Office for Environmental Programs - Theses

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    Sustainability, weeds, grasslands and Melbourne Water
    de Veth, Melissa ( 2005)
    Melbourne Water is responsible for large tracts of land throughout metropolitan Melbourne. Management of such large areas requires thorough knowledge of vegetation communities, threats they face and the relevant legislative requirements. Sustainability of many vegetation communities is directly threatened by the possible invasion by weed species. Weeds are a plant that has or has the potential to have detrimental effect on economic, social or conservation values. There are several different pieces of legislation that specifically relate to weeds. It is the Victorian Pest Management Framework 2002 that provides the strategic direction for the development of further weed management action plans. The principle means by which biodiversity may be protected is through the removal of weeds. The historical approach taken by Melbourne Water to weed control has been practical. Attention has always been focused on high value sites where native vegetation has the potential to recolonise the area naturally. Whilst the actual cost of the impact of weeds on ecosystems cannot be quantified, it is proven that weeds have the ability to reduce farm productivity, displace native species and contribute significantly to land and water degradation. Native grasslands are a threatened ecosystem. Their main threat is weed invasion. Unfortunately Melbourne Water is not currently doing anything to prevent weed infestation of these communities. There is no policy/strategy for dealing with weed management and this has adverse implications for operational efforts. At officer level there are pockets of strong awareness and expertise in relation to weeds and their impact, unfortunately there is no continuity of management standards or communication. These all combine to have little effect on the war against weeds and on the protection of threatened ecosystems.
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    A comparative study of Melbourne's freeway planting designs: implications for biodiversity conservation
    Metherell, Zoe ( 2006)
    Extensive planting projects have been undertaken along freeways in Melbourne, Australia. This report is a comparative study of seven of these planting designs completed over a period of forty years. The aim of this project is to assess these designs in terms of their implications for biodiversity and make recommendations for future ecological designs. The analysis explores how variability between the planting designs relates to factors including plant species richness, diversity, plant abundance, use of indigenous and/or weed species and the inclusion of aquatic and under storey planting. Drawing from the scientific literature, these areas of variability between the planting schemes are assessed in terms of the positive and negative ecological effects, particularly relating to biodiversity conservation. The florist analysis shows that there is distinct variation between the planting designs and that some designs are far more beneficial for biodiversity conservation than others. The results of this study suggest that in the future, landscape architects and ecologists should work together on the design of freeway planting with a shared aim of providing a new sustainable ecosystem that is based on the structure, composition and ecological processes of the original plant communities.
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    "Net gain" and offsets in Victoria: implementation of native vegetation policy under the Planning and Environment Act 1987
    Sydes, Brendan ( 2007)
    There is increasing enthusiasm for the use of biodiversity offsets as a conservation tool. There has, however, been little evaluation of their actual implementation. This paper considers biodiversity offsets in the context of the critique of "command and control" regulation and proposals for market based approaches to biodiversity conservation, examining their potential advantages and pitfalls. The actual implementation of a biodiversity offsetting scheme is considered with reference to implementation of native vegetation policy in Victoria, including the interpretation and application of that policy and associated planning scheme provisions by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. This analysis of the implementation of "net gain" under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Victoria) shows that the potential of biodiversity offsetting mechanisms can be undermined by a lack of strategic planning mechanisms, absence of clearly defined and upheld priorities for avoiding clearing of vegetation in the first place, and failures to monitor and enforce offsets. However some of the issues identified cannot be explained as simple failures in implementation. The issues arising in Victoria also illustrate some of the inherent problems with designing and implementing biodiversity offsetting schemes and the limitations of such schemes as biodiversity conservation mechanisms.