Case Study: Towra Point in Focus

Towra Point Nature Reserve is an iconic, internationally recognised Ramsar Wetland of Importance, approximately 16km south of Sydney’s centre, on the northern side of the Kurnell Peninsula which forms the southern shore of Botany Bay and consists of 386.5 hectares of wetlands. The dominant habitats within the Reserve are saltmarsh and open woodland, important remnant terrestrial vegetation and wildlife habitats, and migratory wading bird habitats. The Reserve is surrounded by large areas of mudflat, mangroves and seagrass beds. These are habitats of high conservation significance within the region. Towra Point includes fifty per cent of the remaining mangroves in Sydney and most of the saltmarshes remaining in the Sydney region. Towra Point Nature Reserve also has important cultural values with three Aboriginal sites recorded within the Reserve. Towra Lagoon, which is adjacent to Towra Beach, probably provided freshwater for Aboriginal communities, and was mapped by James Cook in 1770. Towra Point Nature Reserve includes the adjacent Towra Point Aquatic Reserve, the largest and most diverse estuarine wetland complex remaining in the Sydney area. 

Towra Point Nature Reserve, gazetted on 6th August 1982 under the NSW National Park and Wildlife Act, 1974, is surrounded by an industrial environment which includes the Caltex oil refinery, desalination plant, sand mining operations and other light industries. Urban development places further pressure on the natural environment through land clearing and the construction of hard surfaces such as roads and pavements which increases runoff into waterways and reduces natural groundwater infiltration. The dredging of Botany Bay over many years to facilitate shipping movements, which will ultimately increase with the Port Expansion, construction of the second and third runways of Kingsford Smith Airport, laying of underwater electricity cables for Energy Australia and the Sydney Water desalination plant distribution pipelines have altered the natural underwater hydrology resulting in changed wave patterns which increases beach erosion. 

The Towra Point Nature Reserve Plan of Management 2001 vision statement prepared by National Parks and Wildlife Service acknowledged the changing dynamics of Botany Bay and stated that the habitats of the Towra Point will be protected, alongside a better appreciation of the wetland on the doorstep of Australia’s largest city. However, the Plan of Management 2001 conceded that no comprehensive strategy exists to coordinate effective management of the Towra Point wetlands despite a history of recognition as to the high nature conservation values of the area.

Despite Towra Point Nature Reserve being declared a Ramsar Wetland of international significance in 1984, the first ecological character description of the site was compiled in 2010 by N.S.W government. Under the Ramsar Convention, Australia is obliged to complete an ecological character description of the site and maintain its accuracy. The ecological character description is an important tool to monitor the status of a wetland and set limits of acceptable change to prevent any further degradation of the area. The Victorian Government’s Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) compiled a framework for describing the ecological character of Ramsar wetlands (DSE 2005). A national framework for describing the ecological character of Ramsar wetlands was developed using DSE’s framework (DEWHA 2008).

In 2010 the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) produced a report, ‘Towra Point Nature Reserve Ramsar Site’ in June 2010. The report acknowledged the historical use of the Kurnell Peninsula and indeed the Botany Bay Catchment by heavy industries and notes the continuing modifications of the area by industrial and urban development. Essential to maintaining the ecological integrity of Towra Point will be continued monitoring and management which is presently undertaken by a number of government agencies and non-government organisations. Towra Point Nature Reserve is located within and adjacent to the jurisdiction of a number of different government agencies, including the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW (DECCW), Industry and Investment NSW (I&I NSW), Sutherland Shire Council, Sydney Metropolitan Catchment Management Authority (SMCMA) and NSW Maritime. 

At a local government level, the following environmental plans are relevant:

1. Sydney Regional Environmental Plan No.17- Kurnell Peninsula 

Some of the particular environmental planning aims and objectives of this plan include:

• to preserve and protect the wetland areas of the Kurnell Peninsula in the environmental and economic interest of the State, region and locality.
• to identify and conserve areas, sites and features of natural, ecological, historic or cultural significance. 
• to identify and protect lands having regional and international significance as wildlife habitats.
• to control and progressively phase out sand mining and to facilitate the rehabilitation of degraded lands. 
• to conserve the environmental heritage of the Kurnell Peninsula. 
• to apply environmental performance criteria which will ensure that the environment is not adversely affected by development 

2. Greater Metropolitan Regional Environmental Plan (1999) No.2- Georges River Catchment 

Some of the particular environmental planning aims and objectives of this plan include:

• to preserve and protect and to encourage the restoration or rehabilitation of regionally significant sensitive natural environments such as wetlands (including mangroves, saltmarsh and seagrass areas), bushland and open space corridors within the Catchment, by identifying environmentally sensitive areas and providing for appropriate land use planning and development controls.
• to preserve, enhance and protect the freshwater and estuarine ecosystems within the Catchment by providing appropriate development.
• to aid in the improvement of the environmental quality of Botany Bay in conjunction with other regional planning instruments.
• to maintain and improve the water quality and river flows of the Georges River and its tributaries and ensure that development is managed in a manner that is in keeping with the national, State, regional and local significance of the Catchment  

State obligations to protect biodiversity and ecological integrity are covered by the following legislation: 

• National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974
• Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979
• Fisheries Management Act 1994 (FM Act)
• Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act) 

National obligations to protect biodiversity and ecological integrity are covered by the following legislation:

• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)- protects the environment, particularly matters of national environmental significance

International agreements and treaties include:

• The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance; a multilateral treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. The Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) embodies the commitments of its member countries to maintain the ecological character of their Wetlands of International Importance and to plan for the wise use, or sustainable use, of all of the wetlands in their territories.  
• The Japan-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA 1981)) for the protection of migratory birds and birds in danger of extinction and their environment.
• The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn 1983) which aims to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout their range.
• The China-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA 1988).
• The Republic of Korea-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (ROKAMBA 2006).
• The Partnership for the Conservation of Migratory Waterbirds and the Sustainable Use of their Habitats in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (2006)  

With so much industrial activity and development in and around Botany Bay and in particular the Kurnell Peninsula, this blog raises the question; to what extent are local, state and federal governments able to satisfactorily meet their international obligations to comply with the protection of the Ramsar Wetland site of Towra Point and the bilateral CAMBA and JAMBA agreements with China and Japan respectively, presently and into the future. In addition, the number of government agencies and non-government organisations responsible for and involved in the management of such an important area raises questions regarding the capacity for an effective, coordinated and integrated approach of administration. 

See the next post on the importance of the seagrasses located next to the Towra wetlands here

Sources: 

Department of Climate Change and Water (DECC) ‘Kamay Botany Bay National Park’, ‘http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/parkHome.aspx?id=N0551 

Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, ‘Towra Point Nature Reserve Ramsar Site’, June 2010 http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/wetlands/10510towrapointecd.htm 

Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) ‘Towra Point Nature Reserve Ramsar Site’, Ecological Character Description, Chaps 6 & 7 http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/water/10510towrapointecd6and7.pdf  

Greater Metropolitan Regional Environmental Plan (1999) No. 2--Georges River Catchment REG 5 http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_reg/gmrepn2rc715/s5.html 

Sutherland Shire Environment Centre (SECC) ‘Towra Point Nature Reserve’, http://www.ssec.org.au/our_environment/our_bioregion/towra/about/index.htm 

Sydney Regional Environmental Plan No. 17--Kurnell Peninsula (1989) REG 2 http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_reg/srepn17p1989562/s2.html 

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-about-about-ramsar/main/ramsar/1-36%5E7687_4000_0__ 

‘Towra Point Nature Reserve Plan of Management, N.S.W National Parks and Wildlife Service, July 2001  http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/parks/pomfinaltowra.pdf