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SoE 2011 – Overview. This presentation was developed as one of several Australia State of the Environment 2011 (SoE 2011) presentations given by the SoE Committee members and departmental staff following the release of SoE 2011. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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www.environment.gov.au/soe
SoE 2011 – Overview
This presentation was developed as one of several Australia State of the Environment 2011 (SoE 2011) presentations given by the SoE Committee members and departmental staff following the release of 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]
www.environment.gov.au/soe
New cover page
Presentation – SoE 2011 OverviewPhoto: 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 decision-makers...
… 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
Transparent approach to assessments
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 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)
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
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
Headlines (in Summary chapter)
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? Some past decisions have an ongoing legacy impact
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
Our changing climate and growing population and economy are now confronting us with new challenges
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
There are opportunities to decouple population and economic growth from pressure on our environment
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Pressures on our environment
Past decisions and practices have left ongoing impacts on our environment
Introduction of feral animals and weeds
Land clearing
Unsustainable water resource management
Intense harvest of fish stocks
Lack of integrated 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
Some key issues – atmosphere
It is likely that we are already seeing the effects of climate change in Australia
As the driest inhabitable continent, Australia is particularly vulnerable to climate change
Early action by Australia to reduce emissions and to deploy targeted adaptation strategies will be less costly than delayed action
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Rainfall deficiencies 1 April 1997 – 31 March 2010
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Australian rainfall 2010
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Vulnerability to climate change - Australia and NZ
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Risk watch for climate
Almost certain Continuing spatially variable rise in temperatures across the
continent (MAJOR)
Likely Reduced rainfall in southern areas, especially in winter, and in
southern and eastern areas in spring (MAJOR)
Increased evaporation and reduced soil moisture (MAJOR)
Increased frequency and severity of wildfires (MAJOR)
Increased frequency of heatwaves (MODERATE)
Increased geographic range of disease vectors (e.g. mosquitoes) (MODERATE)
www.environment.gov.au/soe
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Some key issues – inland water
Most inland water systems in Australia are permanently or seasonally limited by a shortage of water
Ongoing impacts from historical land use practices, introduction of pests and weeds, and unsustainable water resource development
Largest future threat comes from combination of drying and warming conditions, due to climate change
Meeting our water needs will remain a critical challenge
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Expanse of Australia’s waterways
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Water consumption by sector and jurisdiction
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Ecosystem health in the Murray-Darling Basin
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Declines in freshwater-dependent species
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Presence of aquatic weed species
www.environment.gov.au/soe
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Some key issues – land
Australia’s land environment is threatened by widespread pressures
invasive species
inappropriate fire patterns
grazing
Threats to our soil, including acidification, erosion and the loss of soil carbon, will increasingly affect Australia’s agriculture unless carefully managed
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Percentage of native vegetation remaining
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Soil acidification in Australia
www.environment.gov.au/soe
www.environment.gov.au/soe
www.environment.gov.au/soe
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Some key issues – marine environment
Legacy impacts and habitat degradation continue to affect nearshore areas particularly in the east, south-east and south-west
Increased likelihoods of risks to biodiversity and productivity in nearshore waters due to climate change
sea-level rise
frequency of extreme weather events
altered current patterns and acidity
Integrated management will be key to the future conservation of our ocean resources
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Harvesting intensity of Cwlth managed fisheries
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Declining value of fisheries
www.environment.gov.au/soe
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Some key issues – Antarctic environment
The Antarctic environment is showing clear signs of climate change
The pressure of human activities on Antarctica and the Southern Ocean is increasing
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Ice mass changes for the entire Antarctic ice sheet
www.environment.gov.au/soe
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Some key issues – biodiversity
Our unique biodiversity is in decline, and the trends might be worse than previously expected.
Most pressures on biodiversity that arise directly or indirectly from human activities appear to still be strong.
We depend on biodiversity for our survival and wellbeing.
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Number of threatened species
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Percent of known mammal taxa listed as threatened
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Percent of known bird taxa listed as threatened
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Clearing and fragmentation of native ecosystems
www.environment.gov.au/soe
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Pressures affecting threatened species
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Biodiversity knowledge at national scale
www.environment.gov.au/soe
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Some key issues – heritage
Our natural and cultural heritage is threatened by natural and human processes, and a lack of public sector resourcing
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Additions to National Heritage List 05-06 to 10-11
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Number of heritage places listed per hundred people
(by local government area)
www.environment.gov.au/soe
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Some key issues – built environment
Main pressures on liveability of communities are driven by population and economic growth
Increasing need for space
Traffic congestion
Air quality concerns
New risks posed increased likelihood of extreme weather events
Challenges with maintaining positive trends in energy and water efficiency, coordinated urban planning
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Motorised transport modes in capital cities
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Costs of traffic congestion
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Percentage using public transport
City 1996 2000 2003 2006Change between 1996 and 2006c
Sydney 23.4 25.0 25.9 26.3 12.4
Melbourne 13.1 15.9 15.3 17.7 35.1
Brisbane 14.3 11.6 15.7 17.5 22.4
Adelaide 12.2 10.6 13.4 14.4 18.0
Perth 10.5 11.3 10.5 10.7 1.9
Hobart 12.8 5.2 6.9 10.3 –19.5
Canberra 11.4 8.2 8.1 7.9 –30.7
Total capital citiesa 16.3 17.2 17.9 19.1 17.2
Other areasb 2.7 1.9 2.4 1.7 –37.0
Australia 11.9 12.2 13.0 13.5 13.4
a Excludes Darwinb Includes Darwin and all other places outside capital citiesc Represents the change in the proportion of adults using public transport for their usual trip to work or studySource: Australian Bureau of Statistics
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Exceedences for particulate air pollutants
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Household energy usage
www.environment.gov.au/soe
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Some key issues – coasts
Coastal regions are under pressure and bring together many of the issues affecting other parts of the environment
Major emerging risks for Australia’s coasts
Climate change (especially sea level rise)
Demographic change
Coordinated management will be needed to mitigate pressures
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Sea level rise (mm/year) - early 1990s to June 2010
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Threatened species within 100km of the coast
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Estimate of residential buildings at risk of inundation
www.environment.gov.au/soe
Intentions and impacts of SoE 2011...
Based on available information and expert opinio,n 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 it 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