ESD design guide for Australian Government buildings: Edition 2

esd opportunities in building
OPPORTUNITY 10
land use and ecology
The DPI Queenscliff
research facility in
Victoria minimised its
impact by providing
for regeneration,
provision of habitat
and minimal site
disturbance.
This involved the
remediation of the site
and the construction
of wetlands.
Figure 43. Queenscliff Ecocentre, DPI Victoria.
Figure 44. Native grasses use in the
Reservoir Civic Centre, Darebin City Council.
Online Resources
Land use and Ecology
Department of the Environment and
Heritage
www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/toolbox
Australian Museum
www.austmus.gov.au/biodiversity/
IMPORTANCE OF LAND USE AND
PROTECTION OF ECOLOGY
The main issues with the choice of
land to be used for a building are to
consider if it is an efficient use of the
land and if it protects biodiversity.
Biodiversity is the richness of animals
and plants that live in an area. The
value of considering biodiversity is
that over 40% of nationally listed
threatened ecological communities 48 ,
and more than 50% of threatened
species, occur in urban fringe areas. 49
The impact of the loss of biodiversity
ranges from not having that animal
or plant present, to systemic chain
reactions that go beyond the scope
of this Guide to explain. Preserving
and enhancing levels of biodiversity is
one of the three key objectives of the
NSESD.
OPTIMISING LAND USE AND
PROTECTION OF ECOLOGY
The main issue for Australian
Government buildings is in the land
chosen for a new building and in the
materials chosen for that building.
The main way of minimising this
impact is by choosing a site which
is a ‘brownfield’ site, that has had
buildings or other industrial uses
on it before. This is opposed to a
‘greenfield’ site, which is land that has
previously been undeveloped – park,
farm, bush, etc. The second way to
ensure that the ecological value of
the site is maintained or increased is
to choose native landscaping and to
remediate land if possible.
Green Star and NABERS criteria can
be used for minimising these impacts:
• NABERS looks at the percentage
of native plant cover and the
complexity of that cover.
• Green Star - Office Design looks
at whether the site is a brownfield
or contaminated site, and whether
the ecological value of the site has
been increased by the use of native
plants, wetlands, etc. The Green
Star - Office Design technical
manual is a good resource for this
area of decision making. 50
48 Newman et al. (2001) Human Settlements Theme,
Australia State of the Environment Report 2001. An
independent report to the Commonwealth Minister
for Environment, Department of Environment,
Sport and Territories. CSIRO Publishing,
Melbourne.
49 Yencken D. and Wilkinson D. (2000) Resetting
the Compass: Australia’s Journey Towards
Sustainability. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
50 Green Star - Office Design v2 Land use and
Ecology (Eco) set of credits www.gbcaus.org
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ESD DESIGN GUIDE FOR AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS