Page 1422 - Week 05 - Thursday, 13 May 2021
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threatened by predation from foxes and cats. This year we have also released eastern chestnut mice into the sanctuary.
By maintaining and enhancing the ACT’s natural environments, our native plants and animals will continue to be protected and conserved, and our community will be able to experience, learn about and value our native species.
More broadly, across the region and the city, the ACT government is rolling out programs to mitigate climate change by reducing emissions and to adapt to the already locked-in climate change. We continue to be global leaders in demonstrating what impact cities can have by taking real climate action and responding to our global climate emergency. Our ACT Climate Change Strategy maps out a pathway to rapidly reduce emissions by 2025 and reach net zero emissions by 2045. Meanwhile, our Living Infrastructure Plan aims to sustain our native trees and vegetation, and to plant more living infrastructure to assist in adapting to climate change by cooling the city and improving air and water quality.
The vegetation in our natural environments cleans and filters water, traps sediment from erosion, recycles nutrients, stabilises slopes, and slows run-off, to improve the quality of water. Without the large expanses of intact native vegetation buffering our waterways, the costs of water filtration and flood mitigation would dramatically increase.
Namadgi National Park was established as a secure water catchment for the ACT. It provides up to 85 per cent of Canberra’s water from the Cotter catchment, with an estimated economic value of at least $100 million per year. The 2020 fires heavily impacted the park, but extensive work by the ACT government has resulted in trails and waterways being stabilised and made safe, recovery actions being implemented to protect our alpine bogs and fens, and recent reopening of the park to the public.
In the urban setting, the ACT’s government investment in the Healthy Waterways program demonstrates our commitment to improving the health of our waterways and their maintenance as aesthetic and recreational resources for the community.
Government is also acting to ensure good air quality is maintained across the city. Our Living Infrastructure program and extensive planting of trees will naturally filter the air by stabilising dust and absorbing pollutants. Meanwhile the provision of our integrated transport network will reduce motor vehicle emissions by encouraging use of electric vehicles, improving road infrastructure to minimise transport delays, and encouraging active travel modes such as walking or cycling. We will also be leading the development of a new air quality strategy.
Protecting and enhancing our environment is a joint effort, and the work of government is supported by an incredible volunteer base. The ACT community is highly educated and committed. We have the highest volunteering rate in Australia, with 36.8 per cent of our population actively volunteering their time to help the community. These volunteers contribute over $1.5 billion to the ACT economy every year.
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