SHOULD WE CLEAN UP THE DERWENT?
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A Business-for-Purpose enterprise
Legally bound to a triple bottom line of Planet, People & Profit
Australia's international sustainability commitments
This project addresses 10 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
This project addresses all 20 of the Aichi Targets under the Convention on Biological Diversity
Aichi Target icons Copyright BIP/SCBD
THE LEGACY
The Derwent estuary is documented as one of the world's most polluted waterways
POLLUTION
e.g. heavy metals - est 150,000 tonnes
ECOLOGICAL IMPACT
79 Invasive species - e.g. est 30 million Northern Pacific Seastars
SOCIAL IMPACT
No swim zones and fish eating restrictions
Yes, some of the polluter inputs have been reduced, but the remaining legacy is very severe
Don't be fooled by the beautiful view...
THE OPPORTUNITY
Become the showcase for the world on how to remediate a major estuary
There's only one way to work out how to remediate the Derwent estuary and that's to start!
Sediment remediation has been done before so we're not reinventing the wheel. We simply need to work out which solutions and technology fit best and develop a small pilot project to prove it. While we're at it we also aim to clean up all of the catchment inputs too.
This is the world's largest holsitic river remediation project!
AND...we're going to use impact investing from the private sector to fund it.
THE PLAN
Finally...after 200 years...here's the plan
The plan gets updated as the project builds - the latest version is 18 April 2019
#actionnotrhetoric
THE RISK
The heavy metals are constantly being physically remobilised...
and now Climate Change is playing a role
Could the Derwent estuary become a complete dead zone?
Science now shows that Ocean acidification combined with eutrophication (nutrients coming down from the catchment) causes a chemical reaction in the bottom waters of estuaries. This chemical reaction releases heavy metals in a soluble form. These soluble metals are bioavailable and poison plants and animals.
If you don't want to read the whole paper, look for the highlighted bits
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