Broome North expansion: threat to local environment including internationally significant wetlands.
A proposal by the WA State Government to clear more than 600 hectares of woodland in Broome to accommodate 12,000 people (a virtual doubling of the town’s population) poses significant threats to the environment.
EK has major concerns about the impacts of clearing on plants and animals, including Northern Brushtail Possums and Agile Wallabies. We are also concerned about the carbon footprint of the proposal, proliferation of weeds and increased pressure on groundwater.
Broome North is expected to have a damaging impact on Roebuck Bay, given the amount of sediment and nutrients that could be washed into Dampier Creek. These could cause dangerous algal blooms, which would choke seagrass beds and harm the marine creatures that depend on them.
Roebuck Bay is listed under the Ramsar Convention as an internationally significant wetland and the Roebuck Bay mudflats are a Threatened Ecological Community under WA State Environmental Law.
Environs Kimberley has provided a submission to the State Government and the Shire of Broome outlining our concerns about the proposal Download:
Broome North EK Submission December 2009
Attachment 1 - Broome Drainage
Attachment 2 - Januburu
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