Posts Tagged ‘Cairns’
Sustainability in the Tropics: Whole-Community Approach
Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on May 7th, 2010
Source: Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF)
From Green Home Community Profile: Cairns
If you had to nominate the most beautiful place in Australia it would be hard to go past the lush rainforests and coral reefs of far north Queensland. But the very natural icons that make this place so special also make it vulnerable, and in response to this threat, organisations and individuals throughout the local community have banded together to do their bit to reduce their environmental footprint and limit the impacts of climate change.
As Sarah Hoyal, the coordinator of the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre (CAFNEC) explains, “The impacts of climate change on our World Heritage rainforests and the Great Barrier Reef will be extreme, and the local community realises how important it is to act. Whether it’s residents who don’t want to see our unique ecosystems harmed or local businesses concerned about the economic impact this will have, we’re all moving in the same direction.”
As for where this action needs to take place, the answer is simple: everywhere.
“When you’re in a regional area you can’t afford to draw artificial distinctions between individual behaviour at home, communities protecting their local environments, planning decisions by local councils and overall government policy,” says Sarah. “They’re all part of the bigger picture.”