Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

Community input for Nature Conservation Strategy

Gold Coast City Council is offering residents an opportunity to directly guide development of a major conservation plan for the City. Community members have been invited to form a Key Stakeholder Group, which will play a significant role in developing Council's Nature Conservation Strategy.

Gold Coast Mayor Ray Stevens said Council's decision to develop the Strategy reflects its commitment to ecologically sustainable development.

"The Strategy will be a valuable tool for the Council as it works to achieve a viable balance between our built and natural environments," Cr Stevens said. "It will include an inventory of our important natural assets and provide guidelines for their management. As such, it will be a guide for good planning decisions."

To achieve a range of community opinions, members of the Key Stakeholders Group were selected from diverse areas of interest, such as environmental, community, resident, tourism, business and property industry groups and the indigenous community. Council has appointed consultants, Mary Maher and Associates and Ecograph, to guide development of the Strategy, which is expected to be completed early next year.

A key aspect will be the development of a natural resources database for the area. The fieldwork and gathering of data will be carried out with the assistance of the local naturalist network. In addition the Strategy will investigate ways in which the City's natural resources can be appropriately managed for the future.

"The Strategy, the first comprehensive environment plan ever undertaken for the City, will become a valuable management plan for the City's natural resources," the Mayor concluded.

For further information contact David Corkill, telephone (07) 5578 0807.

The following articles are also included in this edition or go BACK to the main page: