Transcript SoE 2011 - Marine chapter overview

SoE 2011 – Marine chapter overview
This presentation is one of a series of Australia State of the
Environment 2011 (SoE 2011) presentations given by SoE
Committee members or departmental staff following the
release of the SoE 2011.
This material was developed as part of an oral presentation.
The full report should be referred to for understanding of the
context of this material.
For more information please refer to:
http://www.environment.gov.au
Or contact the SoE team via email:
[email protected]
www.environment.gov.au/soe
New cover page
Presentation – Marine chapter overview
Photo: Aerial view of the Pilbara, by Andrew Griffiths, Lensaloft
www.environment.gov.au/soe
State of the Environment reporting
 A report on the Australian environment must be tabled in
Parliament every five years
 No current regulations regarding scope, content or process
 All reports so far written by independent committees
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Purpose of SoE 2011
Provide relevant and useful information on
environmental issues to the public and decisionmakers...
… to raise awareness and support more informed
environmental management decisions …
… leading to more sustainable use and effective
conservation of environmental assets.
www.environment.gov.au/soe
State of the Environment 2011 Committee
Chair
Tom Hatton (Director, CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country)
Members
Steven Cork (research ecologist and futurist)
Peter Harper (Deputy Australian Statistician)
Rob Joy (School of Global Studies, Social Science & Planning, RMIT)
Peter Kanowski (Fenner School of Environment & Society, ANU)
Richard Mackay (heritage specialist, Godden Mackay Logan)
Neil McKenzie (Chief, CSIRO Land and Water)
Trevor Ward (marine and fisheries ecologist)
Barbara Wienecke – ex officio (Australian Antarctic Division, DSEWPaC)
www.environment.gov.au/soe
What’s new in 2011?
 Improved relevance to decision makers
 More detailed information
 Discussion of the major drivers of change
 Wide range of credible resources used in the analyses
 Report-card style assessments of condition, pressures and
management effectiveness
 Discussions of current resilience and future risks
 Outlooks
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Quality and credibility
 Independence – written by an independent committee with
relevant expertise, tasked with providing ‘accurate, robust and
meaningful environmental reporting and identification of policy
issues, but not for any particular policy position’
 Authors sought best available evidence from credible sources
 Extensive consultation
 Workshops to determine consensus in expert opinion where
evidence low
 Transparency about quality of evidence and level of consensus
 Peer reviewed (47+ reviewers of chapters and supplementary materials)
www.environment.gov.au/soe
SoE 2011 Products
Full report – hard copy and online
 Summary with 17 headlines
 Nine theme chapters – each with key findings
 Report cards
In-Brief – hard copy and online
 50 page summary of full report
Additional online materials




Commissioned reports
Workshop reports
Additional tables and figures
Peer review information
www.environment.gov.au/soe
www.environment.gov.au/soe
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Assessment summaries in the report
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Drivers chapter – context for rest of SoE
 How are a
changing
climate,
population
growth and
economic
growth creating
pressures on
our
environment?
www.environment.gov.au/soe
SoE 2011 Headlines
 17 headlines
in summary
chapter give a
high level
overview of
the big issues
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Key Findings (in theme chapters)
 ‘key findings’
give an
overview of
more specific
conclusions
for each
theme
www.environment.gov.au/soe
What is the general state of the environment?
 Much of Australia is in good condition or improving

Wind erosion has decreased

Some major threats to vegetation cover are lessening

Water consumption has fallen considerably in recent years

Many urban air pollutants are on the decline

Use of public transport is on the rise
 Other parts are in poor condition or deteriorating

The East Antarctic Ice Sheet is losing billions of tonnes of ice a year

Soil acidification and pests and weeds are affecting large areas of the
continent

Our natural and cultural heritage continues to be threatened
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Drivers of environmental change
 The principal drivers of pressures on Australia’s
environment—and its future condition—are climate variability
and change, population growth and economic growth
 It is likely that we are already seeing the effects of climate
change in Australia
 The Australian economy is projected to grow by 2.7% per year
until 2050
 Under the base scenario, Australia’s population of 22.2 million
people in 2010 is projected to grow to 35.9 million by 2050
 We have opportunities to decouple population and economic
growth from pressure on our environment
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Persistent pressures on our environment
 Past decisions and practices have left ongoing impacts on
our environment

Introduction of feral animals and weeds

Land clearing

Pollution

Unsustainable water resource management

Intense harvest of fish stocks

Lack of integrated and supported management
 Our changing climate, and growing population and
economy, are now confronting us with new challenges
www.environment.gov.au/soe
www.environment.gov.au/soe
The marine chapter contents
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Australia’s marine jurisdiction
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Decision Framework for SoE Marine Environment
(bounding the system and decision problem)
SOE 2011
Marine
Environment
Spatial
Boundaries
Institutional and
stakeholder
setting
Natural systems
attributes,
values and
complexities
www.environment.gov.au/soe
State of the Environment marine reporting regions
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Attributes, values, complexities
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Economic importance of the marine environment
 Oil and gas – estimated at around $22 billion in 2007-08
 Fisheries and aquaculture - $2.2 billion in 2008-09, mainstay of
Australia's renewable marine resources
 Recreational and subsistence
fishing – marine tourism and
recreation, including fishing
estimated to contribute
$18.7 billion in 2007-08
(no data for subsistence
fishing)
Photo: Aquaculture sea cages, Jurien Bay, WA – Trevor Ward, Greenward
Consulting
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Key findings
 The overall condition of the Australian marine environment is
good
 Areas near the coast are suffering
 There are significant existing impacts on the oceans caused by
human activities
 An extended continental shelf has been granted
 The ocean climate is changing and we need to prepare to adapt
 Our understanding of major aspects of our unique biodiversity is
limited
 The lack of a nationally integrated approach inhibits effective
marine management
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Assessment structure
SOE 2011
Marine
Environment
Condition and
Trend
Ecosystem
health
Biodiversity
Pressures
Effective
Management
Risks
Remaining
Outlook
Report Card
Report Card
Report Card
summary
Habitats
Species &
populations
Ecological
processes
Physical,
Chemical
processes
Pests,
diseases,
algal blooms
Report Card
Report Card
Report Card
Report Card
Report Card
www.environment.gov.au/soe
State and trends of the national marine environment
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Marine biodiversity assessment
www.environment.gov.au/soe
State and trends of quality of habitats for species
www.environment.gov.au/soe
State and trends of species populations and groups
www.environment.gov.au/soe
State and trends of ecological processes
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Marine ecosystem health assessment
www.environment.gov.au/soe
State and trends of physical and chemical processes
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Pests, introduced species, diseases and algal blooms
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Pressures affecting the marine environment
 Climate change
 Fishing
 Oil and gas exploration and production
 Shipping and associated infrastructure
 Aquaculture facilities
 Catchment run-off and land-based sources of pollution
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Pressures affecting the marine environment
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Framework for assessing management effectiveness
 The parameters: 6 elements of management

Understanding

Planning

Inputs

Processes

Outputs

Outcomes
 Grades

Very effective

Effective

Partially effective

Ineffective
Photo by Gary Bell
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Effectiveness of marine management - progress
 Ecosystem-based fisheries management introduced
 A number of marine species listed under EPBC Act
 Threat abatement plans developed
 New major programs funded
 Marine protected areas declared
 Marine bioregional plans being developed
Photo by Darren Jew
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Effectiveness of marine management – issues
 Poor coordination within and between jurisdictions
 Regional objectives for strategic marine planning and
management lacking
 Federal leadership limited
 Integrated national system lacking
 No national system for assessment and
monitoring against national objectives
Photo by Tourism WA
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Effectiveness of marine management
 Coastal urban development


Understanding: Good understanding of types and sources of pollution
– effective, improving
Planning: strong regulatory measures being developed and applied –
effective, stable

Inputs: resources for planning and management at all levels of
government – effective, stable

Processes: incremental development prevails, national synthesis and
integration lacking – partially effective, stable


Outputs: no agreed management system, low impact solutions –
partially effective, improving
Outcomes: ongoing development, pollution and impacts on habitats –
partially effective, stable
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Effectiveness of marine management
 Port facilities


Understanding: management issues and impacts well known – very
effective, improving
Planning: advanced planning and approval systems – effective,
improving

Inputs: limited resources to avoid impacts hindered by cost factors
and operational requirements – effective, stable

Processes: localised management of issues, little management of
cumulative impacts – effective, stable

Outputs: lacking sound integrated management, generic rule-based
systems implemented – partially effective, improving

Outcomes: development driven by operational requirements, impacts
on species and habitats – partially effective, improving
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Effectiveness of marine management
 Oil and gas exploration and production



Understanding: impacts well understood – effective, improving
Planning: regional environmental planning and assessment
framework lacking – ineffective, stable
Inputs: substantial resources applied to impact issues – effective,
stable

Processes: site approval based on economic requirements, limited
cumulative impact assessment – partially effective, stable

Outputs: strong regulatory regime at site level, lacking onsite
compliance systems – effective, improving

Outcomes: increasing impact on marine mammals, risk of accidents
and oil spills – partially effective, stable
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Factors affecting marine resilience
 Structural biodiversity

Species types

Species distributions

Species abundance
 Genetic diversity

Gene diversity

Subpopulation differences

Distribution heterogeneity
 Institutional support

flexibility

networks
Photo by Gary Bell
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Resilience and management outcome
 Serial depletion
 Depleted stocks may not be resilient
 Fishdowns likely to have left Australia’s oceans less resilient
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Current and emerging risks
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Current and emerging risks – key risks
 Almost certain to occur + catastrophic consequences

Ocean warming

Ocean acidification
 Almost certain to occur + major consequences

Port development/coastal urban development

Fishing

Marine debris

Sea level rise

Extreme or severe events

Catchment-sourced pollution

Algal blooms

Ocean current changes
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Climate change impacts on Australia’s oceans
 Marine climate change in Australia 2009 report card concluded:




Australian ocean temperatures have warmed – SW and SE waters
warming fastest
East Australian Current has strengthened – likely to strengthen by
another 20% by 2100
Marine biodiversity in SE changing – response to increasing
temperatures & stronger EAC
Growth rates of massive corals on Great Barrier Reef declined by
10% - likely due to ocean acidification & thermal stress
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Outlook for the future
 Uncertain

Most aspects are currently not in decline

Assets and values that are in poor condition are not recovering


But – our knowledge base is very limited; few long term time series;
limited understanding of the stress-response relationships = limited
predictability
No national time series for the condition of the major environmental
assets/values
 Looming threats

Changing global climate

Port development/coastal urban development

Oil and gas exploration

Variable between regions
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Supplementary products - online
 Workshop results

National summary results

Regional summary results
 Commissioned reports
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Marine workshop – regional example
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Marine workshop – national summary example
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Intentions and impacts of SoE 2011...
 Based on available information and expert opinion drawn from
sources that are referenced in the marine chapter
 Was designed to raise awareness and assist decision-makers
 Highlights current issues that will require management
responses to influence projected trends
 Provides critical information, but can support change only if
decision-makers consider and use it
www.environment.gov.au/soe
For more information
email: [email protected]
To order copies
email: [email protected]
phone: 1800 803 772 or read it online:
www.environment.gov.au/soe
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Photo: Aerial view of the Pilbara, by Andrew Griffiths, Lensaloft