G'day all
My apologies for the length of this email.
Many of you might be aware of plans to bring heavy industry and mining
to one of Australia's last great wilderness areas: The Kimberley.
Though I could write a great deal more, I will focus on two matters
here: the launch of the Save The Kimberley movement on the east coast
of Australia and threats to Roebuck Bay posed by a proposed LNG Gas
hub in the region.
SAVE THE KIMBERLEY LAUNCH
I'd like to invite everyone on the list to attend the East Coast
launch of the Save The Kimberley campaign here in Avalon, on Sydney's
Northern Beaches, this Sunday, March 15.
The event will kick off at 2:00pm and will include a Welcome to
country, a short movie about the Kimberley and then presentations from
Lyndon Schneider (National Campaign Manager: The Wilderness Society),
Peter Tucker (Chair: Save The Kimberley), Martin Pritchard (Director:
Environs Kimberley) and charismatic Traditional Owner from One Arm
Point, Albert Wiggan. We plan to take no longer than 1.5 hours.
THREATS TO ROEBUCK BAY
The WA Government and the Federal Government are pushing to have gas,
which is tapped with huge offshore rigs, piped onto the Kimberley
coast, around 60kms north of Broome at a site known as James Price
Point (locally "Price's Point"). The gas will be liquified and
prepared for transport in a huge industrial process hub (or LNG Hub)
which will cover the same amount of ground as the town of Broome itself.
Of great concern is the prospect of large numbers of gas transport
vessels pumping huge amounts of bilge water from the Yellow Sea (or
elsewhere) into what is the second fastest running tide on the planet
just 60 kms north of Roebuck Bay. Those of you who know Roebuck Bay
will be aware of at least some of the values of this mega-rich Ramsar
site. Of all tropical mudflats on the planet so far studied, Roebuck
Bay has the richest diversity of marine organisms living in and on
it's massive mudflats. Every study reveals many new species.
The bay is one of only around a dozen sites of its type on the planet
(and one of only two in tropical latitudes): an important stopover
site on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway for migratory shorebirds.
Estimations exceed 300,000 birds using the bay during peak passage
times prior to migration to Asia and beyond or dispersal across
Australia post migration. I've heard of figures exceeding 1 million
birds, but this may be conjecture (Danny? Chris? Ady?). We do know
that over 100,000 (the record count, I believe was 170,000 in 1983)
birds use the bay regularly in the warmer months and it regularly
supports more than 22 migratory species, 20 of which are in
Internationally Important concentrations. I could keep going with
impressive numbers for many paragraphs, but it should suffice for all
to know that Roebuck Bay is perhaps the most shiny star in the
firmament of Australia's bird and birding regions and for many of us
there is no more hallowed site on this continent.
It's very disquieting to consider what would happen were the exotic
and highly invasive sea grasses (some with their genesis in Europe) or
maybe urchins, sea stars, sea fans, sponges, etc., from the Yellow Sea
find their way onto Roebuck Bay. Imagine what would happen to the
extensive sea grass beds supporting rich marine turtle and dugong
populations in the region if invasive sea grasses or sponges were to
become established? There are alternatives to the proposed LNG Hub
which will not cost any jobs and will indeed deliver the same $$$ and
jobs and we request that these be pursued.
You can read more about this on the pdf version of the Good Weekend
article published this weekend in Fairfax papers across Australia:
http://www.savethekimberley.com/stk-good-weekend.pdf
Please come and be welcomed at our meeting this Sunday. Learn how to
connect and take action in what is going to be a series of very large
battles between those who care for nature and those who do not as we
attempt to Save The Kimberley.
I'm not on the Birding-Aus list but you can communicate with me about
this issue or the Sunday event via You can find
out more from the contact details below.
Ricki Coughlan
Save The Kimberley
ph. 02 9918 6590
mb. 0400 436 910
http://www.savethekimberley.com
http://savethekimberley.com/blog
For nature, country and people
===============================
www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
===============================
|
