Www.environment.gov.au/soe SoE 2011 – Coasts chapter overview This presentation is one of a series...

www.environment.gov.au/soe

SoE 2011 – Coasts chapter overview

This presentation is one of a series of Australia State of the Environment 2011 (SoE 2011) presentations given by SoE Committee members and departmental staff following the release of the SoE 2011.

This material was developed to be delivered as part of an oral presentation. The full report should be referred to for understanding the context of this information.

For more information please refer to:http://www.environment.gov.au/soe/index.htmlOr contact the SoE team via email:[email protected]

http://www.environment.gov.au/soe/index.html

mailto:[email protected]


New cover page

Presentation - SoE 2011 – Coasts chapter overviewPhoto: Aerial view of the Pilbara, by Andrew Griffiths, Lensaloft


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


Purpose of SoE 2011

Provide relevant and useful information on environmental issues to the public and decision-makers...

… to raise awareness and support more informed environmental management decisions …

… leading to more sustainable use and effective conservation of environmental assets.


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)


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


Quality and credibility

Independence – written by an independent committee with relevant expertise, tasked with advocating for ‘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)


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


Assessment summaries in the report


Drivers chapter – context for rest of SoE

How are a

changing

climate,

population

growth and

economic growth

creating

pressures on our

environment?


SoE 2011 Headlines

17 headlines

in summary

chapter give a

high level

overview of

the big issues


Key Findings (in theme chapters)

‘key findings’

give an

overview of

more specific

conclusions

for each

theme


What is the general state of the environment? Much of Australia is in good condition shape 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


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


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


Introduction

This talk, and the Coasts chapter

use data drawn primarily from other parts of the SoE report

have a slightly different structure, with 4 sections:

Major issues

Governance

Risks & Resilience

Outlook

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Introduction

The transition between terrestrial and marine environments is one of the sharpest changes in habitat on Earth, with unique species and ecosystems

Australia’s population is focused strongly around its coastline, especially around estuaries of major river systems.....

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Population distribution at June 2010


Introduction

Governance issues are highly

complex, involving local, state

and national governments and

interest groups, with conflict

where objectives differ

Future change will strongly

impact the landscape and

ecosystems of coastal

environments

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Key findings

The major ongoing risks to Australia’s coasts are:

those relating to climate change, esp. sea level rise

demographic change

The future of coastal Australia depends largely on:

how rapidly these changes occur

how extreme they are, and

how Australians prepare for and respond to them


Key findings

Variations in climate, and changes in population size and composition have been major drivers of pressure on the coasts over the past decade

Pressures affecting Australian coasts are similar to those in previous SoE reports

The greatest reductions in native vegetation extent have been in eastern, SE and SW Australia

Some land use and management practices have reduced some pressures


Key findings

All chapters of this report cite examples of promising responses to coastal challenges by governments, but outcomes for some major issues are still not achieved

Debate about coastal governance and management advanced with the 2009 report Managing our coastal zone in a changing climate: the time to act is now

Recent research concluded that the ability to adapt to emerging pressures, especially climate change, is low and declining in many parts of Australia


Major issues for coastal environments

The 3 drivers of environmental change—climate change,

population growth and economic growth—result in a range of

pressures on our coastal environment

Our coastal regions bring together many of the issues identified

for other themes

This section presents an assessment of the major drivers,

pressures and impacts on the state of coastal environments, as

well as the responses that have been made to manage coasts

as a national asset


Major issues for coastal environments

Atmosphere

Inland water flows and use

Coastal land

Coastal marine waters

Biodiversity

Coastal heritage

Population growth & urban development

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Major issues – atmosphere

Air quality in major urban centres is generally good

Climate change is emerging as a major driver of change for Australian coasts & marine areas

A significant impact of climate change is sea level rise (shown in next slide)

Management responses have focused on impacts of climate combined with other drivers/pressures

Responses include: supporting scientific studies

dissemination of information

policies that facilitate adaptation

plans that factor in climate change Pho

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Local sea level rise – early 1990s to June 2010

mm/yr


Major issues – inland water flows and use

River pollution from upstream development and land use impacts estuaries and the nearshore coastal environment

Desalination of sea water to help offset water shortages brought on by climate change and drought increased sharply from 2005-10

Coastal environments and their species particularly vulnerable to:

seawater intrusion withdrawal of water from rivers for human use

Improved management of coastal waters during the last decade includes programs to ensure river and estuary health in metropolitan areas


Major issues – coastal land

Several major trends in land use that have had impacts on coastal Australia:

urban expansion in capital cities and major regional coastal

cities

changes to rivers influencing nutrient and water flows;

reductions in sediments and chemicals reaching the coast

expansion of conservation and Indigenous areas

declines in extent of native forest managed for wood

production


Major issues – coastal land (continued)

increases in areas managed for conservation

disturbance of acid-sulfate soils remains a major

consequence of coastal development, with significant costs

Introduced weeds and pest species have contributed to

national reductions in biodiversity and marine, estuarine and

coastal productivity.

For vegetation, impacts on the coastal strip are highly variable

around the Australian coastline, as shown in the next slide.....


Remaining native vegetation for IBRA regions


Major issues – coastal marine waters

Pressures from fishing result from coastal urban development,

population growth, and economic drivers, although fishing

pressures decreasing overall

Sea surface temperatures have increased since the early 20th

century, impacting in many ways, e.g. distribution & abundance

of species

An emerging threat is from pathogens & pests; spread by people,

cargo, fishing gear, & boats


Major issues – biodiversity

Introduction of weeds and other pests has contributed to national reductions in biodiversity, and in marine, estuarine and coastal productivity

Much uncertainty about how species and ecological systems will be affected by climate change

Many species are threatened by activities associated with Australia’s coast-based population......


Threatened species within 100km of the coast

Source: Environmental Resources Information Network, Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, 2011


Major issues – coastal heritage

Coastal areas include many important sites of natural and cultural heritage, e.g. wetlands, places of importance to Indigenous people, colonial buildings, shipwrecks, threatened species and communities

Issues include: erosion by wind/salt/storms limited understanding of what is significant declining connection between Indigenous

people and coastal places increasing numbers of invasive species loss of habitat competing priorities and limited funds

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Major issues – population growth & urban development

Australia’s coastal population has been growing faster than the population of the rest of the country for several years

Increasingly, coastal councils are concerned about the very rapid growth of small settlements outside large centres

The drivers for such growth include: attractions of beach and bush employment housing choices and affordability

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Population change in Australia, 2001-2010


Change in estimated resident population of NSW ‘sea-change’ local government areas, 2001-2010

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics25


Environmental controls on urban developments and the need for onsite containment of waste are of concern in coastal areas—challenging for resource-limited coastal councils

Effects on biodiversity can be direct and indirect

Other major impacts on coastal areas are tourism and recreation

Tackling pressures on coasts requires cooperation and strategic decision-making across several levels of government, but this has been slow

Solutions require addressing a range of social, economic and environmental issues

Major issues – population growth & urban development


Governance of the coast

Much of the SOE report provide examples of promising responses to coastal challenges by governments

However, outcomes relating to several issues are not achieved

Uncertainty about how climate change will affect species and ecosystems

Local governments are concerned about the lack of guidelines, standards & national approaches to addressing:

coastal development population growth environmental impacts



Managers of coastal areas are concerned that development of Australia’s coasts has been uncoordinated

This led coastal councils to form the National Sea Change Taskforce in 2004

The taskforce has actively developed and promoted solutions to state and Australian governments



The report Managing our coastal zone in a changing climate: the time to act is now was handed down in 2009, making 47 recommendations addressing:

planning laws

capacities of local councils

monitoring of coastal habitats

legal liabilities

The recent Hawke review of the EPBC Act 1999 recommended changes allowing it to be applied more strategically, and at broad scales

Many recommendations accepted by the Australian Government, but too soon to gauge success


Risks to and resilience of coastal communities and environments

Coastal natural environments




Resilience




Resilience

Future prospects




Resilience

Future prospects

SocietyEconomyCulture




Resilience

Future prospects

SocietyEconomyCulture

People...living on...depending on...influencing

Coasts



The threat of rising sea levels due to climate change is one of the most important pressures on coastal communities

Sea level is rising globally, and the rate of rise increased from the 19th to the 20th century, and during the 20th century......


Global mean sea level changes between 1860 and 2009, compared with the 1990 average sea level



Rising sea levels will also result in greater wave action on the

shore, increasing erosion

The capacity for coastal habitats and species to migrate to

higher ground is limited by the extent of coastal plains and built

structures such as seawalls

Direct impacts on some cultural sites are also possible

A major determinant of the future of Australia’s coasts is how

extreme and rapid the effects of climate change will be


Estimated number of existing residential buildings at risk of inundation from a 1.1-metre sea level rise


Risks to and resilience of coastal communities and environments Emerging risks from climate change remain incompletely

addressed for Australia’s coasts. Indirect effects include:

decreased water availability and water security

inundation from sea level rise

damage to energy, water, communications and built

infrastructure

declines in agricultural and aquacultural productivity

damage to iconic natural ecosystems, e.g. Kakadu NP &

GBR

decline in biodiversity


Risks to and resilience of coastal communities and environments Recent research concluded that in many parts of Australia

the ability to adapt to emerging pressures is low and declining

Recommended remedies include: allocating authority and resources between levels of

governance according to effectiveness at each level strengthening rules and incentives encouraging relocation allowing for uncertainties transferring public and private benefits, costs, risks,

uncertainties and responsibilities from governments to beneficiaries of development

viewing catastrophes as opportunities for learning and change



Australia’s external territories are highly sensitive to sea level rise, with limited scope for adaptation

Resilience and adaptive capacity of Australian mainland coastal communities have more scope and resources to plan for and adapt to change

Capacity to adapt will only be realised if planning and action are effectively coordinated at national, state and local levels

Hopeful signs.....

........with cooperative initiatives being undertaken by coastal councils to address many deficiencies


Outlook for coasts

Undesirable futures likely with ‘business

as usual’ approach:

Desirable futures most likely if major

reform of coastal governance is

achieved in the next decade or sooner:


Other SoE 2011 content related to Coasts

Close links with most other chapters:


Intentions and impacts of SoE 2011...

Based on available information and expert opinion drawn from sources that are referenced in the report

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/soePhoto: Aerial view of the Pilbara, by Andrew Griffiths, Lensaloft

For more information email: [email protected]

To order copiesemail: [email protected]

phone: 1800 803 772 or read it online: www.environment.gov.au/soe

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