Submission prepared by: Bill Peel on behalf of the East Gippsland Rainforest Conservation Management Network.

SUMMARY
Metung and Nungurner retains some of the most significant stands of rainforest left in Victoria that have both state and national significance, including:

• A major portion of a nationally significant aggregation of Littoral Rainforest stands’ habitat (the largest in south eastern Australia) that used to once stretch along the northern shore of the Gippsland Lakes from the mouth of the Mitchell River into the North Arm.  This includes three threatened floristic communities of Littoral Rainforest:
  • East Gippsland Deltaic Littoral Rainforest;
  • Bung Yarnda Littoral Rainforest; and
• Two Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988)-listed floristic communities of Warm Temperate Rainforest:
  • Alluvial Terraces Warm Temperate Rainforest; and
  • East Gippsland Coastal Warm Temperate Rainforest.
• Two nationally threatened and Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999)-listed species;
  • Swift Parrot and Grey-headed Flying Fox

 All of the rainforests of the Metung and Nungurner UDF study area are threatened, many provide habitat for both Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999)-listed animals.  Much of this rainforest estate has been cleared and all of the rainforest vegetation is either listed as threatened under State’s Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988) (the Warm Temperate Rainforest floristic communities) or is in the final stages of the nomination process (the Littoral Rainforest floristic communities) under the Federal Environmental Protection and Biodiversity and Conservation Act (1999).

 The Council (and by extension the community that it represents) has obligations under these acts of Parliament to conserve these threatened rainforest communities as well as their threatened plants and animals.  Conservation and maintenance of these values requires rainforest conservation both through the preservation of existing stands and the rehabilitation and restoration of a significant proportion of the degraded or previously cleared rainforest habitat in the UDF study area.  If as a community we choose to conserve and restore these rainforest habitats then we have taken the biggest step towards conserving the cargo of rare and threatened species they contain.

 Fortunately there are significant synergies available across the UDF study area between sensible planning overlays that deal with land not suitable for development, erosion risk and storm water management and nutrient processing whilst maintaining or restoring rainforests in Metung and Nungurner area. 

 These synergies fall into the following groupings:

1. Gully systems with land too steep for development and the conservation and restoration of two Flora and Fauna Guarantee listed floristic communities of Warm Temperate Rainforest;
2. Marginal bluffs and steep valley sides (Natural Systems Analysis Plan 1) between Mairburn Road and Tambo Bluff and the gully systems associated with Chinamans Creek, Archibald Drive, Box’s Creek and Nungurner Hills gully systems. Some of these areas if reserved for erosion protection, could also be used to ensure the conservation of threatened of newly described Littoral Rainforests (currently in the nomination process under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999);
3. Storm water and nutrient processing along gully systems through the conservation and restoration of listed Warm Temperate Rainforest communities that have been locally proven to strip 70% of floodwater phosphorous and 88% of ground water phosphorous (Peel in prep. a).

 Conservation status of rainforest in the Metung and Nungurner Urban Area

The UDF unfortunately fails to list the following: the floristic communities (Table 1), their conservation status and the threats to them (Table 2) and their threatened species [Table 3 (plants) and Table 4 (animals)] and their depletion by locality (Table 5).

 There are two ecological vegetation classes of rainforest present in the study area (Warm Temperate Rainforest and Littoral Rainforest) with five distinct floristic communities represented (Table 1.).

Rainforest values to the environment and the community at large

In Victoria rainforests conserve 4% of the states plant diversity (30% of which are rare and threatened species), despite occupying less than 0.14% of the State’s land area.

• Rainforests are excellent water processors and have been proven locally to strip up to 70% of the phosphorous from surface storm water and 88% from ground water.  This works best in streams of up to third order (which matches all of the stream orders of the gully systems in the UDF study area);
• Rainforests are fire retardant and so their presence in the urban environment is a benefit in this regard;
• Rainforests consist of species that are restricted in the landscape that can only be conserved by protecting rainforests and their fringing ecotones;
• Rainforest on or adjacent to properties is a major selling point for real estate; and
• Rainforests enable urban kids to experience the bush with relative safety near to home.

 Constraints imposed by the conservation status of rainforest

All of the Warm Temperate Rainforest and Littoral Rainforest communities of East Gippsland are protected by the NVP regulations.  All of the Warm Temperate Rainforest and Littoral Rainforest floristic communities within the Metung and Nungurner urban area are threatened. 

 None of the rainforests in the UDF area will survive without concerted local government and community actions that include zoning to protect existing rainforest remnants and their ecotones and zoning to conserve currently cleared habitat to ensure planning and subsequent development allow recovery of the rainforests in their past habitat.

 Significant stands of native vegetation (both Littoral and Warm Temperate Rainforests) have not been recorded from various plans in the UDF document.  These strands occur on the northern shore of Lake King (Tambo Bay) between Mairburn Road and Tambo Bluff (Littoral Rainforests) and the Warm Temperate Rainforests of the gully systems associated with Chinamans Creek.

 The lack of reference to rainforest has meant that its significance has been overlooked.

 Benefits of conserving existing stands of rainforest and the currently cleared habitat of rainforest

The following benefits will accrue if the council adopts planning measures to conserve these areas of the landscape:

• High tunnel and gully erosion-risk areas will be protected and erosion risks to infrastructure and housing will be reduced;
• Obligations under the Federal Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999) and State Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1999) will be met;
• Nationally and State-listed rainforest vegetation as well as their cargo of rare and threatened plants and animals will be conserved;
• Storm water treatment is facilitated by the restoration of rainforests to gully systems in the Metung and Nungurner UDF study area;
• Nutrient stripping (particularly phosphorous) will remove up to 70% of phosphorous and if combined with the reinstatement of wetlands at the mouths of rainforest gullies nitrogen sequestration is enhanced as well;
• Urban and landscape amenity is improved and the environment is conserved.

Table 1.  Rainforests of the Metung and Nungurner Urban Area.

Ecological vegetation class Habitat features	Floristic community	Habitat Localities in the urban area
Warm Temperate Rainforest Habitat features: ·         Moist localities; ·         Fire protected	East Gippsland Alluvial Terraces Warm Temperate Rainforest	Habitat: alluvial soils on creek flats and gully floors of all of the major gully systems Localities: gullies of Chinamans Creek
	East Coastal Warm Temperate Rainforest	Habitat: gully sides on limestone or outwash alluviums Localities: Gullies of Chinamans Creek
Littoral Rainforest Habitat features: ·         Exposed sites ·         Saline influence (wind, water, water tables or geology); ·         Fire protected	East Gippsland Deltaic Littoral Rainforest	Habitat: Deltaic deposits around estuaries Localities: the flat foreshore areas from Archibald Drive westward towards Kings Cove
	Limestone Littoral Rainforest	Habitat: steep slopes of limestone with north or west aspects. Localities: on western aspect steep valley sides of Chinamans Creek
	Bung Yarnda Littoral Rainforest	Habitat: The marginal bluffs and subtending sand flats around Lake Tyers. Localities: the marginal bluff escarpment from Mairburn Road to Tambo Bluff and on the eastern shore of the village from Essington Close intersection with Metung Road northwards to Rosherville Road.

 Table 2.  Conservation status of rainforests that occur in the Metung and Nungurner UDF study area and the threats to them.

Floristic community	Conservation status	Threats
East Gippsland Alluvial Terraces Warm Temperate Rainforest	Threatened Flora and Fauna Guarantee-listed	Habitat loss (land clearing) Grazing by domestic stock Feral Deer Weed invasions Urban development (subdivision of cleared habitat, weed invasion) Global warming (increased fire frequency and intensity, rising sea levels)
East Gippsland Coastal Warm Temperate Rainforest	Threatened Flora and Fauna Guarantee-listed	Habitat loss (land clearing) Grazing by domestic stock Feral Deer Weed invasions Urban development (subdivision of cleared habitat, weed invasion) Global warming (increased fire frequency and intensity, rising sea levels)
Bung Yarnda Littoral Rainforest	Threatened: currently under consideration in the nomination process under the Federal Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999).	Habitat loss (land clearing) Grazing by domestic stock Feral Deer Weed invasions Urban development (weed invasion) Coastal recreation and associated infrastructure Global warming (increased fire frequency and intensity)
Limestone Littoral Rainforest	Threatened: currently under consideration in the nomination process under the Federal Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999).	Habitat loss (land clearing) Grazing by domestic stock Feral Deer Weed invasions Urban development (weed invasion) Coastal recreation and associated infrastructure Global warming (increased fire frequency and intensity)

 Table 3.  Rare or threatened plants that occur in the rainforests of the Metung and Nungurner UDF study area.

Name	IUCN	EPBC	AROTS	VROTS	FFG	Action Statement	Rainforest type
Yellowwood Acronychia oblongifolia	e			r			East Gippsland Deltaic LRf; Bung Yarnda LRf; East East Gippsland Coastal WTRf; Alluvial Terraces WTRf
Coast Grey Box Eucalyptus bosistoana				r			Limestone LRf
Viscid Daisy-bush Olearia viscosa				v			Limestone LRf
Spicy Everlasting Ozothamnus argophyllus				r			East Gippsland Deltaic LRf; Bung Yarnda LRf; Limestone LRf

 Table 4.  Rare or threatened animals*, which occur (have been recorded) in the rainforests of the Metung and Nungurner Urban Design Framework study area.

Name	Division Name	ESP	AROTS	VROTS	FFG	TR	CAMBA/ JAMBA	Notes
Azure Kingfisher Alcedo azurea	Birds			n				Nests in LRf/WTRf
Grey-headed Flying-fox Pteropus poliocephalus	Mammals	VU	V	v	L			Food: LRF/WTRf, roosts: WTRf
Powerful Owl Ninox strenua	Birds			v	L			Hunts and roosts: WTRf
Swift Parrot Lathamus discolor	Birds	EN	E	e	L			Feeds: LRf/WTRf
White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster	Birds			v	L	1	1/-	Nests: WTRf

*Bold are rainforest dependant in the district; underlined are those that breed in rainforests of the district.

Depletion through land clearing, coastal recreation, urbanisation, grazing and weed invasion

One of the major reasons for the Network submission relates to habitat loss for rainforests in the Metung and Nungurner UDF study area.  This habitat loss and the ongoing threats that continue to degrade and erode the remaining areas of rainforest in the district are directly related to urban development, coastal recreation and ongoing grazing and weed invasion.  Drawing the Council’s attention to this on a site by site basis should enable the planning scheme to be amended to accommodate both the urban development and conservation needs of rainforests in the UDF study area. 

 Depletion by locality

The causes of depletion of rainforests in the Metung and Nungurner UDF study area, the planning solutions and benefits are listed in Table 5.

 Tunnel erosion
This is a very real and serious threat to existing urban areas in Metung and Nungurner and the mistakes of the past (allowing development on high risk areas) should not be repeated in the future urban developments. 

 Tunnel erosion occurs where sodic clay soils dissolve and are transported down slope.  Over time huge cavities are created and the overlying soils collapse creating gully erosion.  This represents a serious threat to infrastructure including roads and housing.

 The occurrence of tunnel erosion shows a strong correlation between land clearing, sodic soils and steep topography.  The areas of greatest risk roughly align with the steep areas shown in the Natural Systems Analysis Plan 1.

 Suggested solution: through the UDF the council should prevent the subdivision of steep areas and these should be reserved to:

·                      Maintain geological stability;

·                      Ensure erosion protection;

·                      Maintain urban amenity;

·                      Enhance landscape values; and

·                      Provide for the conservation of rainforest vegetation and its cargo of rare or threatened plants and animals.

This action would conserve much of the existing rainforest as well as preserving much of its former habitat that has been cleared in the past so that it may be restored in the future.

 Benefits of this course of action:

·                     Housing and infrastructure is not put at risk by tunnel erosion;

·                     The rate of tunnel erosion is slowed; and

·                     Remedial measures to deal with tunnel erosion (if required) will have a minimal impact on the built environment.