Subj : Developer dollars not enough to save spe To : All From : ScienceDaily Date : Mon Jul 10 2023 22:30:20 Developer dollars not enough to save species Date: July 10, 2023 Source: University of Queensland Summary: Financial payments made by land developers to offset their impacts on threatened species may fall short, according to new research. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email ========================================================================== FULL STORY ========================================================================== Financial payments made by land developers to offset their impacts on threatened species may fall short, according to University of Queensland-led research. Professor Jonathan Rhodes from the School of the Environment focused on koala populations in the fast-developing South East Queensland region and a government scheme which allows developers to make financial payments to compensate for environmental consequences. "Just like when you make a financial contribution to offset your carbon emissions when purchasing a flight, developers can make a financial payment to the Queensland Government to offset their impacts on koala habitat," Professor Rhodes said. "These payments are then used to plant trees to restore koala habitat in offset sites elsewhere. "But we found that when suitable places to restore koala habitat are difficult to find, the financial payments required under the Queensland Environmental Offset Policy are often insufficient to achieve its intended outcomes and this is a major problem. "In the South East Queensland region, only 0.7 of 13.4 hectares of impacts on koala habitat offset through financial payments since 2018 so far have offset sites in place and this is concerning for the future of this beloved, endangered species. "Unfortunately, land supply can make suitable offset sites hard to find and this pushes up the cost of delivering habitat restoration and securing those sites in the long-term can fail to guarantee sufficient gains in habitat to counterbalance losses." Professor Rhodes said funding from developer payments may be insufficient to buy enough offset sites for habitat restoration. "South East Queensland is the most densely human-populated area in the state, growing from 2.4 million people in 2001 to 3.5 million people in 2016, with 5.3 million people expected by 2041," Professor Rhodes said. "It is also home to an enormous number of threatened species, including some of the most significant koala populations in Australia which have declined 50 to 80 per cent over the past two decades. "This problem will become worse as the region expands and competition for land for development intensifies, making offset sites either impossible to find or more expensive to secure." The study mapped and modelled development in eight Local Government Areas (LGAs) within the South East Queensland Planning Region, applying ecological data and projecting anticipated development and offset outcomes. While the researchers propose some solutions, they also call for consideration of immediate changes to the current offset policy. "On one hand, financial payments by developers can provide flexibility for the State Government to deliver the most effective offsets to help threatened species such as koalas, but on the other hand, it's essential that developers pay the true cost of those offsets," Professor Rhodes said. "Otherwise, offsets will fall short of compensating for habitat losses and species will continue to decline or taxpayers via the State Government will have to make up the shortfall in developer contributions." * RELATED_TOPICS o Plants_&_Animals # Endangered_Animals # Nature # Wild_Animals o Earth_&_Climate # Environmental_Policy # Exotic_Species # Biodiversity o Science_&_Society # Funding_Policy # Economics # Land_Management * RELATED_TERMS o Conservation_status o Environmental_impact_assessment o Endangered_species o Biodiversity_hotspot o Environmental_effects_of_fishing o Honeybee o Tuatara o Gila_monster ========================================================================== Print Email Share ========================================================================== ****** 1 ****** ***** 2 ***** **** 3 **** *** 4 *** ** 5 ** Breaking this hour ========================================================================== * Six_Foods_to_Boost_Cardiovascular_Health * Cystic_Fibrosis:_Lasting_Improvement * Artificial_Cells_Demonstrate_That_'Life_... * Advice_to_Limit_High-Fat_Dairy_Foods_Challenged * First_Snapshots_of_Fermion_Pairs * Why_No_Kangaroos_in_Bali;_No_Tigers_in_Australia * New_Route_for_Treating_Cancer:_Chromosomes * Giant_Stone_Artefacts_Found:_Prehistoric_Tools * Astonishing_Secrets_of_Tunicate_Origins * Most_Distant_Active_Supermassive_Black_Hole Trending Topics this week ========================================================================== PLANTS_&_ANIMALS Endangered_Plants Botany Food EARTH_&_CLIMATE Environmental_Policy Sustainability Hazardous_Waste FOSSILS_&_RUINS Fossils Early_Mammals Early_Climate ========================================================================== Strange & Offbeat ========================================================================== PLANTS_&_ANIMALS Bees_Make_Decisions_Better_and_Faster_Than_We_Do,_for_the_Things_That_Matter_to Them These_Lollipops_Could_'Sweeten'_Diagnostic_Testing_for_Kids_and_Adults_Alike Why_There_Are_No_Kangaroos_in_Bali_(and_No_Tigers_in_Australia) EARTH_&_CLIMATE Turning_Old_Maps_Into_3D_Digital_Models_of_Lost_Neighborhoods Squash_Bugs_Are_Attracted_to_and_Eat_Each_Other's_Poop_to_Stock_Their Microbiome How_Urea_May_Have_Been_the_Gateway_to_Life FOSSILS_&_RUINS Giant_Stone_Artefacts_Found_on_Rare_Ice_Age_Site_in_Kent,_UK Fossils_Reveal_How_Ancient_Birds_Molted_Their_Feathers_--_Which_Could_Help Explain_Why_Ancestors_of_Modern_Birds_Survived_When_All_the_Other_Dinosaurs Died Apex_Predator_of_the_Cambrian_Likely_Sought_Soft_Over_Crunchy_Prey Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Queensland. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. ========================================================================== Journal Reference: 1. Jonathan R. Rhodes, Yan Liu, Agung Wahyudi, Martine Maron, Md Sayed Iftekhar, Shantala Brisbane. Performance of habitat offsets for species conservation in dynamic human‐modified landscapes. People and Nature, 2023; DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10494 ========================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230710113854.htm --- up 1 year, 19 weeks, 10 hours, 50 minutes * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3) .