NSW surfers, divers, recreational fishers and conservationists have united to oppose land clearing due to its impact on the coast and marine environment.
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In late January the group, which includes the Australian Marine Conservation Society, Ocean Youth and Nature Coast Marine Group Eurobodalla, made a submission to Local Land Services NSW outlining why they want enforceable regulation to stop cleaning of riparian and coastal vegetation and to significantly decrease the clearing of other vegetation.
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Bushfire damage to Batemans Marine Park
One of the case studies in their submission concerned the impact of the Black Summer bushfires on Batemans Marine Park.
They cited a study by scientists from the University of New South Wales that found after the bushfires, estuaries without a buffer of vegetation had an increase in metals, pyrogenic carbon and nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen that could affect the behaviour, survival and reproduction of estuarine species.
Estuaries with an intact riparian zone were significantly protected from the fire-induced pollution.
Dane Wilmott, president of NCMG, recreational fisher and fire fighter, said the damage from land clearing is reversible.
However, "while government is taking measures to improve riparian zones around creeks and tributaries they can only do so much with large-scale clearing and tilled farming".
In particular, synthetic fertilisers like superphosphate cause huge problems with algae blooms that consume oxygen and block sunlight from underwater plants.
Forest, national park management
Mr Wilmott wants more recognition of the landscape that was created by Indigenous people through fire-stick farming.
It led Captain James Cook to describe the landscape of south-east Australia as "at present it produceth, besides timber, as fine meadow as ever was seen" and in the Illawarra "trees, quite free from underwood appeared like plantations in a gentleman's park".
Mr Wilmott said that colonial settlement and land clearing has caused dramatic changes to the forest structure, resulting in more intense bushfires.
The unpleasant reality
He said the loss of mangroves during the 2019/20 bushfires was unprecedented due to the extreme El Nino cycle and climate change.
Mr Wilmott said Australia's east coast current is getting warmer and driving further south each year, making south-east Australia a hot spot for climate change.
He said the CSIRO has been measuring the current with buoys for 20 years with some areas, including some off Narooma's coast, four degrees warmer.
"It isn't 1.5 degrees evenly across the globe," Mr Wilmott said.
The warming current drives hotter and drier El Nino cycles and more frequent and intense bushfires.
"I want people to know this and understand."
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