... because we humans can only work
for a future we can imagine.
SMALL
GOLDEN MOTHS ORCHID (D. Sp. aff Lanceolata) AN ORCHID AT
THE EDGE
Colin Hocking
Faculty of Science and Engineering
Victoria University of Technology
Both photograph and
article are protected by copyright, 1997.
The small Golden Moths Orchid is endemic to the Western Basalt Plains
Grassland community. This community is listed as threatened on Schedule
2 of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (FFG) and is regarded as being
one of the most endangered in Australia. The grasslands are fragmented
and as a result, no recruitment can occur between remnant populations
of endemic grassland flora and fauna species, thus increasing the loss
of biodiversity in local gene pools. At least one orchid species, the
Dwarf Spider Orchid, (Caladenia pumilia ) is believed to
be extinct and others, including the Fragrant Doubletail (Diuris
fragrantissima ) are on the brink. Only 2,000 hectares (0.1%) remain
of the estimated 2,000,000 hectares of grassland that existed prior to
European settlement. Of this only 200 ha (0.01%) is secure within conservation
reserves. The remainder is located on freehold land, road verges, rail
reserves and cemeteries and it has been estimated that 70% of this will
be lost within the next two years (Hocking, pers comm).
The Small Golden Moths Orchid, once known from several sites, has gradually
become reduced in numbers as a result of a variety of human pressures
and poor management practices. It is now only known to occur for certain
on one site at North Altona and is in a state of decline and threatened
with extinction. Past attempts to translocate the orchid to a nearby area
proved unsuccessful, possibly due to the absence of the appropriate mycorrhiza
(Tonkinson pers comm). The land, known as the Sough Estate, is freehold,
and zoned industrial under the former City of Altona Planning Scheme.
The owner intends to develop the site and a part of the land has been
sold to Specialised Container Transport P/L. This group now proposes to
erect a rail freight centre along with a 1.5 km spur line.
As a result of these threats and the orchid's rarity, a Critical Habitat
at Assessment was prepared and signed off by the Secretary to the Department
of Natural Resources and Environment. This however, has not been followed
through. The area may also be critical habitat for the orchid's pollinator
which is believed to be the small native sweat or alkali bee, Lasioglossum
lanarium (Walker 1995).
The orchid has now been given a final recommendation for listing as threatened
taxon under the FFG Act. Several other species listed as threatened under
the FFG Act are also known to occur on the land. These include the Plains
Rice Flower (Pimelia spinescens ) and the Small Milkwort
(Comesperma polygaloides ). A scientific survey of the site
is to be carried out in order to determine its botanical and fauna values.
The primary emphasis will be to establish the location and extent of the
population of Small Golden Moths Orchids on the site and the role and
needs of the pollinator.
The question that now needs to be asked is how did things the
to this point?
The site was well known to botanists and others, including members of
Government Departments, ANOS and students from La Trobe University but,
as is so often the case, no action was taken to either establish the requirements
of the orchid, or to purchase the site. As a result series of events have
taken place over the past few months that have substantially increased
the risk to the orchid, its pollinator, and the other Western Basalt Plains
Grassland flora and fauna species that occur on the land.
It is now my intention to discuss this and to look at what needs to be
done in the future if we are to avoid a repeat of this situation.
What went wrong?
The first thing that went wrong was the inertia and lack of political
will which seems to overcome our ability to act prior to a critical event
taking place.
We speak glibly of habitat destruction being a major cause of extinction
but how often do we think about what this entails? We are talking about
cracks appearing in the biosphere on which we are all dependent, and because
we don't know enough about how natural systems operate, we can't predict
at what points these will start to collapse.
We seem to lurch from crisis to crisis with ever increasing despair and
failure despite the existence of comprehensive and potentially powerful
and proactive legislation in Victoria as the Flora and Fauna Guarantee
Act 1988.
This Act provides a number of measures designed to protect native flora
and fauna. The most powerful of these is the ability to declare an area
Critical Habitat for a threatened species or community. This provides
a clear signal that there are important conservation values, requiring
a high level of protection, associated with a particular piece of land.
A slight weakness in the Act is the inability to declare an area as being
Critical Habitat for a listed ecological community on freehold land. However,
as listed communities usually also contain listed species, this could
be overcome in most cases. The Critical Habitat Assessment signed off
for the Small Golden Moths Orchid is of particular significance, because
it is the first one signed off in Victoria and possibly in Australia.
The Critical Habitat Assessment can be followed by an Interim Conservation
Order. This is made by the Minister and is designed to provide a breathing
space during which negotiations are entered into. To date, no ICO has
been implemented. This of course begs the question of why?
The answer would appear to lie in a reluctance to pay compensation. Section
41 of the Act gives a land holder who suffers financial loss, the right
to apply for compensation. The Secretary to the Department of Natural
Resources and Environment (NRE) is then required to determine the amount
of compensation to which the person is entitled. This could potentially
prove expensive and unpopular with tax payers. The Department's preferred
approach is to negotiate with the land owner in an attempt to achieve
the preservation of the threatened species while permitting development
to proceed, albeit in a modified form. Preservation may be through the
use of a Land Management Agreement. This is a legal contract between the
Department and the land owner made under the provisions of Section 69
of the Conservation Forests and Lands Act 1979. In the case of the Small
Golden Moths Orchid, it has been suggested that a portion of the site
be set aside as open space. To date no area has been determined but the
proposed survey will be used to help determine this.
What our long term objectives should be
Our accumulated failures require us to move beyond crisis management.
We need to develop new and more effective methods of dealing with conservation
issues.
We need to start looking at our planning laws and develop methods of dealing
with problems before they arise instead of continually playing some form
of catch up which sees us ever further behind. Proper forward planning
would eliminate the need for rescue digs, ex situ conservation, and the
unsatisfactory compromises that seem to be so much part of conservation
work.
The effort we put into saving isolated remnants should be directed to
encouraging the community and the various levels of Government to recognise
the importance of retaining what is left of our natural ecosystems.
At the Federal and State level, this could mean encouraging legislators
to look beyond the immediate and to work together to achieve uniform,
high level flora and fauna controls. At a State level, it may mean amending
planning laws in ways that would make the protection of the natural environment
the highest priority. For example, legislation could be used to strengthen
the requirements on local Councils under State Planning Schemes. The required
changes would place the onus on Council to preserve local bushland rather
than pushing for development of these areas.
Local Government should be encouraged to work with other agencies and
local communities to develop planning policy which would then apply across
the board, rather than the current system of guidelines which may or may
not be followed.
Much information is already available and needs only to be properly collated.
For example, orchid populations could receive appropriate levels of protection
if reference books such as Orchids of Victoria where used
as source material. This book clearly identifies where orchid populations
are located, the threats facing them, and proposes courses of action necessary
to ensure their future survival.
In addition, we need to carry out research to determine what changes are
occurring within local ecosystems and why. Only then can we hope to reverse
these changes and restore the balance.
Better biological information would also bring other benefits. For example,
it would enable Councils to develop a system of maps showing areas of
biological significance which would act as overlays to the base zoning
maps. Under such a system, a species listed under the FFG Act would be
ranked at Level 1 and accorded the highest level of protection. This would
enable persons proposing to purchase land, to go to Council and check
for any impediments to development as they currently do for zonings and
easements.
For any of these changes to occur would require a drastic change in our
attitude towards land ownership. Under our current system, the rights
of the land owner are considered paramount and the main emphasis is on
development and wealth creation. The changes I envisage would require
a return to the view that it is the health of the land that is significant.
It will take all of us working together if we are to save what is left
of our natural ecosystems, particularly those at greatest risk, the remnants
on the urban fringes such as the Western Basalt Plains Grasslands. There
will be cost but with good will and determination, it is possible to spread
the burden so it does not fall unfairly on any individual or group of
individuals. Properly presented, the notion that conservation values come
first could become widely accepted within the wider community. Our long
term survival may depend on it.
In the interim
We continue to work to bring change to community attitudes and to encourage
the retention of the remaining natural biological communities.
Return to the possum skin cloak
To About the project
To the Bioregion
To the Painting the Future Real home page.
To the Imagine The Future Inc
home page.
'Painting the future
real' is an initiative of Imagine The Future
Inc with the support of project partners.
For more information, contact Imagine The Future at
340 Gore Street, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065, Australia
phone: +61 3 9417 2033, fax: +61 3 9416 0767
email: imagine@peg.apc.org, or merrillf@dingo.vut.edu.au
Archive page from 1996/97. Re-published on www.ecoversity.org.au in July 2004.