SOLitude Lake Management’s Post

🌱 Want healthier mangroves? Listen to the local community. Local knowledge is an invaluable yet often disregarded asset when it comes to mangrove restoration. 💬 We must welcome the expertise and wisdom of the communities who have lived alongside these ecosystems for generations. Their knowledge of the land, tides, local fauna, and mangrove species is crucial in guiding restoration efforts, ensuring the right techniques are used for maximum effectiveness. Working with local communities in the decision-making processes doesn't just strengthen the success of restoration projects but guarantees their resilience into the future. This is why this community-led approach is core to MAP's methodology. Learn about it here: https://lnkd.in/d8UJyXnW #CommunityLedRestoration #SustainableEcosystems #MangroveRestoration #MangroveRestoration

Conserve, restore or enhance….. do words matter? Whilst catching up with the great team at NASCO - North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation - yesterday, amongst the discussions on pink salmon and marine feeding grounds was an impromptu interesting debate on the use of language. Wild Atlantic salmon are in decline (at widely acknowledged crisis levels) so can we continue to use the word ‘conserve’ when that implies continuing the same thing? Restore is of course also a difficult word - do we mean restore back to a point in time or restore the activity or process that makes the change. And ‘enhance’ assumes betterment rather than support a population at a natural level (whatever that is!).  This debate in the built environment world has gone on for centuries - does it matter? Well, yes, it does because how we phrase a problem and a subsequent action provides context on its urgency and importance. But more important is that having considered and accepted the most appropriate word is that it is followed through - that it leads to action and not rhetoric. NASCO was formed in 1984 and looking behind the desire to ‘conserve’ its aims are broader - to conserve, restore, enhance and rationally manage Atlantic salmon through international co-operation taking account of the best available scientific information.  https://nasco.int/ Or the Salmon Five Point Plan approach for England which starts with its mission - To restore the abundance, diversity and resilience of salmon stocks throughout England. https://lnkd.in/eqHwPAKh Although interestingly the Scottish Government's Wild Salmon Strategy uses other words such as 'protection and recovery' - https://lnkd.in/e_8CUsRU The loss of our iconic native species, whether Atlantic salmon or any other, is not a given and it is so much better to 'restore' the landscape to ensure it supports these species now than to try and ‘restore’ the species later when we have lost them completely. #wordsmatter #restoration #landscapechange #wildsalmoncrisis #biodiversity #scienceintoaction #bootsontheground 💦 🌱 🐟 🐾

A $7 million fishway project is set to revolutionize the Fitzroy Barrage ecosystem. This fishway, an integral component of the Rookwood Weir Project, aims to facilitate safe movement of 31 native fish species along the Lower Fitzroy River system: https://lnkd.in/eZK4yTBw #fishwayproject #aquaticbiodiversity #habitatconnectivity #RookwoodWeir #FitzroyBarrage #nativefishspecies #ecologicalwellbeing #regionaldevelopment #waterinfrastructure #environmentalbenefits #economicgrowth #collaborativeefforts #fishmigration #ecosystemenhancement #innovativeproject #speciesmigration #regionalgrowth #watersecurity #environmentalfootprint #ecologicalbalance #Sunwater #RockhamptonCouncil #QueenslandGovernment #AustralianGovernment #investmentinfuture

There are currently over 2,400 #RamsarSites on the territories of 172 Contracting Parties around the world. To become a Wetland of International Importance, a wetland must demonstrate that it meets at least one of nine qualifying criteria. These criteria are based on important ecological communities and a wide range of wetland-dependent species. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eq3MJDkx #WetlandConservation #WetlandsMatter

What are "converted" lands — and what does it mean for nature and people? Learn how together we can restore lost habitats for species like the grey fox, short-eared owl, monarch butterfly and western chorus frog. 🦉

What have we done that this type of legislation is required? Surely we are able to make decisions that will achieve solutions as well as save and restore our habitats.

How healthy are Townsville’s rivers, creeks, and coasts? The 2024 Townsville Dry Tropics Waterways Report Card is now available. See the big picture or dive deeper at https://lnkd.in/gpMDKSAK The Report Card is made possible thanks to the contributions and work of our Partners through the year. Their efforts and many projects across our region have the power to make a #collective impact. Together, we’re keeping watch on our waters: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water Department of Environment, Science and Innovation Townsville City Council Port of Townsville Limited NQ Dry Tropics NGH Wildlife Surrounds Envite Environment Reef Check Australia AUSFIELD SERVICES C&R Consulting Pty Ltd OzFish Unlimited TropWATER: JCU's Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research Reef Ecologic James Cook University Australian Institute of Marine Science CSIRO Coastal Dry Tropics Landcare Inc. North Queensland Conservation Council Tangaroa Blue Foundation Magnetic Island Community Development Association (MICDA) Queensland Water and Land Carers (QWALC) David Dudley PHF (TIDY Up Townsville) #townsville #waterways #collectiveimpact #partnerships

❗ "The way Dartmoor is managed needs to change radically and urgently to address these issues” states a report just published as a result of a furore between commoners. This group comprises farmers with grazing rights across Dartmoor including its most treasured areas for wildlife, the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), and Natural England, the body responsible for ensuring that SSSI’s are well managed. 🌿 Many hope that the report will pave the way for a brighter future for Dartmoor and its precious habitats and species. DWT are encouraged by some of the much-needed changes and recommendations that the report outlines, but we are left with one grave concern: where is the urgency that will deliver radical change? Read more 👉

This #ThreatenedSpeciesDay we're celebrating exciting news with a recovery plan just approved to protect our unique native water mouse (Xeromys myoides). 💦🐭 The #watermouse is the only species in its genus! It loves coastal wetlands, especially mangroves, where it creates mud-homes just above the tide line. By night, these little native rodents are out and about feasting on crabs and marine invertebrates. No other rodents are known to do this! Unfortunately, the water mouse is listed as Vulnerable under the EPBC Act. But there is now a plan in place to turn the tide for these mysterious water-loving rodents. 🌊🐾 We've teamed up with some amazing partners, including species and habitat experts, First Nations organisations, and other land custodians from local, state, and Australian Government departments. Together, we're on a mission to make a real difference! 📜 The plan is all about stopping the decline and giving a boost to the recovery of these elusive creatures. It includes detection methods, management strategies, monitoring techniques, and groundbreaking research actions. 📊🔬 📖🐭 Your support matters: whether it's spreading the word, getting involved, or simply being a champion for conservation. The recovery plan will be published on our website soon. 📷 Water Mouse at Sandringham Bay Conservation Park on the central Queensland Coast, Credit: John Atkinson via Wikimedia Commons: CC BY-SA 4.0. #BiodiversityMonth #australianwildlife #conservation #biodiversity #DCCEEW #nativespecies #NatureMatters #CoastalGuardians🐭🌊🌏

Wednesday Conservation Story 🌱 Kelp Forests and Friends 🌱 Kelp forests can often be found just beyond the rocky shores. They are amazing ecosystems that support a variety of different life. Kelp is a kind of seaweed that uses sunlight as food to grow like plants on land. The kelp around South Africa can grow to be about 17m tall! The structure of kelp consists of a holdfast, which is a root-like mass that anchors the kelp to the sea floor; a stipe, which is like the stalk of the plant, this extends vertically from the holdfast and provides a support framework in the water; the fronds are leaf- or blade-like attachments extending from the stipe. They have gas filled bladders usually located at the base of fronds near the stipe. These structures provide the necessary buoyancy for kelp to maintain an upright position in the water column. A single piece of kelp can support up to 1,487 other organisms. Kelp forests are home to different small animals but they also support larger animals like pyjama sharks, cow sharks, otters, seals and reef fish like our national fish, galjoen. . . . . #Oceanconnection #iamwater #oceanconservation #sdg14 #oceanstories #bluemind #getbluemind #protectwhatyoulove #oceanminded #ecosystemservices #ecosystemhealth #planetocean #KelpForest