Protecting and Restoring Queensland's Coastal Wetlands

Abstract

Coastal wetlands provide vital ecosystem services, including nutrient cycling, disaster risk reduction, and habitat for biodiversity, including shorebirds, seabirds, turtles and fish. How we design and implement policy approaches for the conservation of coastal wetlands and these ecosystem services matters enormously. This article joins a growing trend of literature that seeks to not only identify the importance of coastal wetlands, but also to consider how best to devise policy measures for their protection and restoration. The article focuses on Queensland’s coastal wetlands and suggests that the state has a real opportunity to become a national leader in wetland restoration. For that to occur, new legislative measures may be required to address issues such as tenure, land access, planning and risk management.

Analysis of the Fragmented Legal Regime Pertaining to Rehabilitation Measures for Wetlands: A South African Perspective – Part 1

“…In their application, they define restoration to mean "the return to the original state of the altered land, the state before degradation"; and rehabilitation "the return to the utility/natural state according to the original land… plan" [26]. Hamman et al [10] confirms this view in their opinion that "rehabilitation" can aid in repairing the ecosystem, but not restoring it. There is a difference in the description and the intended aspiration, therefore, a clear distinction needs to be made.…”

“…The importance of singling out rehabilitation is vital because "many remaining wetlands exist in degraded conditions" (Gardner [9]). It has been submitted that policy considerations and measures should cater for protection as well as restoration (read here to mean rehabilitation too) (Hamman et al [10]). Thus, failing to singling-out rehabilitation and incorporating it into policy consideration could mean the total loss of the resource and its benefits.…”