Preparedness for climate change and weather extremes

Related Content

• NRM Investment Programs

  

  Natural Resource Management Investment Program 2017-2018

  The State has allocated $80 million to the regional natural resource management investment program over five years from 2013 to 2018, including $30 million to protect the Great Barrier Reef. The majority of the funding is being provided to support strategic projects delivered through Queensland's regional natural resource management (NRM) bodies. These organisations provide an important link between governments and communities. They also work collaboratively with volunteer and grass-roots organisations (e.g. Landcare), rural industry groups and landholders.

  

  Cape York - Keep It Clean

  Organisations across Cape York are working together to launch a campaign to educate people about the need to deal with their rubbish responsibly when travelling around the Cape. Funded by the Queensland Government and coordinated by Cape York NRM, the campaign will target both locals and tourists and urge them to plan ahead for responsible waste disposal before they even hit the road.   

  

  Regional Land Partnerships

  The aim of Regional Land Partnerships is "to protect, conserve, and provide for the productive use of Australia's water, soil, plants and animals and the ecosystems in which they live and interact, in partnership with governments, industry and communities. Regional Land Partnerships is a major component of the second phase of the National Landcare Program. The investment for 2018-2023 will fund biodiversity projects focused on protecting rainforest, woodlands and coastal vine thickets as well as cassowaries and the golden shouldered parrot.

• Land Manager Stories

  

  Cape York Climate

  Tropical climate The Cape York region is situated at the northern tip of Queensland in a tropical climatic zone where summers are wet and winters are comparatively dry (Bureau of Meteorology 1989). Coastal climatic effects are pronounced in this region as it is bordered by the Gulf of Carpentaria to the west and the Coral Sea to the east.Average temperatureSummers are hot with maximum temperatures around 33-36ºC in January. The coolest temperatures are experienced along the coast and to the east (Colls & Whitaker 1990).

• Newsletter Articles

  

  Reducing impact of late season wildfires

  Land managers from northern Cape York, in a vast area spanning from the western to the eastern coast, came together in July this year to plan a coordinated burn in order to reduce the risk of wildfires. This collaborative project brought together land managers from across the Embley, Mission, Wenlock, Olive and Pascoe catchments.

  

  A decade of progress through the Queensland Government’s Paddock to Reef program

  Words Abbey Ernst and Robyn May | Photo Robyn May

  2019 marks a decade of successful operation for the Paddock to Reef Integrated Monitoring, Modelling and Reporting Program (Paddock to Reef program). 

  It is through the Paddock to Reef program that Cape York NRM has effectively continued its work with landholders in the Normanby catchment of the Great Barrier Reef.  

  

  Bloom and Prosper 2020

  Laughter, friendship and even a few tears—Northern Gulf’s women’s events for 2020 kicked off in September with events in Mount Carbine and Walkamin, and concluded in Mount Surprise.

  This year’s event, Bloom and Prosper, focussed on disaster preparedness and personal development, with participants gaining skills and knowledge to support their families and communities with disaster resilience.

  

  That's a wrap - the Reef Alliance Cape York Grazing Project draws to a close

  Words Jessie Price-Decle and Juliana Foxlee | Photo Jessie Price-Decle

  The three-year project saw graziers make changes to their land and grazing practices to improve land condition and water quality outcomes.

  The project team, made up of Cape York NRM, South Cape York Catchments, and Department of Agriculture and Fisheries staff, worked across 20 properties over the life of the project.

  South Cape York Catchments Grazing Project Officer Jessie Price-Decle said the project made a difference to water quality and land condition.

  

  #Weather

  Cape York NRM have installed the last of three internet – enabled weather stations in Lakeland in order to provide the local producers with more reliable weather information to help them make important decisions around nutrient and water use.

  Regional Extension Coordinator Oliver McConnachie, who is leading the initiative, said gathering weather information accurately at the local level and integrating it with Bureau of Meteorology data will lead to more reliable weather predictions.

  

  Increased irrigation knowledge leads to efficient water usage

  Words Abbey Ernst and Robyn May | Photo Kerry Trapnell 

  Abbey Ernst started work as Cape York NRM’s Sustainable Industries Officer in December 2018. She will work on the Queensland Government’s Paddock to Reef project, and the Federal Government’s Healthy Farming Futures project.

  

  Thirty years of marine turtle research in the northern Great Barrier Reef

  This year marks three decades of marine turtle monitoring in the far northern Great Barrier Reef by the Department of Environment and Science. 

  

  A Healthy Farming Future for Cape York

  Words Juliana Foxlee | Photo Cape York NRM

  A resilient, future-focused and adaptive Cape York farming sector is the goal for Cape York NRM’s Healthy Farming Futures project.

  Healthy Farming Futures aims to help raise awareness of how climate change will impact farm practices, land condition and support the identification of adaptation strategy, increasing the resilience against the projected impacts of climate change.

  

  Co-benefits of carbon farming

  There are positive outcomes to carbon farming in addition to emissions avoided or carbon stored.

  

  Sawfish research along the Mitchell River

  Since 2015, Sharks And Rays Australia (SARA) has been running regular expeditions to the Mitchell River in Cape York under the lead of Dr Barbara Wueringer, an expert on sawfish and other sharks and rays.

  In July 2020, when COVID-19 travel restrictions to the Cape eased, SARA, together with Cape York NRM and Northern Gulf RMG, ran a research expedition to sample for sawfish along the Mitchell River.

  

  Groundswell of Far North Farmers Embrace Soil Programs to Build Climate Resilience  

  Words Juliana Foxlee | Photo provided

  Farmers across Far North Queensland are digging into a range of soils management programs to help secure their futures against changing climate conditions.

• Newsletter Editions

  

  Issue 43

• Podcast Episode

  

  MCYL 03 Mikayla Down & Wilfred Peter

  Mikayla Down and Wilfred Peter are Traditional Owners from Lama Lama Country, which hugs the northern coast of Princess Charlotte Bay on Cape York Peninsula.

  Mikayla and Wilfred work as rangers with Yintjingga Aboriginal Corporation's Lama Lama Rangers caring for and managing traditional land and sea country from Silver Plains in the north to Marina Plains in the south. 

  Listen as Mikayla and Wilfred discuss life as a ranger, growing up in Cape York, and the responsibilities they hold as young Traditional Owners caring for their Country.

  

  MCYL 06 Desmond Tayley

  Desmond Tayley is a Cape York leader, who has the rare distinction of being one of Australia’s youngest and longest-serving mayors.

  As the Mayor of Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council, he describes his community as the place “so nice you’ve got to say it twice”.

  Wujal Wujal, on southern Cape York, is where the rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef. It’s an Indigenous community located in lush country on the banks of the Bloomfield River.

  Wujal Wujal is south of Cooktown, north of the Daintree, and home to about 500 people.

  

  MCYL S2 Marie Shipton

  Marie Shipton lives in Wujal Wujal and is a Traditional Owner from the area. The interview is recorded on Country at the mouth of the beautiful Bloomfield River, in the company of a patrolling crocodile. 

  Marie talks about growing up on the river, before being moved to Wujal Wujal by the Lutheran Church, and shares stories about her family, culture and life in the place where the rainforest meets the reef. 

  These days Marie works to preserve and share the stories and culture of her Country, as a Cultural Officer at Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Council.

  

  MCYL S2 Alan Wilson

  Alan Wilson has spent almost 40 years on Cape York, and has seen and done a lot. He is a Cook Shire Councillor, and he’s run cattle stations, the Laura pub and the town’s roadhouse.

  He has led many campaigns to improve life on the Cape. He pushed for the new bridge over the Laura River south of town, and continues to campaign for one at north Laura – where wet season floods isolate the town and can be a real danger to people. 

  Alan has spent years campaign for a container deposit scheme for Queensland - which has finally been taken on by the Queensland Government.

  

  MCYL S2 Jessie Price-Decle

  Jessie Price is a young mum, an environmental scientist, and the Grazing Engagement Officer with South Cape York Catchments - a community-based natural resource management organisation based in Cooktown.

  Jessie began her Cape York working life as a trainee with Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, a spectacular introduction to the region she loves living in and working for.

  Jessie is passionate about conservation on Cape York, and understands first-hand the challenges of having a career and raising a family in one of Australia's remote regions.

• Projects

  

  Western Cape Landcare Group and Weipa Community Garden Project

  This project was aimed at reinstatement and rehabilitation of Weipa waterfront from damage done by Cyclone Oswald, preventing the loss of culturally significant melaleuca stands and foreshore protection, and formally establishing a Weipa Community Garden and Western Cape Landcare Group. Cape and Coastal Care Pty Ltd hosted the projects to start-up stage when a residents' committee then assumed operational responsibility under the guidance of Landcare. Partners included the mining industry, education, Commonwealth department, contractors, local authority and Indigenous groups.

  

  Support for targeted vertebrate pest program-Mapoon at Skardon Beach

  This project is important to lower the predation rate of >90% by feral pigs and to protect against turtle nest predation/turtle eggs/hatchlings on Skardon Beach- Mapoon. The predation rate will be reduced to a measurable/ amount by conducting a turtle monitoring survey in the turtle season 2017 - August to November under the WCTTA / NTO project . The long term risk of doing nothing is not an option – we will lose this important turtle nesting beach to 100% predation

  

  Development of a Carbon Prioritisation Spatial Framework

  This project facilitates and develops a carbon prioritisation spatial framework for Cape York now and into the future. The project uses existing models, such as those being used by April Reside and Bob Pressey of James Cook University, and adapts and populates them with data for Cape York. The data might include fire, soils, vegetation, wetlands, culture, management regimes and land use. The project aim is to model different outcomes for Cape York based on different, mostly policy, scenarios. A number of maps reveal different opportunities based on different settings.

  

  Engaging Normanby sub-region communities in 'Your Climate' NRM Planning

  Cape York NRM has adapted a socio-ecological systems approach towards development of an NRM plan that considers the distinctive cultural landscapes of Cape York. Ongoing community consultation confirmed that it was 'time for implementation' hence the process involved learning by doing consultation strategies, integrating current synthesised studies, and recent environmental accounts conducted on Cape York.

  

  Integrating climate change knowledge into fine-scale management planning

  This work will use knowledge about current and projected climate change in the Cape York region to develop a more specific understanding of the consequences for sustainable management of country in the region.

  

  Prospectus for Western Cape York Water Management Plan

  This project develops a detailed prospectus for Western Cape York Water Quality Improvement Plan (WCYWQIP). The prospectus is to engage with funding bodies and partners to support the WCYWQIP project and will demonstrate the benefits of supporting Cape York NRM to achieve this Plan.

  

  Lukin Rubber Vine Control Yarraden 2017

  Rubber vine decreases biodiversity and prevents access to both stock and native animals. It generally invades waterways first, where the seeds germinate in moist silt layers after rain.

  This Rubber Vine Control project continued to carry out the established efforts to contain the Rubber Vine threat by the method of spraying the rubber vine on Lukin River on Yarraden Station. This project ran in partnership with Willstock Cattle and Wunthulpu Aboriginal Land Trust. 

  

  Engaging Mitchell River Catchment Area in 'Your Climate' NRM Planning

  Cape York NRM is adapting a socio-ecological systems approach towards development of an NRM plan that considers the distinctive cultural landscapes of Cape York.

  

  Containing and reducing the further spread of established Pond Apple at Hopevale and South Cape Bedford

  Pond apple (Annona glabra) threatens coastal wetland landscapes through the Wet Tropics bioregion of Far North Queensland with isolated occurrences on eastern coast of Cape York. This weed of National Significance presents a threat due to its ability to colonise and transform intact natural ecosystems, forming mono cultural thickets effectively displacing native ecosystems, the native habitats of turtles, dugongs and native birds.

  

  Monitor water quality characteristics in the Wenlock River system

  The 300 kilometre long Wenlock River is a system of major ecological and cultural importance with high scenic values, and holds evidence of evolutionary connections with New Guinea. It provides food sources for locals, is used recreationally by anglers, campers, and naturalists, as well as by commercial fishers.

  

  Investigating mussel population declines in Yuku Baja Muliku Sea Country

  This project directly addresses Yuku Baja Muliku (YBM) concerns that their mussel stocks are declining.

  

  Hopevale and East Coast Pond Apple Control

  In association with Hopevale Council, Hopevale Congress Rangers, and the Traditional owners, this project will continue Pond Apple control work that has been ongoing in the Hopevale, South Cape Bedford, Alligator creek, and Cooktown areas for the last twenty-four years. The project will build upon work already undertaken and ensure we further encourage the return of biodiversity in our unique environment. It is also proposed to survey areas to the north, south and west of these areas to further reduce the Pond Apple seed spread.

  

  National Indigenous Fire Workshop 2018

  On 12-15 July 2018, the four-day 2018 National Indigenous Fire Workshop was held at Bundanon in Yuin Country on the New South Wales south coast. Convened by the Firesticks Alliance and hosted by the Mudjingaalbaraga Firesticks Team, Bundanon Trust, Mulong and Cape York NRM and the workshop was attended by 296 participants, mostly from across eastern Australia. Participants came from as far north as Napranum, Cape York in northern Queensland to Truwana in Tasmania, and from the APY Lands in Central Australia.

  

  Engaging Normanby sub-region communities in 'Your Climate' NRM Planning

  Cape York NRM has adapted a socio-ecological systems approach towards development of an NRM plan that considers the distinctive cultural landscapes of Cape York. Ongoing community consultation confirmed that it was 'time for implementation' hence the process involved learning by doing consultation strategies, integrating current synthesised studies, and recent environmental accounts conducted on Cape York.

  

  Support for targeted vertebrate pest program- NPARC/Apudthama Land and Sea Rangers

  NPARC/Apudthama Land and Sea Rangers will undertake activities to target predators of turtle nests, eggs and hatchlings. As part of the West Coast Turtle Threat Abatement Alliance, these activities represent part of the on-going efforts to reduce the potential impacts of feral pigs on nesting marine turtles.

  

  Kickstarting action carbon, culture, ecology and economies in Cape York

  Kickstarting action carbon, culture, ecology, and economies in Cape York was a pilot project funded by the Queensland Government's Land Restoration Fund. The project, based in the Normanby River catchment, investigated opportunities for a carbon farming project that included co-benefits.