Terrain NRM was the voice of the Wet Tropics at the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai.  Board Chair Barry Hunter spoke at three Indigenous-focused events and both he and Terrain’s Biodiversity and Climate Leader Sarah Hoyal were part of the Australia pavilion and the World Climate Action Summit, while also observing the formal negotiations.

We asked Barry and Sarah what they learned, and shared, as delegates during a trip made possible through the Australian Government’s Climate Conference Travel Support Program.

Sarah says: “Attending COP28 was an amazing opportunity to have a North Queensland voice at the conference, to share our knowledge and to make connections with organisations from around the world. Watching so many countries come to an agreement takes patience and a head for detail, but outside of the slow pace of political action, I was really heartened by the amount of passionate people representing alliances and partnerships from all over the world which are taking action to address the climate crisis from multiple angles and geographies. This really gave me hope.”

What, for you, is the most important outcome of COP28?

Barry: “The start of a global push to phase out fossil fuels. (This was the first COP to actively call on countries to “transition away” from fossil fuels, as well as “phase down” the use of coal.) There were also major announcements about Indigenous people, with the launch of the Padong Indigenous People’s Initiative, recognising and supporting Indigenous peoples’ contributions to the conservation of biodiversity and climate solutions through Indigenous knowledge systems. This initiative will also help Indigenous peoples to meet their obligations on biodiversity 30×30 targets (the global commitment to protecting 30 per cent of land and water by 2030).”

Sarah: “A recognition that phasing out fossil fuels plays a role in addressing climate change. Personally, it was a unique opportunity to participate in international dialogue that I’ve been watching from afar for most of my life.”

What are some takeaways that will influence your work going forward?

Barry:  We made great contacts and came away with a stronger understanding of the role we can play on a global scale through actions we take locally and by being the change that we need to see.

Sarah: We made a number of valuable contacts and gained a greater knowledge of networks and alliances that I hope will lead to more investment of resources into the Wet Tropics region. I’m also hoping it will lead to a greater understanding of how non-government investment can be sought to address regional challenges while ensuring benefits stay in our local communities.

What came out of it that might help this region?

Barry: The crucial role that NRM regions like the Wet Tropics play in climate change is not fully recognised and understood. I’m hoping being at the conference changes that.

Sarah: Raising awareness of this region’s exposure to climate impacts and its biological importance and world heritage status will hopefully help to bring in more resources to support regional resilience.

Was there anything you wish had been different?

Barry: The youth focus was great, and a great contingent of young Australians attended. I think their voices should have been more elevated.

Sarah: I found the location challenging – Dubai is a city in a desert built on a fossil fuel economy. There was no connection to nature. However, this conversely meant that the fossil fuel issue was central to discussions. I would like to see much more tangible mitigation action from these conferences. Although we must undertake significant adaptation action such as restoration and repair, the majority of the task is to reduce our emissions.

How do you track down a bowerbird when it lives in dense rainforest and mimics the sounds of other native birds?

Dominic Chaplin will tell you it’s no easy task. But he and other ‘birders’ have been at it for over 10 years regardless and they’ve mapped more than 700 bowers – which will be used to measure future climate change in the Wet Tropics.

Bowerbirds as climate change indicators

Golden bowerbirds and tooth-billed bowerbirds are known to return to the same bowers – which are built to attract mates – for years and even decades. So when a Malanda local noticed that some bowers at relatively low elevation levels were no longer being used, it prompted Birdlife Northern Queensland volunteers to begin a follow-up monitoring program. Luckily, more bowers were located close by.

“Golden bowerbirds only live in the Wet Tropics and they breed in upland rainforest, 95 per cent of them between 800 and 1600m,’’ Dominic says. “They’ve been ranked No.2 in a list of species considered the most vulnerable to future climate change in the Wet Tropics because, unlike many other species, they won’t be able to move to higher ground to avoid higher temperatures.”

Dominic and others have been locating and monitoring bowers from Mt Amos near Cooktown to Mt Finnigan south of Townsville, with sites including the top of Queensland’s highest mountain, Mt Bartle Frere.

“About three years ago I was sitting at the top and I heard a little rattling call,’’ he says of the hike up Bartle Frere. “After making my way through the bush, I found a bower and saw a golden bowerbird. This bird would be the last one standing if the full predictions on climate change were to become a reality.”

The surveys have also led Dominic up dense forested slopes including on Mt Pieter Botte in the Daintree, Devil’s Thumb at Mossman, Mt Lewis, Edith and Baldy on the Atherton Tableland and Mt Elliot south of Townsville. He’s pretty much traversed the length and breadth of the Wet Tropics bioregion – with secateurs, binoculars and a high tolerance for mosquitoes, leeches and wait-a-while vine!

Mapping bowers across the Wet Tropics

Dominic and fellow citizen scientists have mapped the bowers of 118 golden bowerbird and 650 tooth-billed bowerbirds. The data is being used in an upcoming revision of the Action Plan for Australian Birds.

He says the bower mapping serves as baseline data. “Both species are still present across all of the known range. The next step is to try and count the numbers within this range. Climate change is happening slowly and steadily. A declining population might vanish from the northern or southern extremes of its range.