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At the request of West of Ranges Landcare & NSW Farmers Association, the Environmental Defender’s Office will be presenting a FREE environmental law workshop for NSW landholders. The workshop will provide an overview of some of the key laws relevant to rural landholders, including vegetation and bushfire management, agricultural chemicals, plantations, private native forestry & carbon offsets, biobanking and voluntary conservation. DATE: Saturday 16 May 2009 Lunch and light refreshments will be provided. For more information or to RSVP, please contact the EDO on (02) 9262 6989. This workshop has been assisted by the NSW Government through its Environmental Trust.
Private Conservation: A workshop for landowners in the Lower Clarence Valley interested in conserving biodiversity on their property28 February 2009The Northern Rivers is a national biodiversity hotspot, but much of the high conservation value land is on private property. Governments and other organisations have recognised the need to protect biodiversity on private land by offering a range of formal and informal agreements and incentives. The morning session of this one day workshop was held in Grafton. It covered the options for conservation agreements, with talks from EDO lawyers and staff from the Nature Conservation Trust of NSW, the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change and the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority. The afternoon session involved a visit to a farm 28 kms south of Grafton that has had a Voluntary Conservation Agreement for many years, to show how it has worked in practice.
The Road to Copenhagen - Our Role in Responding to the Climate Crisis3 February 2009The climate change conference in Copenhagen this December may be the last chance to avoid a potentially catastrophic future for the world's climate. The federal government has set a target for emissions reduction of 5% by 2020, or 15% if a global agreement can be reached this year. But the science tells us the reduction needs to be at least 25%. There are other problems with the government's plan that will make it unlikely to reduce our national emissions. The EDO Northern Rivers hosted a community forum in Ballina that coincided with the Climate Change Summit in Canberra and the first day of federal parliament for 2009. Speakers The international context - Dr Mark Byrne, Education Officer, Environmental Defender's Office Northern Rivers School students were invited to talk about what climate change meant to them and what they were doing about it, and a report on the climate summit in Canberra. The speakers were followed by an open discussion on local responses to the issue.
Brainfood in Byron: Human Rights and the EnvironmentThe EDO hosted a series of talks at the Byron Community Centre on the last Friday evening of each month from August to November. The theme was the interface of human rights and the environment. The talks were not recorded and presentations are not available as pdf downloads. The talks were as follows: FRIDAY 30 SEPTEMBER - SANITATION FRIDAY 29 AUGUST - MINING FRIDAY 31 OCTOBER - WATER FRIDAY 28 NOVEMBER - CHEMICALS
Northern Rivers Community Forum: Protecting Biodiversity in Lismore ShireThe Northern Rivers is one of the world's most bio-diverse regions. Some plants and animals are protected in national parks and other reserves, but many are not. Any new development or change in land use is likely to impact on biodiversity. Lismore Council has prepared a draft Local Environmental Plan (LEP) which will chart the future of development and environmental protection in the shire. In response to community concerns, the EDO organised a community forum to discuss how biodiversity can best be protected in the new LEP. The forum consisted of short talks by EDO lawyers followed by open discussion. The aim was to recommend the inclusion in the LEP of best practice biodiversity protections with local community input.
Northern Rivers Evening Workshop: Conserving Threatened SpeciesOn 25 September, 2008, the Environmental Defender's Office and Tucki Landcare Group presented a FREE evening workshop on Conserving Threatened Species at Goonellabah. EDO Northern Rivers Solicitor Sue Higginson provided an introduction to the legal protection for endangered plants and animals in NSW, which was followed by an audio-visual presentation on local habitats and related issues by Mark Graham, an ecologist from Buckombil Conservation Services who has radio tracked koalas and undertaken flora and fauna assessments in the Tucki Tucki catchment.
Planned Retreat Expert Seminar - Byron BayOn 31 May 2008, the EDO held an expert seminar to discuss Byron Shire Council's policy of planned retreat, which has been in place since 1988 and has withstood several legal challenges. The seminar was attended by twelve lawyers, planners, ecologists and community campaigners with a range of experience of planned retreat in Byron Shire and Queensland. The recommendations from the seminar constitute Appendix 1 to the ANEDO submission to the Federal Government's inquiry into Climate Change and Coastal Communities. The ANEDO submission can be found here: http://www.edo.org.au/policy/climatechange_coastal080610.pdf
EDO Northern Rivers - One Year On22 August 2007 - The EDO Northern Rivers opened on Monday, 3 July 2006 as an 18 month pilot project funded by the Public Purpose Fund. The office has now been operating for 12 months. During that time we have provided approximately 600 telephone advices, we have provided advice and representation to individuals, community groups and conservation organisations in approximately 40 public environmental interest matters. We have also conducted 7 community education workshops in the Northern Rivers region. The pilot has been very successful and has received enormous support to continue providing a much needed service for the region.
Continued Funding for the EDO Northern Rivers20 August 2007 - We are delighted to anounce that the EDO's Northern Rivers Office has gained the generous support of the NSW Law Society's Public Purpose Fund to continue the operation of the office. Funding has increased so as to support an addition to our Lismore office team, with a community legal education and outreach officer. We are greatly indebted to the ongoing enthusiasm and support of the Public Purpose Fund, which provides a substantial foundation for our work to empower communities to protect the environment. We would like to thank all the people who have supported the work of the Northern Rivers office over the past 12 months.
Rural Landholders Workshop - Tuntable CreekOn 18 August 2007, the Environmental Defender’s Office Northern Rivers (EDO) in conjunction with Tuntable Creek Landcare, presented a practical workshop about environmental and legal issues which particularly affect rural landholders. The slides from the workshop are now available for download.
The presentation by guest speaker Mark Graham, ecologist from Buckombil Conservation Services, on the laws relating to threatened species as they are relevant to local issues, is also available for download. (presentation reproduced with permission of the owner)
Rural Landholders' Guide WorkshopBellingen, 21 April 2007 - The EDO (Northern Rivers) presented a FREE workshop for rual landholders, providing practical information about environmental law. The workshop was intended to complement the free EDO publication, ‘The Rural Landholder's Guide to Environmental Law in NSW'. Topics covered in the workshop included: vegetation management, bushfire management, water management, pest and weed control, agricultural chemicals and conservation on private land The workshop was presented by solicitors, Jessica Wood and Sue Higginson of the EDO and Pia Dollman from Bellinger Landcare who spoke about the Upper Bellinger Reach-based Plan Project and Landcare generally. The workshop was followed by a private farm tour on Darkwood Road, Thora. To download a free copy of the Rural Landholders' Guide to Environmental Law, see: www.edo.org.au/edonsw/site/publications.php. Free copies of this publication, including bulk orders, are available from the Environmental Defender's Office NSW. To order copies, please call (02) 9262 6989.
Launch of Campaigning and the Law in New South WalesOn 31 March 2007, the EDO publication Campaigning and the Law in New South Wales: A guide to your rights and responsibilities was officially launched by Ian Cohen, Greens MP, and Jeff Smith, Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Defender’s Office. This plain English guide is an essential companion for those interested in learning about their legal rights to protest, and how to make informed decisions about participating in protest action. For more information and to order your copy of this publication, click here.
Environmental Law for Rural Landholders
The workshop was designed to help landholders understand their legal rights and manage their land in accordance with environmental and natural resource management law, and to take advantage of incentives for voluntary conservation. Topics covered in the workshops included:
To download a free copy of the Rural Landholders' Guide to Environmental Law, see: www.edo.org.au/edonsw/site/publications.php. Free copies of this publication, including bulk orders, are available from the Environmental Defender's Office NSW. To order copies, please call (02) 9262 6989.
Official Opening of EDO Northern Rivers
On 15 July 2006, the EDO celebrated the opening of our new Northern Rivers office with an official launch, followed by a free half-day community workshop about conservation on private land. The new office was launched by Justice Brian Preston, Chief Judge of the NSW Land and Environment Court. [Link to Justice Preston's opening speech.] The private conservation workshop covered a range of legal and practical issues associated with private conservation, including:
The workshop was presented by EDO staff as well as John Nagel from the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority (NRCMA) and Kate Smiley from the Nature Conservation Trust (NCT). The workshop also incorporated a tour of Brockley Farm, where local bush regenerator, Stephanie Lymburner showcased the fantastic results of restoration work in remnant bushland on the macadamia farm. The EDO would like to thank the owners of Brockley Farm, Charlie and Jenny Handley for their wonderful hospitality and congratulate them for their commitment to conserving biodiversity on their land. Both the launch and the workshop were well attended despite inclement weather. Local government representatives, including Jan Barham, Mayor of Byron Shire Council, and Jenny Dowell, Councillor for Lismore City Council were joined by interested members of the community and a number of local environmental groups. Many participants expressed their delight at finally having a regional office in their local area. Now that the formalities are over, the EDO Northern Rivers looks forward to engaging further with the region and helping residents to achieve positive outcomes for the local environment.
Workshops on Planning Law ReformsIn 2006, EDO Northern Rivers presented a workshop series in Byron Bay, Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour on the recent reforms to the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. The reforms include the requirement for all local councils to amend their local environmental plans to conform with a standard template and the addition of Part 3A to the Act which replaces State significant development with major projects and critical infrastructure, for which the Minister is the consent authority. If you would like a copy of the slideshow presentation from this workshop, please contact us. Slides are in PDF format.
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This site was last updated
Wednesday 1 July, 2009
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