Environment

Environment Vision & Policy
Townsville Airport ’s environmental vision is:

"To become a benchmark for consistent, high level airport environmental performance."

Townsville Airport’s policy statement is to ensure that Townsville Airport's activities at Townsville International Airport are carried out in an environmentally responsible manner in compliance with applicable legislation and standards, accepted management practices, with sensitivity to community and public concerns and striving for continual improvement in environmental performance. The policy is outlined below.

Environmental Policy
Townsville Airport will develop and operate the airport in an environmentally responsible and ecologically sustainable manner and address community standards and needs. Townsville Airport and its staff will

• Develop, augment and operate its facilities and manage its operations to achieve compliance with statutory environmental requirements.
• Lead and educate its customers in minimizing waste generation and environmental impact.
• Make this policy known to the community.
• Consult with its customers and the community to ensure community issues are taken into account and to ensure Townsville Airport's responsibilities and objectives are known.
• Actively participate in regional planning and environmental improvement actions to ensure Airport activities are considered.
• Ensure all Townsville Airport staff are aware of this policy, the requirement of the Environmental Management System (EMS), are aware of their responsibilities and are properly trained to discharge their responsibilities in accordance with EMS requirements and are resourced to operate Townsville Airport sytems to meet environmental objectives.
• Regularly review its environmental objectives and targets to improve environmental performance.
• Review the attainment of policy objectives annually and continuously develop the EMS to reflect changing regulatory conditions, developments in Airport operations and changes in EMS requirements as defined by standards and regulatory agencies.
• Townsville Airport will develop and maintain an effective EMS and associated documentation designed in accordance with Australasian and International Standard AS/NZS/ISO 14001 to ensure that policy and regulatory requirements are satisfied and that a consistent high level of environmental performance is maintained.

Townsville Airport Environment Strategy
This is the third Townsville Airport Environment Strategy (AES) produced since 1999. It identifies how Townsville Airport Pty Ltd (TAPL) will meet its environmental obligations under the Airports Act 1996 (the Act) and describes the environmental responsibilities of Airport operators.

Townsville Airport is a joint user airport, comprised of three areas; the Military Area, Civil Area and Joint User Area. The Department of Defence controls the Joint User Area and the Military Area, which is operated as a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base. TAPL obtained a lease over the Civil Area in 1998 for 50 years with an option for a further 49 years. This AES has been developed for the area leased by TAPL

Click here for AES

Bird & Wildlife Management Plan The purpose of the Townsville International Airport Bird and Wildlife Management Plan (the Plan) is to minimise the risk of bird and wildlife strike to aircraft operating at Townsville International Airport.

Townsville Airport is a Joint User Airport and operates under a Joint User Deed between the Department of Defence (DoD) and Townsville Airport. Under the Deed, Townsville Airport are responsible for bird and wildlife management on the joint user areas and as such has compiled this Plan for the use of both military and civil operators at Townsville Airport.

During the past decade, the rate of bird and wildlife strikes at Townsville Airport has ranked significantly with other Australian airports. The most significant attraction to birds is the wetland habitat at and surrounding the airport to the west and north. The airport also lies in foraging sites. Townsville Airport and its surrounds supply birds with:

• Food and water sources
• Roost and nest sites
• Thermals created by the heat of the runway

This Plan outlines the numerous defence and civil aircraft safety regulations as well as the environmental legislation that applies to bird and wildlife management.

The implementation of this Plan is based on the following four facets of bird and wildlife management:

• Deterrence
• Detection
• Harassment
• Communication

A Townsville Airport Bird Management Committee has been formed to provide a forum for this Plan and the tasks and responsibilities of its members are outlined.

The Plan also details the numerous strategies employed to manage bird and wildlife hazards on airport. These include research and trials undertaken by Townsville Airport and DoD to better understand what attracts birds to the airport, improve ways to harass them from the airport, and attempt to find a solution to deter them from the airport.

There is no one single management strategy to eliminate the bird and wildlife strike hazard at Townsville Airport. However, using the framework set out in this Plan and with the assistance of all stakeholders we can be sure of providing a comprehensive methodology for the long term reduction of bird and wildlife hazards on the airfield.