Australia State of the Environment report highlights threat of coal mining, urban growth, invasive species, and global warming

By Henry Belot
7 March 2017 (ABC News) – The Government has no comprehensive national plan to protect Australia’s landscape to the year 2050, according to a report, which also warns of the potentially irreversible impact of climate change and the threats of coal mining, invasive species, rubbish, urban growth and habitat destruction. The State of the Environment 2016 report — commissioned by the Federal Government and written by independent experts — found while the main environmental challenges remained climate change and land use, Australia had made good progress in managing marine environments. Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg said the report also showed improvements in the ozone layer above the Antarctic, although further improvements were necessary. […] “We’ve seen a bleaching event last year in the Barrier Reef and we’re concerned about further bleaching events. “We’re also seeing some real challenges with invasive species and particularly feral cats that prey on marsupials and birds and reptiles, many of which are on the endangered list.” Invasive species were listed as one of “the most potent, persistent and widespread threats” to the Australian environment.

“Invasive species have a major impact on Australia’s environment, threatening biodiversity by, for example, reducing overall species abundance and diversity,” the report said.

The report said climate change was a pervasive pressure on all aspects of Australian environment as was altering the structure and function of the natural ecosystem.

“Evidence shows that the impacts of climate change are increasing, and some of these impacts may be irreversible,” the report said. [more]

Climate change: State of the Environment report highlights threat of coal mining, urban growth

Executive summary

In the past 5 years (2011–16), environmental policies and management practices in Australia have achieved improvements in the state and trends of parts of the Australian environment. Australia’s built environment, natural and cultural heritage, and marine and Antarctic environments are generally in good condition. There are, however, areas where the condition of the environment is poor and/or deteriorating. These include the more populated coastal areas and some of the growth areas within urban environments, where human pressure is greatest (particularly in south-eastern Australia); and the extensive land-use zone of Australia, where grazing is considered a major threat to biodiversity. In Australia, the key drivers of environmental change are population growth and economic activity. The extent to which these drivers lead to environmental impacts depends on a range of factors, including:

how many of us there are
where and how we live
the goods and services we produce (for both domestic and export markets) and consume
the technologies we use to produce our energy, food, materials and transport
how we manage the waste we produce.

Keeping impacts within limits is one key to a sustainable future. If not managed well, drivers can generate pressures that have immediate and long-term negative consequences for the environment. If managed well, however, drivers can be harnessed to achieve environmental benefits. The main pressures facing the Australian environment today are the same as in 2011: climate change, land-use change, habitat fragmentation and degradation, and invasive species. In addition, the interactions between these and other pressures are resulting in cumulative impacts, amplifying the threats faced by the Australian environment. Evidence shows that some individual pressures on the environment have decreased since 2011, such as those associated with air quality, poor agricultural practices, commercial fishing, and oil and gas exploration and production in Australia’s marine environment. During the same time, however, other pressures have increased—for example, those associated with coal mining and the coal-seam gas industry, habitat fragmentation and degradation, invasive species, litter in our coastal and marine environments, and greater traffic volumes in our capital cities. For some parts of the Australian environment, at least, effective policy and management have contributed to improved outcomes for the environment and for people. For example, early indications are that environmental watering in the Murray–Darling Basin driven by the 2012 Murray–Darling Basin Plan, along with the effects of natural floods, have contributed to ecological benefits for stream functioning and biodiversity. In the marine environment, the formation of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority in 2012 has increased scrutiny of offshore petroleum environmental management. This has resulted in better understanding of activity impacts, greater focus on industry compliance and increased levels of preparedness for unplanned events. However, a number of key challenges to the effective management of the Australian environment remain:

An overarching national policy that establishes a clear vision for the protection and sustainable management of Australia’s environment to the year 2050 is lacking. Such a program needs to be supported by

specific action programs and policy to preserve and, where necessary, restore natural capital and our unique environments, taking into account the need to adapt to climate change
complementary policy and strengthened legislative frameworks at the national, state and territory levels
efficient, collaborative and complementary planning and decision-making processes across all levels of government, with clear lines of accountability.

Poor collaboration and coordination of policies, decisions and management arrangements exists across sectors and between different managers (public and private).
Follow-through from policy to action is lacking.
Data and long-term monitoring are inadequate.
Resources for environmental management and restoration are insufficient.
The understanding of, and capacity to identify and measure, cumulative impacts is inadequate, which reduces the potential for coordinated approaches to their management.

Meeting these challenges requires:

integrated policies and adaptive management actions that address drivers of environmental change and the associated pressures
national leadership
improved support for decision-making
a more strategic focus on planning for a sustainable future
new, reliable sources of financing.