Blue Heart, Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Fast Facts
- Location: Maroochy River Catchment, Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Focus Area: 5000 hectares, including 1200 hectares of publicly owned and managed land
- Carbon farming methods: Tidal restoration of blue carbon ecosystems
- Project collaborators: Queensland Government, Sunshine Coast Council, Unitywater, Kabi Kabi Peoples Aboriginal Corporation.
- Project period: Sub-projects underway, with project planning up to 2100
The Blue Heart project is a collaborative partnership between the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation, Sunshine Coast Council, , Unitywater, and the Traditional Owners represented by the Kabi Kabi Peoples Aboriginal Corporation
The Blue Heart region on the Sunshine Coast spans more than 5,000 hectares within the Maroochy River catchment. The Blue Heart is a critical flood storage area, contains important environmental features, is culturally significant to the Kabi Kabi Peoples and is used by the community for residential, agricultural and recreational purposes.
The Blue Heart project aims to ensure the sustainable and adaptive management of the floodplain as it experiences the future challenges of increased rainfall, flooding and permanent sea level rise. The Blue Heart partners are working together to:
- protect the most critical areas of the floodplain;
- facilitate the establishment of wetland and floodplain ecosystems on lands subject to permanent flooding and sea level rise;
- improve water quality in the Maroochy River;
- investigate and support new uses for the surrounding rural and agricultural lands, including economic opportunities for landholders;
- support the aspirations of the Kabi Kabi Peoples as the Traditional Owners; and
- provide community and recreational opportunities.
Blue carbon
A key project in the Blue Heart is a pilot blue carbon project using the Tidal restoration of blue carbon ecosystems carbon method. This is the first blue carbon farming project to be registered under the Australian Carbon Credit Unit Scheme.
Blue carbon is the carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems such as mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrasses. These ecosystems sequester and store large quantities of blue carbon in both the plants and the sediment below.
The project will demonstrate the implementation of a blue carbon project and the types of benefits that can be generated over and above carbon sequestration, such as improved water quality, the creation of wildlife habitat, and cultural and recreational opportunities. The blue carbon project will also provide an opportunity to investigate the potential economic opportunities for Blue Heart landholders through blue carbon farming.
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