How careful planning can preserve havens for turtles and tourism on Queensland’s coast

Turtles are fascinating creatures. They’ve been around for more than 200 million years, which makes them older than the dinosaurs, can live for more than 50 years and can travel for thousands of kilometres through the ocean.

Why are areas like Mon Repos so important for loggerhead turtles?

Six different species of threatened marine turtles nest on Queensland beaches. For example, Mon Repos is a haven for endangered loggerhead turtles, with 50% of nesting loggerheads in the South Pacific Ocean coming to lay their eggs there.

From November to February, female loggerhead turtles haul themselves up the beach at Mon Repos to lay 100-120 eggs the size of table tennis balls, which then hatch between January and April. The newly hatched turtles head out to the deep ocean, and can journey as far as South America, feeding and growing, before making their way back to the Coral Sea about 16 years later. Even if they’ve journeyed across the world, the female turtles will find their way back to the beach where they hatched when it’s their time to nest.

After the creation of the Queensland Turtle Conservation Program and Mon Repos Turtle Centre, loggerhead turtle numbers have increased. The protected area is critical in preserving the turtle species, with tourism facilities feeding money back into conservation efforts. The centre and surrounding conservation park play a huge role in worldwide turtle conservation efforts and are a massive boost to the economy, with tourism being the second largest industry in the Bundaberg region.

How planning provisions protect the turtles

When baby turtles hatch, they look for the glow of the horizon line to guide them down the beach into the ocean. But nearby buildings and urban centres can release light that confuses the turtles and sending them inland away from the ocean.

The current guidelines include recommendations for the height of buildings close to the beaches where the turtles nest, along with information about how lights can be fitted and used so they don’t shine or reflect onto the beach.

Planning for tourism, lifestyle and turtles

When you think about planning, you might think about the paperwork needed when someone wants to build a house extension or a new shopping centre. But planning isn’t just about approving buildings, in fact, planning often involves placing limits around development or changing plans to account for a variety of community and environmental needs.

Planning provisions take into account a lot of factors, including the economic and environmental impacts of new and changed buildings and development, and look at the implications of new developments far into the future.

It is important that there is careful balance between setting restrictions that protect wildlife like turtles, while still promoting tourism and growth. We know that protecting the turtles’ welfare is essential not just from a conservation standpoint, but for supporting the tourism industry, which plays a major part in the local economies by providing jobs and income for residents. If the turtles stopped coming to Queensland to lay their eggs, the tourism industry would be negatively impacted too .

Planning affects all aspects of your life and the welfare of your broader community and environment. If you’re ever lucky enough to see the turtles at places like Mon Repos, think of the planning in place that allows us to coexist with such special creatures for this moment in their long history.