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Greencap Eco-News | Issue 11 | September 2022
The Importance of Marine Parks in Wildlife Conservation
As part of Greencap's commitment to all things sustainable, we are pleased to send this regular communication where Greencap's own Eco-Sustainability Committee team members provide interesting facts, quick eco-tips, and recent environmental news.
This issue includes information on Australia's diverse marine life. the impact of marine parks on wildlife conservation, and some helpful tips on how we can assist in ocean restoration efforts.
Did you know? Australia has more unique marine life than almost any country on Earth!
Australia's ocean territory is twice the land size
Australia has more unique marine life than almost any country on Earth.
With an an ocean territory twice the size of the Australian land mass, our oceans are the third-largest and most diverse on the planet.
The Great Barrier Reef (Queensland) is the largest single reef on earth, and Shark Bay (Western Australia) is also the largest seagrass meadow on the planet. Shark Bay is also world heritage listed by UNESCO for 'Outstanding Universal Value'. Australia also boasts the third-largest area of mangroves and more than half of the world's mangrove and seagrass species.
Australia's oceans provide refuge for a diversity of species including:
- 6 of the 7 known species of marine turtles
- 45 of the world’s 78 dolphin and whale species, and
- 4,000 fish species — 20% of the worlds total.
What are marine parks?
Marine parks help conserve marine habitats and the diverse species that live and rely on these complex environments.
They also provide places for people to watch wildlife, dive, and go boating and snorkelling. Importantly, marine parks also create jobs in industries like tourism.
There are currently 62 established marine parks around Australia.
Marine parks are an important tool in the toolbox of ocean conservation – helping to reduce the stress on marine ecosystems and leading innovative restoration efforts.
How do marine parks protect our oceans?
Recreation not exploitation. Anyone can enter marine sanctuaries and enjoy activities like boating, swimming, snorkelling and diving — but wildlife and their habitats are fully protected from unsustainable industries such as oil and gas exploration, and fishing.
Protecting Habitats. Marine sanctuary zones are crucial for protecting the rich diversity of life in Australia's oceans.
Increasing Fish Stocks. The maths is simple — if you leave fish alone to breed and replenish, over an extended period of time there will be more, bigger and healthier fish. This has been proven. Only two years after sanctuary zones were expanded around the Great Barrier Reef in 2004, it was found by scientists that in protected areas, the number of Coral Trout had increased by 60%.
This important work is supported by the Australian Marine Conservation Society and other organisations and charities.
Marine parks around the country include:
Click the Map to view the Australian Marine Parks Science Atlas ⬇
This is an interactive map where you can click to view more information about each region
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Small steps to help the ocean that make a big difference
- Make a difference at your local beach
- Take 3 for the sea and pick up any rubbish you spot at the beach. The corrosive impact of tonnes of plastic in the world's oceans is having a detrimental effect on wildlife.
- Help local marine conservation organisations
Get involved locally. Meet likeminded people in the community and find an organisation in your area or region that is focused on marine conservation.
- Learn about and support larger organisations
A monthly donation is also a possibility. These donations assist in bigger projects and avocacy. There are fantastic organisations available such as the Australian Marine Conservation Society, The Wilderness Society and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation.
- Support ethical businesses
The companies and products we support matter. Supporting sustainable, ethical and transparent business that give back to the community is easy now with all information available at our fingertips. There are ethical alternatives to everything, whether your bank, surfboard or your swimsuit. Some of them are even made out of recovered ocean plastic!
- Reduce and recyle plastic
Check out Eco-News 9 for comprehensive information on reducing plastic to prevent it going into waterways and into animals, as sealife and seabirds often mistake plastic for food (warning: confronting images).
- Manage your carbon footprint
Check out this Carbon Footprint Calculator to understand more about the impact we have on the earth. Many businesses, such as airlines, energy and electricity companies, have programs or offsets to assist in reducing our carbon footprint.
What are the five biggest threats to marine life?
- Climate change
- Plastic pollution
- Unsustainable or illegal fishing practices
- Habitat destruction
- Ocean acidification
(from the World Economic Forum)
Possible Ban on Plastic Coffe Cups
Australians love their coffee, with a whopping 1.84 billion single-use cups are used in Australia every year according to Clean Up Australia.
These cups can't be recycled easily due to the thin plastic lining that makes them waterproof, so most of them are sent to landfill or incinerated, or clog up our waterways, beaches, parks and natural areas.
Clean Up Australia wants you to have your say on the future of disposable coffee cups in Australia. If you'd like to fill in the survey, click on the button below.
What is Greencap doing in this space?
Greencap is a verified Foundation Member of Sustainable Choice - an independent digital destination where brands can clearly communicate their sustainability commitments, outline their sustainability roadmap, progress, implementation and outcomes.
Sustainable Choice enable brands to support their environmental claims through 3 key pillars:
- Promise - Making a public commitment to environmental sustainability, publishing goals and setting ESG targets.
- Action - Outlining progress through clearly communicating the implementation of initiatives.
- Impact - Reporting on the delivery of initiatives through demonstrating measurable outcomes and impact.
Sustainable Choice aim to provide clear, accessible information that decodes the complex messaging, broad statements and ambiguous labels usually included in businesses own sustainability communications. The Sustainable Choice platform allows organisations to publish their environmental actions (and impact) with full transparency, and likewise consumers have a single, go-to resource centre to help them make more informed sustainable choices.
Learn more - www.sustainablechoice.com/brand/greencap/
WSP Contributing to Sustainable Change
We are pleased to announce Greencap has recently been acquired by world leading professional services firm WSP, who have a big footprint in Australia, employing 4000+ people across 14 offices. They also have have some big sustainable aspirations, including commitments to:
- Source 100% renewable electricity by 2030 in Australia
- Halve the carbon footprint of their designs and advice by 2030
- Delivering Net-Zero emissions across its global value chain by 2040
- Reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 market-based GHG emissions by 60% by 2030 (from a 2020 base year)
- Reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions by 30% over the same timeframe
Learn more: www.wsp.com/en-AU/news/2022/wsp-to-halve-the-carbon-emissions
Further reading:
- Australia's Marine Parks
- Our Marine Life - The Science Behind Sanctuaries
- Save Our Marine Life: Case Studies
- Parks Australia: How We Manage Marine Parks
- Unique Australian Sealife
- Australian Government Geoscience: Oceans & Seas
- Australia - State of the Environment 2016: Marine Environment Jurisdictions
- UNESCO - Shark Bay, Western Australia
- Australian Marine Conservation Society - Marine Parks
- Understanding the Science of Ocean and Coastal Acidification
October Eco Dates
Australian Wildlife Week (3-9 October)
World Habitat Day (4 October)
World Seabird Conference (4-8 October)
World Migratory Bird Day (8 October)
International Day for Disaster Reduction (13 October)
World Food Day (16 October)
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17 October)
National Bird Week (17-23 October)
Aussie Backyard Bird Count (17-23 October)
National Water Week (17-21 October)
National Ride-2-Work Day (19 October)
Australian National Field Days (20-22 October)
World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (27 October)
