ABC Gold Coast: Dominic Cansdale
)The Gold Coast faces some hefty environmental challenges.
The city's urban sprawl may well reach its limit within several years, yet the population is tipped to grow by another 400,000 people over the next two decades.
According to the council's draft Coastal Adaptation Plan, rising sea levels could have an impact on 36 kilometres of water and sewage pipes, 33 kilometres of roads — and 746 hectares of conservation land.
The outlook appears bleak. So, is the Gold Coast's environmental movement destined for failure?
"I don't think it's too late," campaign coordinator for the Gecko Environment Council Lois Levy said.
New battles, same issues
Ms Levy co-founded Gecko more than 30 years ago but said the challenges facing conservationists today were "pretty much the same, with the exception of climate change".
Their priorities were still "protection of plant and animal species, looking after public open space [and] trying to get sustainability happening in our cities".
ABC News: Dea Clark
)Although Ms Levy said "we've had some big wins", issues such as the proposed cruise ship terminal at The Spit and a cableway in Springbrook National Park "keep coming back to haunt us".
"It would appear that our city leaders don't have a lot of imagination."
ABC Gold Coast: Dominic Cansdale
)But one of Ms Levy's biggest worries remains the long-term conservation of green spaces.
A complicated relationship
The relationship between some conservationists and the Gold Coast City Council has been tense at times.
Ms Levy says the council "has not bought a single piece of conservation or recreational land since 2012".
"But they've continued to collect the Open Space Preservation Levy," she said.
ABC Gold Coast: Dominic Cansdale
)The council raised $11.7 million through the Open Space Preservation Levy in 2019-20, which equals $43 per ratepayer.
A council spokesman said some greenspace had been created though other means, including on private property, but that prior to 2012, $40 million was spent on purchasing 4,300 hectares of conservation land — a third of the city's greenspace.
But climate change complicates matters further, with the council's draft Coastal Adaptation Plan projecting a 0.3-metre sea-level rise by 2050.
ABC Gold Coast: Dominic Cansdale
)While that could affect 746 hectares of conservation land, Ms Levy said "it's difficult to get people to think 20 to 30 years in advance".
"It certainly pays lip service to the fact that we need to do something to be a more resilient city," she said.
The value of suburban bushland
Wedged between housing estates and a quarry, Nerang National Park conserves around 1,600 hectares of diverse flora and fauna, including powerful owls, gliders and even a golden swamp wallaby known as Mani.
Jessica Lovegrove-Walsh started Friends of Nerang National Park with the immediate goal of removing weeds and encouraging citizen science.
Supplied: Friends of Nerang National Park
)"It's surprisingly biodiverse and most people don't understand," Ms Lovegrove-Walsh said.
As of August 2020, 8.26 per cent of Queensland — about 14.2 million hectares — had been protected, with the State Government pursuing a 17 per cent target.
ABC Gold Coast: Dominic Cansdale
)The government has committed $28 million towards the acquisition of private land for conservation.
Ms Lovegrove-Walsh said Nerang National Park could be expanded further north towards Maudsland but that public apathy remained a problem.
"They don't really appreciate having this eucalyptus forest and the animals and the plants that come along with it, the smell of the eucalyptus trees after the rain."
'Bloody-minded' conservation
In the face of environmental apathy that has resulted in rubbish, lawn clippings and even cars being dumped in Nerang National Park, Ms Lovegrove-Walsh said the Gold Coast needed spaces to "unwind, relax and appreciate nature".
As for the environmental challenges facing the Gold Coast, Lois Levy said "awareness is rising but it's really up to all of us to keep it right up front".
"You have to be pretty dedicated, should I say bloody minded, and persistent," she said.
"The whole of the Gold Coast is built on the premise that the Gold Coast is a beautiful natural area — we have to learn to protect it."
