Download - Www.environment.gov.au/soe SoE 2011 – Biodiversity Chapter Overview This presentation is one of a series of Australia State of the Environment 2011 (SoE.

www.environment.gov.au/soe

SoE 2011 – Biodiversity 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]


New cover page

Presentation – SoE 2011 Biodiversity 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


About biodiversity chapter in SoE 2011

What it is: a 122 page report on state and trends, pressures, risks and resilience, management effectiveness and outlooks for Australia’s biodiversity

Includes 62 figures, tables and images, four summary assessment tables, and 219 references


Key findings

Biodiversity has declined since European settlement

Most pressures on biodiversity that arise directly or indirectly from human activities appear to still be strong

Data on long-term trends in biodiversity are limited, making it difficult to interpret the state or trends of major animal and plant groups in most jurisdictions

Despite promising investment by all jurisdictions in addressing the main pressures on biodiversity, pressures are not being substantially reduced, nor is the decline in biodiversity being arrested or reversed


Key findings

The major future drivers of change—climate change, population growth, economic development and associated consumption of natural resources—must be managed carefully if a sustainable relationship between biodiversity and human societies is to be achieved

Australia can improve its biodiversity management significantly

Many Indigenous people continue to have a close and multifaceted relationship with their land

Australians cannot afford to see themselves as separate from biodiversity


State and trends of biodiversity

Australia is one of just 17 megadiverse countries worldwide

Many species are endemic to this country

7-10% of all species on Earth occur here

Biodiversity in Australia has declined since European Settlement

Decline in all components: genes, species, communities and ecosystems


State and trends of biodiversity (cont’d)

Variable trend: some areas persisting well, but significant decline in others

Historically the decline has been in southern Australia but birds and small mammals are now reported as declining in northern Australia

Limited long term data on almost all groups mean poor ability to assess rates of decline

Research suggests tipping points are being reached for a number of species, leading to irreversible loss


Our capacity to report on biodiversity states and trends is variable


Numbers of species listed as threatened under the EPBC Act


Threatened species by IBRA region


State and trends of biodiversity – assessment summary


Pressures affecting biodiversity

Fragmentation of habitat

Climate change

Land-use change

Invasive species and pathogens

Grazing pressure

Altered fire regimes

Changed hydrology

Pollution


Pressures affecting listed threatened species


Assessment summary: pressures affecting biodiversity


Effectiveness of biodiversity management

All jurisdictions report concerns about a lack of information on which to base biodiversity conservation objectives and targets

Most past and current pressures are recognised even if their significance and the appropriate management responses are unclear

Most jurisdictions have detailed plans and strategies

BUT – planning to address dependence and impacts of human population on biodiversity is poorly developed

Efforts to address land clearing have improved but there are legacy effects


Biodiversity management: increasing representation of IBRA regions within the National Reserve System


Effectiveness of biodiversity management

Management of climate change, pollution, and consumption and extraction of natural resources are all at least partially effective and trending towards improvement. Management of habitat clearing and fragmentation is also partially effective, with outputs and outcomes presently ineffective but trending towards improvement

In terms of inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes, management of livestock production and invasive species and pathogens tends to be ineffective, though generally improving

Inputs to manage invasive species and pathogens are ineffective and the trend is worsening


Resilience of biodiversity

SoE reports from most jurisdictions consistently state that the same set of pressures persist, and that efforts to reduce some of the pressures seem to be having little effect

This suggests that the resilience of at least some major parts of biodiversity to these pressures could be overcome, leading to irreversible change


Resilience of biodiversity

Management processes have the potential to build and maintain resilience of social-ecological systems but

Our understanding of interactions between social, ecological and economic processes is inadequate

Incomplete knowledge means our approaches to addressing pressures are not yet achieving the desired objectives moreover

We may not be engaging the best combination of partnerships, resources and strategies for biodiversity management


Risks to biodiversity

Any failure to grasp current opportunities to improve management will increase future risks

Failure to better understand the reliance of society and the economy on biodiversity risks failure of strategic planning for biodiversity management


Risks to biodiversity (cont’d)

Risks that existing pressures, minor or already significant, may escalate. This includes new or more intense interactions among existing pressures leading to new challenges

Risks that entirely new problems will emerge


Current and emerging risks to biodiversity


Current and emerging risks to biodiversity: possible risks with catastrophic consequences

Crossing thresholds of irreversible change in soil fertility, connectedness and quality of vegetation as habitat, or ability of species to adapt to climate change

Emergence of major pests or diseases that spread widely among native plants or animals

Major interactions between altered ocean circulation and ocean acidification, drastically modifying marine ecosystems

Climate change that is so fast and severe that mass extinctions occur


Current and emerging risks to biodiversity: likely risks with major consequences Slow progress on understanding the relationships between

population, economy, technology and biodiversity, and communicating this to the public

Failure to scale climate change models down to provide robust forecasts at local scales

Shifts in the ‘geography’ of agriculture e.g. in response to shifting rainfall patterns

Emergence of unexpected effects of human activities in northern Australia

Failure of technological advances to keep pace with pressures on biodiversity


Current and emerging risks to biodiversity: likely risks with moderate consequences

Deoxygenation of oceans (major effect possible in long term)

Increased pressure on Australia to produce wood as deforestation is reduced in other countries

Increasing hard engineering ‘solutions’ to cope with rising sea levels, such as groyne and sea walls, impacting on beach and intertidal biodiversity

Increased water allocation for artificial snowmaking in alpine areas


Priorities and outlook for management of biodiversity

We need better information to provide baseline knowledge, anticipate emerging challenges and opportunities, and prepare for change

Emerging challenges and the legacies of ongoing pressures will take decades to address

We need integrated planning and management across all levels of government to address national-scale issues

New approaches to biodiversity management have the potential to make major advances in protecting and managing our biodiversity


Other SoE 2011 content related to biodiversity

Land

Inland waters

Coasts

Marine

Antarctica

Drivers (climate change)


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