Good one Araminta. I think I have written on this forum before about the stretch of beach from Wonga to the Daintree River in FNQ, just south of the Cape Tribulation coastal rainforest. Environmental authorities don't permit cleaning of the beach which collects a fair amount of timber washed down the river in the wet season, but at the same time there is no control over people using the beach as a drag strip for dirt bikes. I boil when I see kids, supported and provisioned by their bogan parents, roaring up and down the beach on dirt bikes. I think about the thousands of kms many of the birds have flown, from the northern hemisphere and even the arctic circle, to find a bit of food, rest and possibly peaceful nesting space here on our beaches.
I recently caught part of a TV documentary, produced by China I think, about sea birds using beach wetlands near Shanghai as a vital strength-restoring stopover on their way south. For a long time the birds had been declining (by millions) due to human encroachment, in particular coastal land reclamation and also intensive trapping and netting by coastal inhabitants as a means of supplementing their meagre incomes. The documentary didn't say, but I guess the birds were sold to meet demands by the Chinese for exotic food and satisfy their cruel and selfish penchant for eating endangered wildlife.
Now, say the Chinese in the documentary, areas have been reserved to protect the birds as part of some international cooperative project to protect migratory birds. I forget the name of the project and I wonder just how effective it is. I also wonder what is the point of protecting birds on their stopovers if, when they arrive exhausted in Australia, they are mown down by #%&@ dirtbikes.
There's still a shocking lack of awareness among humans about the need to protect biodiversity. Fortunately, my 8 year old granddaughter is doing a project on the Regent Honeyeater so Earth is in good hands!
I also have an eight year old granddaughter Woko. The world they live in will be different than ours and hopefully it will contain many more people who are aware and caring of the environment.
Or both? I notice that while the Coorong & Lower Lakes in SA are part of the RAMSAR agreement cattle are allowed to graze right on the edge of Lake Alexandrina. Clearly, education & enforcement are needed. I fear that some of these treaties are tokenistic &, as yet, not taken seriously.
Good one Araminta. I think I have written on this forum before about the stretch of beach from Wonga to the Daintree River in FNQ, just south of the Cape Tribulation coastal rainforest. Environmental authorities don't permit cleaning of the beach which collects a fair amount of timber washed down the river in the wet season, but at the same time there is no control over people using the beach as a drag strip for dirt bikes. I boil when I see kids, supported and provisioned by their bogan parents, roaring up and down the beach on dirt bikes. I think about the thousands of kms many of the birds have flown, from the northern hemisphere and even the arctic circle, to find a bit of food, rest and possibly peaceful nesting space here on our beaches.
I recently caught part of a TV documentary, produced by China I think, about sea birds using beach wetlands near Shanghai as a vital strength-restoring stopover on their way south. For a long time the birds had been declining (by millions) due to human encroachment, in particular coastal land reclamation and also intensive trapping and netting by coastal inhabitants as a means of supplementing their meagre incomes. The documentary didn't say, but I guess the birds were sold to meet demands by the Chinese for exotic food and satisfy their cruel and selfish penchant for eating endangered wildlife.
Now, say the Chinese in the documentary, areas have been reserved to protect the birds as part of some international cooperative project to protect migratory birds. I forget the name of the project and I wonder just how effective it is. I also wonder what is the point of protecting birds on their stopovers if, when they arrive exhausted in Australia, they are mown down by #%&@ dirtbikes.
I think that's the RAMSAR Treaty, Night Parrot.
There's still a shocking lack of awareness among humans about the need to protect biodiversity. Fortunately, my 8 year old granddaughter is doing a project on the Regent Honeyeater so Earth is in good hands!
I also have an eight year old granddaughter Woko. The world they live in will be different than ours and hopefully it will contain many more people who are aware and caring of the environment.
You may be right about RAMSAR, or perhaps CAMBA?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93Australia_Migratory_Bird_Agreement
Or both? I notice that while the Coorong & Lower Lakes in SA are part of the RAMSAR agreement cattle are allowed to graze right on the edge of Lake Alexandrina. Clearly, education & enforcement are needed. I fear that some of these treaties are tokenistic &, as yet, not taken seriously.