MSGID: 1:317/3 64acdafa   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Developer dollars not enough to save species    
      
     Date:   
         July 10, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Queensland   
     Summary:   
         Financial payments made by land developers to offset their impacts   
         on threatened species may fall short, according to new research.   
      
      
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   Financial payments made by land developers to offset their impacts   
   on threatened species may fall short, according to University of   
   Queensland-led research.   
      
   Professor Jonathan Rhodes from the School of the Environment focused on   
   koala populations in the fast-developing South East Queensland region and   
   a government scheme which allows developers to make financial payments   
   to compensate for environmental consequences.   
      
   "Just like when you make a financial contribution to offset your carbon   
   emissions when purchasing a flight, developers can make a financial   
   payment to the Queensland Government to offset their impacts on koala   
   habitat," Professor Rhodes said.   
      
   "These payments are then used to plant trees to restore koala habitat   
   in offset sites elsewhere.   
      
   "But we found that when suitable places to restore koala habitat are   
   difficult to find, the financial payments required under the Queensland   
   Environmental Offset Policy are often insufficient to achieve its intended   
   outcomes and this is a major problem.   
      
   "In the South East Queensland region, only 0.7 of 13.4 hectares of   
   impacts on koala habitat offset through financial payments since 2018   
   so far have offset sites in place and this is concerning for the future   
   of this beloved, endangered species.   
      
   "Unfortunately, land supply can make suitable offset sites hard to find   
   and this pushes up the cost of delivering habitat restoration and securing   
   those sites in the long-term can fail to guarantee sufficient gains in   
   habitat to counterbalance losses."  Professor Rhodes said funding from   
   developer payments may be insufficient to buy enough offset sites for   
   habitat restoration.   
      
   "South East Queensland is the most densely human-populated area in the   
   state, growing from 2.4 million people in 2001 to 3.5 million people in   
   2016, with 5.3 million people expected by 2041," Professor Rhodes said.   
      
   "It is also home to an enormous number of threatened species, including   
   some of the most significant koala populations in Australia which have   
   declined 50 to 80 per cent over the past two decades.   
      
   "This problem will become worse as the region expands and competition for   
   land for development intensifies, making offset sites either impossible   
   to find or more expensive to secure."  The study mapped and modelled   
   development in eight Local Government Areas (LGAs) within the South   
   East Queensland Planning Region, applying ecological data and projecting   
   anticipated development and offset outcomes.   
      
   While the researchers propose some solutions, they also call for   
   consideration of immediate changes to the current offset policy.   
      
   "On one hand, financial payments by developers can provide flexibility   
   for the State Government to deliver the most effective offsets to help   
   threatened species such as koalas, but on the other hand, it's essential   
   that developers pay the true cost of those offsets," Professor Rhodes   
   said.   
      
   "Otherwise, offsets will fall short of compensating for habitat losses   
   and species will continue to decline or taxpayers via the State Government   
   will have to make up the shortfall in developer contributions."   
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   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Queensland. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Jonathan R. Rhodes, Yan Liu, Agung Wahyudi, Martine Maron, Md Sayed   
         Iftekhar, Shantala Brisbane. Performance of habitat offsets   
         for species conservation in dynamic human‐modified   
         landscapes. People and Nature, 2023; DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10494   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230710113854.htm   
      
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