Page 721 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 1 May 2007
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benefit. Substantial investments may be needed before significant sustainability gains can be achieved in the territory’s urban areas, and for these major research projects may be a necessary precursor.
Several stakeholders have advised the committee that strong research committees are crucial for biosphere reserves to be successful. The Canberra Business Council has referred to the growth potential of the ACT knowledge economy and smart business activities. The ACT division of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand and the CSIRO recognise the contribution that sustainability researchers and other professionals can make to an ACT biosphere reserve. The Conservation Council and Professor Brian Roberts from the University of Canberra, amongst others, have expressed similar views.
In the Mornington Peninsula and Western Port biosphere reserve the research committee provided an important stimulus for and expert advice on project work in the reserve. The research committee also contributed to the credibility of biosphere reserve designation. In the Barkindji biosphere reserve, the support of La Trobe University has also been important and valued. As a result of this learning, the committee wishes to meet with the vice-chancellors of tertiary institutions in the ACT to discuss how universities and other research institutions might contribute to the proposed ACT UNESCO biosphere reserve.
The engagement of the research and education sector is just one of the challenges for an ACT biosphere reserve. Project funding will continue to be sought for community projects within the biosphere, and a current difficulty is that public environmental funding is supposed to be drawn from within the regional component of the national natural resource management framework, or the local envirofund. These programs may not prioritise urban sustainability projects. Regional bodies have long-term investment strategies which are agreed between governments, and there is little flexibility to reallocate these funds once the regional plans and investment strategies have been negotiated.
The staff of regional bodies may be fully committed to other projects and may be unable to provide facilitators to ensure that the momentum that stakeholders have generated for a biosphere reserve listing is not later lost when projects need to be implemented. This is an issue that needs to be addressed in the national review of biosphere reserves. The committee has heard evidence that some regional bodies in Victoria and New South Wales do not currently support their local biosphere reserves adequately.
One mechanism for private sector fundraising could be the award of a regional or national biosphere reserve trademark which accredits a product or an enterprise for its sustainability or its substantial progress towards better sustainability. Such a trademark could generate income and encourage the development of sustainable industries locally and regionally. One of the many sectors in the ACT that could benefit from a biosphere reserve accreditation could be the tourism sector. The Barkindji biosphere reserve has significant and underdeveloped cultural tourism and eco-tourism potential, as does the ACT. The committee appreciates that such an accreditation would need to be carefully developed so that it maintained its integrity
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