Mining was once the major source of employment on the island but wholesale mining ceased in 1987. The Mining Lease between the Commonwealth of Australia and Phosphate Resources Limited, signed in 1997, came into effect in February 1998 for a period of twenty-one years. The lease covers the re-mining of old stockpiles and in-situ mining of previously mined areas. The lease includes areas surrounded by, but not within, the National Park. The mining schedule was suspended in June 1999 pending completion of negotiations for the Asia Pacific Space Centre. The mining schedule was reinstated in principle in July 2002 and is currently being renegotiated as part of a limited review of the Mining Lease.
Phosphate mining in areas of primary rainforest that are either current or potential nesting sites (see ‘Habitat critical to survival’ above), or forested areas adjacent to nesting sites (including areas up to 300m downwind of nesting sites) is incompatible with the recovery of Abbott’s Booby as clearing of such rainforest reduces the available nesting habitat. In addition mining impacts on nesting (particularly through decreasing nesting success) at sites that are directly adjacent to lease areas. Recovery of Abbott’s booby is not only incompatible with phosphate mining in these locations, but also in those areas:
immediately adjacent to previously unmined primary rainforest that is a current or potential nesting site; and
previously mined areas in the process of or flagged for forest regeneration specifically for the purpose of Abbott’s Booby habitat restoration.
It is recommended that previous conditions, and schedule priorities identified in Table 2 of the Christmas Island National Park Management Plan (Environment Australia 2002), be reinstated but that greater consideration be given to retaining stockpiles where they support significant regrowth, which could limit the lease further.
Christmas Island community
Actions associated with recovery of Abbott’s booby are unlikely to impact negatively on the resident human community on Christmas Island and may provide a source of interest, pride and involvement in nature conservation matters. The Parks Australia North Christmas Island Education and Interpretation Plan is a useful framework by which to promote community ownership, support and involvement. Interested members of the community (including the school) could be involved in implementing the plan by assisting in monitoring and forest rehabilitation programs.
The small community of Christmas Island is associated closely with all industry and development activities as a source of employment, income, and social interaction. Active consultation and education during the development and implementation of all Recovery Plans is essential to ensure community views are considered. Under the EPBC Act a 3 month public consultation process is required before plans are adopted or made. It is important to note that Christmas Island has a strong multicultural community and consideration of more proactive methods of consultation, such as meetings with community groups, should be given.
Part Threats - National Recovery Plan for the Abbott’s Booby (Papasula abbotti) - Threats | Zoe
Immigration Reception and Processing Centre
Several actions associated with recovery of Abbott’s booby, will have implications for the establishment and servicing of the Immigration Reception and Processing Centre on Christmas Island. Collaboration and consultation in relation to the construction and operation of the Centre is essential to full implementation of this recovery plan, including the rehabilitation and monitoring aspects.
Asia Pacific Space Centre
In its currently conceived form the Asia Pacific Space Centre is unlikely to be limited by actions to recover Abbott’s booby. The actions contained in this recovery plan are unlikely to impact negatively on activities associated with APSC, a potential source of employment and improved transport facilities on the island.
Other development
The EPBC Act already provides a regulatory framework for the protection of rainforest on Christmas Island, and one element of this is assessing potential impacts of proposed developments on listed threatened species. These provisions have the potential to impact on economic activity.
This arises from the listing of the species under the EPBC Act invoking a range of protective provisions and offences where a population is to be affected. The magnitude of any potential constraint is unknown, as it will vary with the location, size and extent of the activity, proposed or current. However, the recovery plan will aid in determining what could be significant impacts on the Abbott’s Booby (through defining and mapping habitat critical to survival, monitoring status and distribution, assessing success of rehabilitation, and developing a management plan outside the national park).
Benefits to other species
Minimising threats to Abbott’s booby may benefit other species that share the same breeding and/or foraging habitat. Other seabird species which breed on Christmas Island, such as the Red-footed Booby Sula sula, Brown Booby S. leucogaster, White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus, Great Frigatebird Fregata minor and endangered Christmas Frigatebird F. andrewsi are affected by some of the factors that threaten Abbott’s booby. Similarly, rainforest-dwelling land-birds, mammals and reptiles, such as the endangered Christmas Island Hawk-Owl Ninox natalis, Murray’s Pipistrelle Pipistrellus murrayi and Christmas Island Gecko Lepidodactylus listeri, will benefit from actions that restore and protect the rainforest. Implementation of this Recovery Plan is unlikely to have any negative impacts on other native species or ecological communities.
Threats
Relevant issues identified for each threat are listed below (based on an analysis of all available information on threats to Abbott’s booby).
Modification and destruction of breeding habitat
Clearance of Abbott’s booby breeding habitat has essentially ceased, and almost all habitat is within Christmas Island National Park.
Wind turbulence is exacerbated downwind from clearings, with negative impacts on breeding boobies and their habitat.
Rehabilitation of old mining fields has proceeded slowly and there are still a number of sites adjacent to critical breeding sites requiring urgent attention.
One of these mining fields, ranked fourth highest in order of priority for rehabilitation, has been taken over as the site of the Immigration Reception and Processing Centre.
Exotic weeds are in many old mine sites and may pose a risk to adjacent rainforest and the success of rehabilitation. Implementing the Weed Management Strategy will address this.
It is not known how many years it will take before rehabilitation will have an effect on the breeding success of Abbott’s booby.
It is not known whether current rehabilitation practices are benefiting Abbott’s booby, and which procedures are the most effective; feedback to effect best practice rehabilitation at each site is essential (Christmas Island National Park Management Plan Prescription 7.2h).
Development of a wind turbulence model would provide guidance for rehabilitation of mining fields and may provide a means to assess the effectiveness of mining field rehabilitation.
Rapid implementation of the CIRRP focussing on the priority sites detailed in Table 2 of the Christmas Island National Park Management Plan (Environment Australia 2002) will provide significant long-term benefits to the recovery of Abbott’s booby.
Under the new administrative arrangements for the phosphate conservation levy, it is important that the legislative requirements of the lease are met and priorities for the CIRRP remain focussed on Abbott’s booby.
The mining schedule is currently being renegotiated. PAN should be involved in these discussions and the new agreement should not compromise the ability of the CIRRP revegetation schedule to meet the legislative requirements of the Abbott’s Booby Recovery Plan or Christmas Island National Park Management Plan (Prescription 7.3g).
Yellow crazy ant
Potentially, Yellow crazy ants are the most serious threat facing Abbott’s booby.
Whilst a direct impact on breeding adults, eggs or nestlings has not been detected, the effect on ecosystem function is likely to lead to degradation and loss of essential breeding habitat.
It is essential the control program for crazy ants be continued as a high priority action, with the proviso that avoidance of accidental poisoning of Abbott’s booby, and minimisation of disturbance by bait distribution methods, receive the highest priority within that action.
Immigration Reception and Processing Centre
The siting of the Immigration Reception and Processing Centre is adjacent to prime Abbott’s booby habitat and in an area with a high priority for rehabilitation.
Construction of the facility and road upgrade may remove nesting trees and add to the wind turbulence, caused by man-made forest openings, that causes nesting failure, although most of the buildings will be single story, which should help to minimise wind turbulence.
Every effort should be made to identify and avoid disturbance of Abbott’s Booby nests sites during any future road widening and to minimise road width, although it is noted that the IRPC design does not impact outside the existing road reserve.
At the facility itself, every effort should be made to carry out construction as far as possible from local nest sites, to minimise tree removal, and to lessen wind turbulence at nest sites downwind by careful design and placement of the centre’s structures. Construction contracts for the IRPC include the mandatory development of a site specific Environmental Management Plan and the briefing of all construction personnel prior to their commencement on site.
Wherever possible rehabilitation of the unused parts of the co-opted mining fields should proceed. The Department of Finance and Administration has already undertaken to rehabilitate the area surrounding the Centre in accordance with best practice and in consultation with Parks Australia.
Asia Pacific Space Centre
Abbott’s booby nesting sites are located at least 5 km from the APSC site on South Point. As a result, impacts from launching satellites are less likely than for species which nest on South Point.
The impact of satellite launches and associated noise levels are untested for Abbott’s booby.
There may be differential affects of launches dependent on their timing (time of day, stage of breeding).
Monitoring the impact of satellite launches to detect both short and long-term effects on Abbott’s booby is essential. To assist in interpreting any effects, collection of data prior to launches will be necessary to serve as a baseline against which to assess long-term impacts.
If operation of the APSC does impact on vital Abbott’s booby population recovery rates, launches should be halted until the possible causes are understood.
Inadequate knowledge of population trends
Estimating the size of the Abbott’s booby population is extremely difficult and has been resource intensive when attempted.
Annual monitoring programs were discontinued in 1994 and have not been reinstated.
A revised monitoring program should be designed and implemented as a high priority to guide future management. This should focus on measuring population change rather than total size. Parameters that should be measured include the number of breeding pairs at sites both affected and not-affected by mining, and the breeding success or otherwise of pairs at these sites.
Sampling design for the revised monitoring program should allow for assessment of: overall population trends and breeding success; the impact of wind turbulence and success of rehabilitation efforts; and the impact of IRPC and APSC.
Statistical advice should be sought in the development of monitoring methodology.
Historical Abbott’s booby monitoring data should be upgraded and keyed for future reference.
Global warming and other impacts
Loss of climatic habitat, including an increase in sea surface temperature, caused by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases is a potential threat to Abbott’s booby and many other species. Management requires both domestic and international action, and is beyond this recovery plan.
Abbott’s booby are threatened by stochastic events such as storms and cyclones, which are atypical of the region, but there is no practical or feasible way to manage this process.
Abbott’s booby may face threats in the marine environment, including those associated with global warming, but poor knowledge of the species’ pelagic distribution limits identification of these threats and development of management responses.
Interaction between Abbott’s boobies and longline fishing gear has not been recorded. However, the potential for this to occur should not be discounted without observer studies of the development of any new fisheries in the waters adjacent to Christmas Island.
Areas under threat
The threats identified as directly impacting on Abbott’s booby (modification of breeding habitat, crazy ants) affect the Christmas Island National Park, which is described in Environment Australia (2002). The impact of global warming and other threats in the marine environment will affect the foraging areas of Abbott’s booby, which have yet to be identified.
Populations under threat
The Christmas Island population is the only extant population.
Objectives, performance criteria and actions
Overall objective and criteria
In the longer time frame it may be possible to downlist this species, but by definition, it will at best be classed as Vulnerable (Criterion D - a population that is characterised by an acute restriction in its area of occupancy, typically less than 100 km2 or in less than 5 locations). Human-induced threats, particularly the destruction of breeding habitat, have long been implicated in the reduction of Abbott’s booby to one breeding population, which has also been reduced in numbers. Alleviation of these threats is the only means to secure the recovery of the species. This concept is reflected in the overall objective.
Overall Objective and Criteria
To minimise or eliminate human induced threats to long-term stability or increase in the Abbott’s booby population in the wild
Attainment of this objective will be achieved when:
- all human induced threats to the Abbott’s booby population have been minimised or eliminated; and
- the breeding population ceases to decline, and stabilises or exhibits a sustained increase in size
Specific recovery objectives and criteria
The specific objectives of this recovery plan are achievable within the next five years, and are ordered according to subject matter more than importance:
(1) Protect, restore and enhance the breeding habitat
(2) Manage any threats posed by the crazy ant to ecosystem function in areas of infestation
(3) Ensure activities associated with construction and operation of Immigration Reception and Processing Centre do not impede recovery
(4) Ensure activities associated with the construction and operation of the Asia Pacific Space Centre do not impede recovery
(5) Identify feeding habitat of adults and juveniles and develop appropriate management responses to any threats identified
(6) Establish a population monitoring program
(7) Develop a wind turbulence model to guide and evaluate the CIRRP in restoration of breeding habitat
(8) Monitor and assess the likely impact of developing fisheries in the Christmas Island
(9) Assess and revise the Recovery Plan as necessary
Population estimates indicate that the population may be stable and demographic models indicate that recruitment may be adequate to maintain the current population. These estimates are in need of refinement and confirmation. Nevertheless, on present evidence, maximisation of the area and quality of breeding habitat is the most pressing issue for the conservation of Abbott’s booby. Maintenance of the integrity of existing habitat and restoration of forest structure to major mined areas within the National Park are vital to the recovery of the species.
The actions listed below are grouped according to subject matter and not according to order of significance or impact.