The management body of one of the State’s most significant water resources has recruited WPSQ to help represent conservation interests in its decision making.

Des Boyland, Wildlife Queensland’s Policies and Campaigns Manager, has been appointed to serve a 3-year term on the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) Advisory Council, which provides strategic management advice to Queensland’s Minister of Natural Resources and Water.

This is a critical time for the Great Artesian Basin and the users who rely on its water supply; estimates say 70% of springs have dried up since records began in 1885. Bores are losing water pressure; water quality is variable in places; and demands need to be balanced between the biggest users – pastoralists and the natural environment – and other users such as miners and rural settlements.

The GAB advisory council makes recommendations on how to optimise water flow, mostly by piping water and capping or rehabilitating bores.

The 13-member council comprises a mix of conservationists, industry and other users and meets three times a year to discuss management of the water resources of the Great Artesian Basin in Queensland.

Conservation representatives on the GAB advisory council are concerned about the protection of springs and related wetlands, plus the impact on wildlife and biodiversity of piping bore water for stock to habitats that are currently remote from water supplies.

Water conservation management in the GAB has already been effective. The amount of water being taken out of the basin has been reduced by 175, 000 ML per year through conservation measures and reduced extraction. Environmental groups would like to see that water conserved as a resource for springs and natural outlets, rather than re-directed inappropriately to industry. This may be in conflict with the aims of the State Government.

WPSQ has also been invited to join a commonwealth reference panel that will comment and provide feedback on research into the economic and environmental analysis of fodder harvesting practices associated with mulga and fire management in the Mulga lands of south-west Queensland.

For more information about the poultry shed grant scheme and other activities, contact Wildlife Queensland by email or call +61 7 3221 0194.