Environmental Management Plans for electricity
corridors through Protected Areas
BIOTROPICA AUSTRALIA is working with Ergon
Energy to review and complete Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) for protected
and sensitive natural areas. EMPs are specific span by span plans for powerline
corridors within sensitive areas such as the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage
Area (WHA). There are over 200 kilometres of electricity corridors present in
the WHA.
These
lines often traverse difficult, rugged and very wet terrain and habitat which
supports rare and threatened plant and animal species like the Southern Cassowary.
.
Environmental Management Plans are designed to: . .
Guide
all vegetation maintenance activities within
Sensitive
Areas such as World Heritage Areas, National
Parks, Declared Marine Habitats and State Forests
provide
detailed information on significant environmental
features
present along a corridor
preserve
and protect environmental and cultural values
to
the greatest possible extent
ensure
compliance through an audit process
The overall aim of maintenance
works are to use vegetation manipulation techniques which reduce the area of bare
earth, retain and encourage ground and shrub cover, and promote vegetation scalloping
in forested environments enhancing habitat connectivity.
The
layout is designed to standardise EMPs for all electricity providers in Queensland
to make interpretation easier for staff and contractors. EMPs provide explanatory
notes with information ranging from Regional Ecosystems, Rare and Threatened Species
to the presence of Habitat Features, Cultural Heritage Sites and Declared Plants.
These notes are accompanied by scaled GIS maps using the latest government and
non-government GIS data layer mapping, information spreadsheets and a photographic
library.
Priority
powerline corridors have been identified with a primary focus on those lines which
traverse the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
