Conservation and Minimal Impact Ecotourism 

 

Where safe and practical, we repair rather than replace equipment, run more fuel efficient vehicles, choose to make a carbon compensation contribution with air travel. 

During the course of our tours, we sometimes observe situations that require attention, such as injured wildlife, pollution of a waterway or proliferation of noxious weeds. In this case we make contact with the relevant NT Government agencies. Sometimes we will pick up small amounts of litter for proper disposal, endeavouring to leave the place better than when we found it. The ambience of a campfire at night is magical, but habitat is being burnt to make that campfire. Worse still, even the most responsible campers sometimes fail to fully extinguish their fire, with potential consequences of far worse damage to the environment through bush fire. The Top End is being ravaged far more than it should by fire, we don't want to contribute to that! Fuel stoves are more efficient and safer.

 

It is important that we, as bird watchers and nature lovers, keep our impact on the natural environment to an absolute minimum. Below is a link to a document based on Birds Australia policy on Bird Watching Ethics. You can read it on the Birding Ethics page, or download a more colourful version here.  Bird Watching Ethics 

 

 

Hello Mike and Jenny,

I have heard of you guys for a while and thought I would read a bit about your tours ect. The thing that has stuck out at me most with your informative site is that you respect the birds enough not to use playback. You have no idea how refreshing that is to hear that you put the birds that we at AWC seek to protect first. It has always been my thing with the Night Parrot with all my talks "the bird must come first." Fantastic and I congratulate you both and dearly look forward to meeting you both one day. I will happily support what you guys are doing.

All the very best, John Young.

 

 

 

The Top End has fared well as some as introduced birds, reptiles and fish are concerned but very poorly with mammals, amphibians and plants.

 

We have no problem bird species and the only successful introduced species is feral pigeon (Rock Dove) seen only occasionally. We have 62 species of freshwater fish in our rivers, creeks and billabongs, and no introduced species.

 

Introduced mammals include buffalo, cattle, horses, donkeys, pigs, feral dogs and cats. Each of these has impacted on the environment badly. The Cane Toad has been particularly disastrous since the mid 2000's as it has spread from Queensland right across the Top End, causing local extinctions of anything that preys on frogs. This is due to the toxin it releases from a gland that kills almost anything that attempts to eat it. It also consumes a huge amount of invertebrate species, competing with native species such as Frilled Lizard. Northern Quolls and many species of snake and monitor have been driven to the brink of extinction because of the Cane Toad.

 

Unfortunately we have quite a few introduced weeds that are presenting problems, especially Gamba Grass. This is a 'transformer' species, meaning that it has the potential to drastically change the whole habitat.

 

"Morning all, 

Yesterday I attended a meeting on tackling environmental issues in the Greater Darwin area, and all everybody talked about was gamba grass.  This weed, imported as pasture for the beef industry, is native to the African savannah.  Ungrazed it is a bulky grass reaching nearly 5 m. high.  It is a transformer weed, meaning it transforms other vegetation communities to monocultures by carrying destructive fire, and by outcompeting native plants for water and nutrients and space and light.  

I first raised the issue of gamba grass as a threat to birds, at the launch of the second edition of Birds of Australia’s Top End in 2005.  Since then I’ve written about this weed as a threat to both wildlife and to human beings.  Yet for years the NT Government, bowing to the wishes of graziers, took no action.  The grass is now out of control throughout the Greater Darwin area. 

At the nearby Litchfield Park said that this one weed covered 20% of Litchfield Park, and that in two decades it would cover nearly half the park.   Dangerous wildfire fuelled by gamba grass is a big concern, consequently I suggest that birders visiting the Top End from June to November, be aware of the danger from fire.  And if you’re going off road then hire a vehicle that uses diesel, not petrol.  In my experience some tour operators and guides don’t recognise the threat, so check! 

I called for a cost-benefit analysis comparing the cost of gamba, mission, rats-tail and other weeds brought in as cattle pasture or as contaminants, against the so-called worth of the beef industry.  I doubt it will happen - it’s a case of nationalising the problems and privatising the profit.  However, graziers are now finding that gamba is more trouble than it is worth; firstly because it is so destructive to most native vegetation; secondly they can’t sell properties infested with the stuff; and thirdly because any property infested with gamba cannot be used for carbon offsets.  Still, gamba has its supporters as a grazier pointed out gleefully the other day.  Unfortunately there does not seem to be a way for consumers to access beef produced in a weed-free manner. 

According to academics and rangers present at this meeting feral cats are also out of control, and no one present could see any way of dealing with them.  One ray of hope is to reduce the annual burning of forest and woodland which reduces ground cover making it easier for cats to hunt.  However, because so much annual burning has occurred herbaceous under storey in much of these habitats has been replaced by fire-encouraging speargrass. 

Another ray of hope is that many landowners do their best to control both weeds and cats.    However, it may not be enough to save several species.

Denise Lawungkurr  Goodfellow

Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841 

PhD candidate, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW. 

Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia

Nominated by Earthfoot for Condé Nast’s International  Ecotourism Award, 2004. 

With every introduction of a plant or animal that goes feral this continent becomes a little less unique, a little less Australian.

While this sounds alarming, the good news is that awareness of the threat is slowly building and hopefully enough people will take action to try to contain this threat."