Late last year CAFNEC hosted the 2016 Environment FNQ Roundtable on the 18, 19 and 20 November 2016.
CAFNEC has for a number of years held the Environment FNQ Roundtable to bring together conservation groups that advocate for environmental protection of our unique, tropical Far North Queensland (FNQ) environment. After a short hiatus we were extremely pleased to reinvigorate this event in 2016 and look forward growing the event in coming years.
In 2016, to deliver the Roundtable in an all-new 3-day format, CAFNEC partnered with: Cape York NRM, Terrain NRM, Northern Gulf Resource Management Group, Wet Tropics Management Authority, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, TropEco JCU and the Environmental Defenders Office of NQ. The event was held on Yirrganydji country at the Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Smithfield.
About the event
The purpose of the event is to provide an opportunity to:
• Maintain and strengthen conservation sector networks within the FNQ region;
• Facilitate knowledge and resource sharing within the region;
• Take the time to focus on the broader regional perspective;
• Identify shared challenges and opportunities, and potential areas for collaboration; and
• Deliver capacity building workshops and identify future training needs and opportunities.
Read the 2016 final report here: FNQ Roundtable FINAL REPORT
Event Summary 2016
DAY ONE – Friday, 18 Nov 2016
Presentations and workshops were held by Terrain NRM, Cape York NRM, Northern Gulf RMG, WTMA, and GBRMPA and, in the evening, an informal social networking dinner was hosted at Cafe Brasil in Stratford.
DAY TWO – 19 Nov 2016
World-cafe style workshop for groups interested in environmental advocacy to identify regional issues, gaps and ways to facilitate coordinated action. In the morning a world-café style workshop was held consisting of six broad topics of interest. Attendees moved between the topics over four time slots, thereby contributing to four out of the six discussion topics of most interest to them. The six broad areas were: biodiversity (including threatened and invasive species); water; planning and land use; sustainability and climate change; marine issues; world heritage. Towards the end of the day, participants came back together to identify common themes that have arisen during the workshop and discussed ways to facilitate coordinated action over the coming year.
DAY THREE – 20 Nov 2016
On the Sunday, we held capacity building workshops for anyone interested, or working, in conservation in Far North Queensland. Training needs and opportunities for the coming year were also identified. Workshops included: Accessing information by Tania Heber (EDO NQ) Digital skills with Margaret Pestorius (Friends of the Earth FNQ) Graphic design for novices by Roz Walden (CAFNEC) and Community organising by Gemma Plesman (The Wilderness Society).
Read the 2016 final report here: FNQ Roundtable FINAL REPORT
Interested in attending future Environment FNQ Roundtables but have not heard about it before?
Please email community[at]cafnec.org.au
