinct in Australia since European settlement. Some of this loss is a direct result of landclearing. Land clearing continues to be a significant factor in contributing to Australia's annual greenhouse gas emissions.

In 1999, over half a million hectares of land were cleared in Australia, figures that indicate Australia ranks as the fifth highest country in the world in terms of rate of land clearing. All Australian Governments have agreed on a national goal to reduce the decline in quality and extent of native vegetation cover in Australia by June 2001. As yet Australian Governments have failed to meet either this national objective, or to meet internationally agreed targets for greenhouse gas reductions.

In the Northern Territory, where land and ecosystems are coming under increasing development pressure, there is no legislation in place to control land clearing across all land tenures. Between 1983-1991, estimated average clearing rates in the NT were about 16,300 ha per year, and from 1990-1995 were recorded as about 3,300 ha per year; more recent clearing figures are unavailable. Since the mid 1990's, intensive clearing in Darwin, Litchfield Shire and associated rural region has led to an accelerated rate of clearing.

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While land clearing so far has largely been concentrated in southern and eastern Australia, particularly in Queensland, recently there has been much interest in developing and expanding the agricultural industry across Northern Australia. Several massive agricultural schemes are proposed in the NT and northern WA. The schemes proposed show intent to clear native vegetation on a scale and intensity not before experienced in the region.

Major agricultural ventures are proposed for the Katherine and Daly River region (Daly Basin), the Ord River Irrigation Scheme Stage 2, the Sturt Plateau and the Point Stuart/Wildman River area. Clearing of native vegetation for forestry is being undertaken on the Tiwi Islands, with interest in large areas elsewhere in the Top End of the NT. In the greater Darwin and rural area, urban expansion, infrastructure development and expansion of the horticulture industry account for significant vegetation clearing and recent increased rates of clearing.

Tropical northern Australia (NT & WA) has been witness to the demise of several large and ambitious agricultural ventures in the past. The same key factors, including the wet/dry tropical climate, militate against the success of future agricultural developments in the region.

There is a risk that the same grave mistakes associated with land clearing in southern Australia may be repeated in the north. Without overarching clearing regulations in the NT, and given the current unseemly haste to clear more existing bushland, there is no room for complacency about the future of the bush, and no reason to assume that the same environmental costs will not be incurred.

The opportunity for the NT is to enact clearing controls now, informed by the principles of ecological sustainability, to ensure the long-term maintenance of the Territory's existing native bushland, vital to the survival of its native animals and natural ecosystems.

Please join the Environment Centre and assist us in our campaign to protect the native vegetation of Northern Australia.

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MORE INFORMATION

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