Page 2242 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 3 August 2022
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The Urban Forest Strategy sets the vision for an urban forest that is resilient and sustainable and contributes to the wellbeing of the community in a changing climate. The strategy also sets out a range of objectives, each with actions to support this vision, including to protect the urban forest; to grow a resilient forest; to balance and diversify the urban forest; and to take an ecological approach to support biodiversity.
This bill implements the vision, objectives and actions of our Urban Forest Strategy to protect and enhance our urban forest for generations of Canberrans to come. It also supports the implementation of the ACT government’s Living Infrastructure Plan and our target to reach 30 per cent canopy cover across urban areas in the ACT by 2045.
Protecting and enhancing our urban forest is an important part of a responsible approach to managing climate change. Trees make our streets and neighbourhoods more resilient to climate change. They promote biodiversity, improve air quality and reduce the urban heat island effect. A healthy and sustainable urban forest provides connected habitat for wildlife, reduces stormwater flows and cools the city, reducing energy costs. The urban forest improves community wellbeing. Connection to nature contributes to the improved mental and physical health of our community, provides calming, comfortable spaces for physical activity, and can assist in reducing sun exposure and heat-related illnesses.
Canberra’s trees are part of what makes our city one of the most liveable in Australia. However, as the 2021 census has confirmed, the ACT’s population is growing at the fastest rate of any jurisdiction in the country. As Canberra grows, more and more development will take place, and it is important that there is a robust legislative framework in place to protect and enhance our urban forest, to retain its benefits and the character of our city that we love.
This has been addressed through planning policy and legislation, through variation 369, Living Infrastructure, which will apply to new developments and establishes the minimum requirements for tree canopy cover on blocks, providing room for trees to grow. These planning requirements work together with this bill, which will protect mature, private, public and significant trees to ensure that our urban forest continues to grow as our city grows.
The Urban Forest Bill will repeal and replace the Tree Protection Act 2005. This new legislation builds on the previous provisions of the act but makes significant reforms to better protect and enhance the ACT’s urban forest. Firstly, the Urban Forest Bill extends protections to trees on public land and leased land, rather than just protecting trees on leased land. Secondly, it protects more trees across Canberra by lowering the threshold for tree canopy and height from 12 metres to eight metres. On leased land, trees will now be regulated if they are greater than eight metres tall, have a canopy eight metres or wider, or their trunk is one metre in circumference at 1.4 metres above the natural ground level. All trees on public land would be protected, regardless of their size or location.
This lower threshold will bring the ACT closer to the settings in other jurisdictions, and it recognises that more trees that are developing towards maturity should be regulated so that future canopy cover is protected. Regulated trees will require
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