Appendix 2 - Vegetation Communities and Regional Ecosystems

1. Introduction
Three (3)d Environmental have been commissioned by the Torres Strait Regional Authority
(TSRA) Land and Sea Management Unit to undertake a vegetation community and regional
ecosystem assessment of the Torres Strait and Kaurareg Islands. The study is one of the major
regional scale initiatives of the ‘Land and Sea Management Strategy for Torres Strait’ developed
in late 2005 to co-ordinate the delivery of funding and programs through the National Heritage
Trust (NHT) program. The major objectives of the Strategy are biodiversity conservation,
sustainable use of natural resources, and community capacity building and institutional change
(Torres Strait NRM Reference Group 2005). The study is third in a series of regional ecosystem
assessments funded through this initiative. The first of these assessments, undertaken by
Greening Australia (Freebody 2002) identified areas within the Torres Strait with outstanding
biodiversity values. Natural Resource Assessments (2003) completed vegetation survey on two
islands (Mer and Moa) and identified their outstanding conservation values.
As a regional survey, this study presents by far the most comprehensive assessment of vegetation
undertaken in the Torres Strait Islands to date and presents data in a regionally consistent
framework. The information will directly inform priority issues identified in the Strategy, that is;
lack of information on terrestrial biodiversity; ecological and biological processes; and
incomplete vegetation mapping at appropriate scale for use in land use planning. Furthermore,
the information within this study serves to provide baseline data layers to support the
development of Sustainable Land Use Plans on six islands (Saibai, Boigu Dauan, Iama, Masig,
and Erub). The land use plans are a NHT initiative being concurrently delivered by the TSRA
Land and Sea Management Unit.
1.1 Study Area Description
1.1.1 Study Location and Context
The study area encompasses islands extending from the tip of Cape York Peninsula to within five
kilometres (km) of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) coastline and encompasses some 35 000 km 2 of
shallow open seas. Within this area are about one hundred and fifty islands of which 17 are
inhabited and supporting approximately 8 000 indigenous people (about 20% of Australia’s total
Torres Strait Islander population) (Arthur and Morphy 2005). Historically the islands within the
region have been occupied for between 8 000 and 6 000 years with permanent island occupation
occurring after 3 500-3 000 years BP (Rowe 2006). The recognition of the Kaurareg Islands
acknowledges the traditional owners of the southern continental group of islands (the Kaurareg
People). In future reference within this report, the Kaurareg Islands are recognised within the
broader group referred to as the ‘The Torres Strait Islands’. The Islands, with regional context
and island distribution shown in Figure 1, are located within Sub-region 3 (Cape York-Torres
Strait) and the Barrier Reef Island sub-region of the Cape York Peninsula Bioregion. These can
be characterised geographically into five major island groups being:
• Eastern Group – Comprising Mer (Murray), Erub (Darnley), Ugar (Stephen), Dauar and
Waier (Mer Group) and Bramble Cay. These islands are of mostly volcanic in origin
comprising mainly basic volcanic and igneous basement rocks. The latter island is a
coral cay;
• Central Group – Comprising Warraber (Sue), Poruma (Coconut), Masig (Yorke), Sassie
are low sandy islands (often with some basement rock exposure) developed on coral
platforms while Naghir (Mt Ernest) and Iama (Yam) Islands are generally volcanic in
origin;
3d Environmental – Torres Strait Regional Ecosystem Mapping Project – August 2008
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