The Tweed’s rugged mountain scenery and varied wildlife is central to the recently recognised “Forests of East Australia” Global Biodiversity Hotspot.
With over 8000 vascular plant species and more than 2000 species found nowhere else
on earth, this area exceeds the endemic species needed for recognition of global biodiversity.
Sadly with 77% of natural vegetation cleared or degraded it also meets the criteria for a global biodiversity hotspot and means habitat for our wonderful flora and fauna is rapidly disappearing.
The worldwide significance of this is under appreciated.
The good news is that in these 35 Biodiversity Hotspots we can conserve half of the world’s living creatures.
By protecting natural habitat in the Tweed we are keeping alive ecosystems of unique plants and animals that help maintain nature’s most vital services supporting all life on Earth, and
providing many benefits to humans including clean air and water, fertile soils, food, medicines and renewable resources.
Within the NSW Queensland Border Ranges region there are 108 conservation reserves including national parks, nature reserves, crown land and private conservation properties.
While these rainforests, wildflower heaths, open forests, picturesque creeks, varied wildlife and some of the world’s best bushwalking are protected much of our native vegetation and biological diversity is on private land and impacted by growing human population and urban development.
Simple steps such as restoring native vegetation on waterways, not letting cats and dogs go wandering can protect habitat and native animals including birds, frogs and marsupials.
Supporting local food and production is also a win/win strategy for a long term sustainable future in our unique Biodiversity Hotspot.
Meet the Earth Learning team at World Environment Day, Knox Park, Murwillumbah on June 2nd!
Available for download as a PDF or Word document, with Appendices and figures available as separate PDFs.
"The Border Ranges Rainforest Biodiversity Management Plan is a regional recovery plan for threatened species and communities of the Border Ranges North and South (Queensland and New South Wales) Biodiversity Hotspot. The Plan considers the conservation requirements of rainforest and closely related species and communities in the Border Ranges region of New South Wales and Queensland, which is centred on the McPherson Ranges. It also addresses other species of conservation significance so as to manage the area's biodiversity in a holistic and cost-effective manner. It constitutes the formal national recovery plan for those rainforest species which are endemic to the Hotspot region.
Although it was primarily developed by the New South Wales Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, with Australian Government funding assistance, the Plan represents a milestone in the cooperative management of our biodiversity assets. Because of the cross-border nature of the region, its successful development has also relied on input and endorsement by the Queensland Government and the relevant regional natural resource management body in each state. Local and Indigenous communities were also extensively consulted.
The Plan identifies the actions to be taken to ensure the long-term viability of the threatened species and other bodiversity assets of the rainforest and related vegetation of the Border Ranges region. Actions include working with landowners to restore and protect identified priority areas, including vegetation corridors for the movement and dispersal of species. There is also an emphasis on landowners and agencies working together to help manage the impacts of weeds and feral pests, as well as fire management. The involvement of the local community, including the Indigenous community, is seen as integral to the successful implementation of the Plan.
It is intended that this Plan be implemented over a ten-year period.
The Border Ranges Rainforest Biodiversity Management Plan is presented in two parts. The first consists of this document containing the background information relevant to the recovery of the priority species and ecological communities, and the outcomes and actions required to achieve their long-term recovery. The second part is presented electronically on a compact disk (CD) which can be found on the inside back cover of this document. This second part provides background information, including a number of appendices and figures that accompany the main Plan."
Published 2010. Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW NSW & Queensland, ISBN: 978 1 74232 447 0
As at 2023, now known as the "Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water"
It's Interesting that under "Table 10 Key threatening processes relevant to the Planning Area", there is no reference to a possible dire threat like Myrtle Rust Disease.
At the time the plan was was written, the Myrtle Rust disease threat existed overseas, but was not on the biosecurity radar here as a potential threat to native species here in Australia, despite the first documented case occurring in NSW in April 2010.
See also Earth Learning Biodiversity Hotspot page.
Comentarios