SAVE THE GOULDIAN FUND AND WWF-AUSTRALIA FORM
PARTNERSHIP TO RESTORE THE GOULDIAN FINCH IN THE KIMBERLEY REGION.
The
Save the Gouldian Fund has entered into a partnership with the WWF-Australia with
the aim of restoring the Gouldian Finch in focal areas of the east/central
Kimberley region. For the first time the focus will shift to the northern areas
of Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary and to other selected adjacent stations. Like
Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, this is one huge step along the road to
restoring the Gouldian Finch across northern Australia.
BACKGROUND
It is now
well documented that many species of seed-eating birds that call the northern
savannas of Australia home have declined dramatically since the beginning of
European settlement. One of the main reasons for this is the changed annual
burning regimes occurring across northern Australia. The northern savannas are
also rich in finches with 14 of our 18 native finch species living there. These
birds are found nowhere else in the world!
Historically,
the Gouldian Finch could be found in flocks numbering many hundreds of birds across
a range stretching from the base of Cape York Peninsula in the east, through
the Northern Territory into Western Australia almost to the coast. The famous English
ornithologist John Gould issued specific instructions his collectors to pay
particular attention to this species, so we have quite a few graphic records
mentioning at the local abundance of Gouldians in the past.
In 1983
well-known Adelaide aviculturist and Order of Australia recipient, Barry
Hutchins spoke to me of a camping trip made to Pine Creek in the Northern
Territory by Fred and Mick Lewitzka in 1954. One morning they were awoken by a
loud buzzing noise and within a few minutes thousands of Gouldian Finches flew
into and through their camping area, presumably heading either to water or to a
feeding area. The flow of Gouldians continued for about an hour, although the
main front moved through in the first few minutes. It appears that they had
camped in the middle of the finches’ flight path. A few years later when Fred
revisited the same area few Gouldians were found.
Today Gouldian Finches have all but disappeared from the wild in
Queensland, and now only exist in a small number of remnant populations in the
Northern Territory and the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Population
estimates at one of the sites studied in the Yinberrie Hills near Katherine
suggest that fewer than 250 adult birds survive through the wet season to breed
in the following dry season. It appears that numbers fluctuate significantly
between years depending upon the previous season’s rainfall and wildfire patterns.
IMPACTS
OF FIRE AND GRAZING
The most significant and immediate threat to the Gouldian Finch is the change in fire patterns since European settlement. Historically local indigenous communities managed the country by starting smaller, managed burn-offs. Today large scale, late dry season wildfires sweep through vast tracts of land devastating both the cockatoo grass and the curly spinifex - the two main food sources in the Gouldian Finch’s diet. This restricted diet of the Gouldian, combined with their essential annual lifecycle, makes them particularly vulnerable to the seed shortages that occur at the onset of the wet season.
Fire is known to affect seed productivity in the key wet season grasses that Gouldians rely on to tide them over during the resource bottleneck period that occurs early in the year. In addition the key wet season grasses, cockatoo grass and golden beard grass, are also selectively grazed by cattle and horses which effectively prevents those plants from producing seed. Feral pigs have also been shown to impact dramatically on vegetation loss, further eroding or degrading food sources for the Gouldian.
While the rapidity of the population declines is not easily explained by environmental change as a result of pastoral settlement, grazing intensity has been shown to correlate with the decline of granivorous birds across the northern savannas.
THE GOULDIAN AND CLIMATE
CHANGE
There has been much publicity in recent weeks concerning the Australian Government’s intention of introducing a carbon emission trading scheme by the year 2010. While the merits of such a scheme will continue to be debated for some time, there is no denying that changes have to be made globally to reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. Our future depends upon it. What has this to do with the Gouldian Finch? Maybe very little; maybe a lot! Time will tell!
After absorbing information about the negative impacts of wildfires in the savanna areas across northern Australia, the next logical question to ask is: “What effect do the greenhouse gases produced by these wildfires have on climate change? Now, I’ve entered a steep learning curve! I haven’t thought about this before!
The following information is gleaned from the. Tropical Savannas CRC webpage.
“The main
greenhouse gases produced by such fires are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous
oxides.
The Australian Greenhouse Office’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory estimates that accountable greenhouse gas emissions from savanna fires contribute less than 2% of Australia ’s total emissions. Following rules adopted by the Kyoto Protocol, the Inventory only accounts for methane and nitrous oxide as fire-related greenhouse gas emissions.
Savanna fires are also a very significant source of the most common greenhouse gas – carbon dioxide. It has been estimated that the burning of savannas across northern Australia releases up to 218 million tonnes of carbon dioxide which persist in the atmosphere for periods up to seven months of the year over the fire season.
This amount is equivalent to 38.5% of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2004. Although there are considerable timing uncertainties concerning the degree to which this
carbon dioxide contributes to climate forcing, it is clear that the gases produced by savanna fires are an important factor in Australia’s greenhouse budget.”
THE PROJECT
The overall goal of this project is the improvement of Gouldian Finch habitat in the east Kimberley Region through the implementation of co-ordinated fire management.
Summary of specific objectives:
Properties identified in preliminary discussions are the Indigenous pastoral properties of: Bow River, Violet Valley, Doon Doon, Durack River and Karunjie. These properties have been chosen because they; adjoin the current Ecofire project boundary, have important conservation values (eg. Gouldian Finch habitat), recently have been experiencing more severe fire events than other properties in the east Kimberley, and Traditional Owners have had some level of involvement in past fire work.
Improvements in fire management and a reduction in grazing pressures in Gouldian Finch habitats will also benefit a wide range of other animal and plant species in the northern savannas; with special reference to the endangered Northern Quoll.
While recovery is estimated to take longer than five years, a plan to make a substantial impact has been developed with the key stakeholders. WWF in partnership with the Save The Gouldian Fund is appointing a Gouldian Finch Project Co-ordinator for the next three years to coordinate and monitor the effectiveness of the work being conducted. Initial funding, including money pledged by the Save The Gouldian Fund, has enabled the project to commence. We are now seeking a further $50,000 per annum over these three years to enable the successful realisation of this part of the Gouldian Finch recovery. We are seeking funding from interested environmental investors, especially the many individual aviculturists and avicultural clubs and societies throughout Australia and worldwide, to ensure that the ongoing work for the Gouldian Finch recovery is guaranteed into the future and that this extraordinary example of Australian fauna is preserved for future generations.
Timeline
– June 2008 to June 2011
Preliminary: April 2008 – region/properties identified; contact with land managers established and land • manager support obtained; selection of focal area for project
• June 2008 – financial support for project begins (until June 2010)
• July 2008 – Gouldian finch coordinator employed
• September 2008 – Gouldian finch co-ordinator to instigate initial Gouldian finch survey work at key waterholes throughout region to gather baseline population numbers.
• November 2008 – commence analysis of population data
• December 2008 – reporting and preliminary update to project sponsors and stakeholders
• February 2009 – all fire management planning with region has been undertaken and agreed to
• April 2009 – implementation of fire management regime
• June 2009 – fire management plan has been implemented throughout region; project update to sponsors and stakeholders
• September 2009 – Gouldian finch waterhole counts
• November 2009 – analysis of data and satellite fire maps
• December 2009 – reporting and project update to sponsors and stakeholders; assessment of progress to date in relation to
the next stage of the project beyond June 2011
• April 2010 – implementation of fire management regime
• June 2010 – project update to sponsors and stakeholders; planning for project sustainability beyond June 2011
• September 2010 – Gouldian finch waterhole counts
• November 2010 – analysis of population data and satellite fire maps
• December 2010 – reporting and project update to sponsors and stakeholders
• April 2011 – final implementation of fire management regime
• June 2011 – final report to all stakeholders, including production of a DVD, key statistics and photographs; final project update
to sponsors and stakeholders
A communications plan will be developed separately, bearing in mind
David Myers
STGF Communications
8th July, 2008