Page 4897 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 25 October 2011
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The commissioner delivered the final report of the Canberra nature park investigation to me on 3 August this year. The information for this study was compiled from many different sources, including public submissions, community forums, discussions with experts and information from government agencies, and through the commissioning of several technical papers. These studies and their results can be found on the Office of the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment website.
A key message from the public submissions received during this investigation is the very high value that the Canberra community places on the existence, accessibility and amenity of our nature reserves. The investigation also identified that there are several opportunities to undertake management actions to improve the viability and resilience of our reserve network.
The commissioner has made six main recommendations which, when broken down, amount to 29 subrecommendations overall. Twelve of the subrecommendations were given a high priority designation by the commissioner. In the commissioner’s view, the high priority recommendations offer significant advantages if implemented soon as they are likely to have both immediate and long-term effects. While the government is still considering the detail of its response to the commissioner’s recommendations, I am pleased to announce that the government welcomes this report and sees significant merit in a number of its recommendations.
The commissioner’s report also makes recommendations which are supportive of several existing and ongoing government initiatives which are directed at maintaining and enhancing the condition and management of Canberra’s nature reserves. The commissioner’s recommendations 1.1 to 1.5 emphasise the importance of strengthening community awareness of and involvement in Canberra nature park.
The government is developing a Canberra centenary trail which will open in 2013. The centenary trail will traverse significant parts of Canberra nature park. Trail development will include an interpretive program to promote the ecological, social and health values and benefits of the reserves.
In relation to recommendation 1.4 in the report, improving on nature reserve signage and information, community forums undertaken by the commissioner have highlighted the importance of improved signage to communicate recreational use policies and to clearly indicate what activities are allowed in each nature reserve. The ACT Parks and Conservation Service in the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate will undertake a signs audit in this respect in 2012-13 and a signs strategy will be developed for Canberra nature park reserves.
In recommendation 1.6, the commissioner has recommended enhancing support for nature reserves by encouraging the formation of new volunteer groups such as ParkCare groups until a majority of reserves, more than 50 per cent, are supported by such groups. Currently only about one-third of nature reserves have a ParkCare group associated with them.
The Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate is developing a volunteering strategy in collaboration with Territory and Municipal Services and
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