No-go zones key to faster decisions and ending extinctions

The Queensland Conservation Council has welcomed today's announcement by Environment Minister Murray Watt that proposed "regional planning" guidelines for major projects are to be locked into upcoming amendments to the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act.

Queensland Conservation Council Director Dave Copeman said

Today's announcement is great news for nature. These regional plans are key to getting our environmental laws working to protect critical habitat, and help plan the renewable energy transformation so projects are being proposed, approved, and built in the right places.

QCC has worked with the Australian Conservation Foundation, WWF-Australia and Birdlife Australia to develop an eight-point plan (PDF 4.4mb) by University of Queensland and Griffith University for getting regional planning right for people and nature, which shows how we determine the 'no-go for development' conservation zones.

We believe all irreplaceable habitats of threatened species or ecological communities should be protected. If habitat can’t be replaced in the time species need it, it should be a no go zone for destructive development.

In South East Queensland alone, we found up to a third of the region needs to be identified as a 'red zone' and secured from clearing and degradation now.

The spotted-tail quoll is one of the threatened species that needs its habitat marked as a 'no-go' for developers. This iconic Australian marsupial with red-brown fur, covered in white spots, might not be around for future generations to see.

Share Tweet Email