Hi Peter (and everyone),
A good example of what you talk about would be the disgraceful way the
Broome Shire Council handles Roebuck Bay in Western Australia. Having
worked there for almost a year I was constantly depressed by the number of
dogs let loose amongst roosting migratory waders, cars on the beach,
dirtbikes, and general lack of concern for what is probably our most
important Ramsar wetland in Australia. The bay should be a marine park,
national park and world heritage area, but instead relies solely on the
protection (or lack thereof) that Ramsar status provides.
Another good example would be the bike path planned for Cheetham Wetlands in
Altona Meadows in western Melbourne. It's already been shown that a
disturbingly high number of people currently ignore the "no access" rule for
Cheetham and walk their dogs or ride their bikes or dirtbikes through the
wetland.
I'm sure others have similar examples from the rest of Australia.
Regards,
Chris
On 9/12/07, <>
wrote:
>
> The recent posting about the affects of dog walking on bird populations
> got me thinking about the affect on RAMSAR listed wetlands.
>
> Does anyone know if there is anything regarding dogs in the RAMSAR
> agreements?
>
> Its concerning that many new residential developments are being built
> adjoining RAMSAR-listed wetlands, and although the developments are
> percieved not to impact the wetlands, they are magnets for dog walkers and
> other recreational activities by the residence that live in close
> proximity to them.
>
> There seems to be pressure to put walking tracks past any bodies of water
> these days.
>
> A local example from Southern Victoria is a proposed walking track along
> the Barwon River all the way to Barwon Heads, which includes through the
> Lake Connewarre system. Lake Connewarre has always been a fairly isolated
> and inaccessible lake, despite being a huge wetland close to a fairly
> major city (Geelong). Even though its degraded due to silting problems,
> its isolation still makes it a 'wild' refuge for birdlife. (including the
> Orange-Bellied Parrot). A walking path will no doubt make people more
> aware of the location and also about its problems that need addressing. A
> 500-lot residential development is also being proposed in Barwon Heads
> adjoining another section of the ramsar listed wetlands. But will the
> positive impacts of exposing the public to significant wetlands outway the
> negatives???
>
> Peter
>
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