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Historic Content you are reading content from a previous reporting year.

Showing 30 of 1597 results

Regional and landscape-scale pressures: Invasive species

2016
Land
Pressures
Report Content
Invasive  species  represent one of the most potent, persistent and widespread threats to the ... effects on the health, viability and functioning of communities, ecosystems and landscapes. These effects occur through both direct and indirect disruption of ecological services such as soil stabilisation, ...
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Recent national assessments of management performance

2016
Inland water
Effectiveness of management
Report Content
The National Water Initiative has set the water policy reform ... agenda for the past decade, following on from the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Water Reform Framework of 1994. In recent years, National Water Initiative ...
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Overview of effectiveness of management of land

2016
Land
Effectiveness of management
Report Content
In 2014, the creation of the National Landcare Programme merged the Caring for our Country ... governance processes and coordinate investments from national to local scale. ...
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Box BIO6 Koalas—a matter of national environmental significance

2016
Biodiversity
State and trends
Case Study
Koalas ( Phascolarctos cinereus ) in some parts of Australia face direct threats from urban expansion, ... and territory protections, and making them a matter of national environmental significance. ...
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Pests and invasive species

2016
Inland water
Pressures
Report Content
SoE  2011 provided information on the pressure of invasive species, including cane toads ( Rhinella marina , ... holbrooki ), goldfish ( Carassius auratus ) and various Weeds of National Significance. Other invasive species exerting ...
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Invasive species are a potent, persistent and widespread threat to Australia’s environment

2016
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Pressures Invasive species are animals, plants, parasites or disease-causing organisms that establish themselves outside their natural range and become pests. Although native species can also become invasive if transferred outside their natural...

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Management context

2016
Land
Effectiveness of management
Report Content
Legislative arrangements for the management of public lands continue to be relatively stable, despite ... in the names, structures and specific responsibilities of the government departments and agencies that oversee ... and Indigenous landowners may be subject to varying levels of regulation and constraint, the institutional arrangements ...
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Outlook for inland water environments 2016

2016
Inland water
Outlook
At a glance

At a glanceClimate and pests remain the largest pressures on our inland water environments. Climate variability and climate change, and associated changes in rainfall regimes, are the primary risks to inland water environments in both the short and long term. Efforts will need to continue to...

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Climate change pressures affecting the land environment

2016, 2011
Land
Pressures
Assessment summary

Land Pressures Climate change–induced pressuresClimate Change Year...

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Regional and landscape-scale pressures: Bushfire

2016
Land
Pressures
Report Content
... maintain habitat heterogeneity by leaving a mosaic of burnt and unburnt patches. On the other hand, bushfires ...
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Pressures affecting inland water environments 2016

2016
Inland water
Pressures
At a glance

At a glanceOverall, the key pressures affecting inland water environments have changed little since 2011, with climatic and pest-based pressures increasing, land-use and management pressures remaining largely stable, and some stabilisation occurring in the pressure of water resources...

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Effectiveness of management for specific pressures and drivers

2016
Effectiveness of management
Report Content

2016 Effectiveness of management Earlier, we noted that the complex and dynamic relationships between drivers, pressures, ecosystems and humans call for policies and management actions that address both drivers and pressures. In many cases, the most...

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Pest species and pathogens

2016
Biodiversity
Pressures
Report Content
... also note that data on the distribution and abundance of pest plants and animals, and management effectiveness for ... SoE). Similar concerns have been raised regarding lack of data on pest plants and animals on much of the Indigenous estate. In general, landowners or land ...
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There has been a significant increase in the availability of consistent national-scale water data and information

2016
Inland water
Key Finding

2016 A modern, inclusive society requires ready access to environmental information. Recently, the Bureau of Meteorology, in its role as the national agency for water information, has produced a wide range of data, information and assessment products about the past, current and likely...

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Box WAT5 Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority wins the 2015 Australian Riverprize for Murray River basin management

2016
Inland water
Effectiveness of management
Case Study

The Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority won the 2015 Australian Riverprize (now Australasian Riverprize), Australia’s top award for effective and sustainable river basin management. The Riverprize recognises, rewards and supports those who have developed and implemented outstanding,...

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Management status

2016
Biodiversity
Effectiveness of management
Report Content
... developing a comprehensive, adequate and representative National Reserve System: Australia’s Strategy for the ... System 2009–2030. Australia also has a Strategic Plan of Action for the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas ( ANZECC TFMPA 1999 ). ...
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Condition and Integrity: Types of Heritage

2016
Heritage
State and trends
Report Content
This section examines the condition and integrity of Australian heritage places according to both jurisdiction ... were sampled and surveyed, allowing comparable application of the same natural and cultural heritage indicators. The ... are not directly comparable. Indeed, a general lack of condition audits and monitoring for listed heritage places ...
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Box HER40 National Trust of Australia—national education programs

2016
Heritage
Effectiveness of management
Case Study
Education and interpretation of our nation’s rich heritage are essential elements of conservation . One of the roles for the National Trust of Australia is to provide leadership in ... the next generation to continue to recognise the value , significance, richness and diversity of Australia’s ...
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Regional and landscape-scale pressures affecting the land environment

2016, 2011
Land
Pressures
Assessment summary

Land Pressures Regional and landscape-scale pressures: BushfireRegional and landscape-scale pressures: Invasive speciesRegional and landscape-scale pressures: Land clearingClimate change–induced pressuresContemporary land-use...

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Significant progress has been made in expanding Australia’s National Reserve System since SoE 2011

2016
Biodiversity
Key Finding

2016Increases in the Australian terrestrial protected area network have been driven primarily by an increase in the number of Indigenous Protected Areas. Some progress still needs to be made in attaining comprehensiveness, representation and adequacy targets for protected areas.  

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Reviews of state and regional management

2016
Inland water
Effectiveness of management
Report Content
The Murray–Darling Basin Plan included 2750  GL of water to be recovered from consumptive use and returned to ... early 2016, a Senate Select Committee found that elements of implementation of the plan are producing and encouraging efficient water ...
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Land and water use and management

2016
Inland water
Risks
Report Content
... management relate to changes in the timing and nature of flows that may be beneficial or detrimental to aquatic ...
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Executive Summary - Inland water

2016
Inland water
Executive Summary

Inland water 2016Australia’s inland waters, both above and below the ground, are of considerable ecological significance. Their significance arises from both their intrinsic ecological values and the contribution they make in providing water to our communities...

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Regional and landscape-scale pressures: Land clearing

2016
Land
Pressures
Report Content
... land environment, causing the loss and  fragmentation  of native vegetation. Depending on subsequent management, land clearing can also lead to a variety of impacts on soils, including erosion and loss of nutrients. In addition to the negative impact on native ...
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Biodiversity: Habitat-forming species

2016
Coasts
State and trends
Report Content
The distribution of threatened species around Australia provides an indication of current human impacts on native biota. The 2014 data of threatened species listed in the EPBC Act that occur ...
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Jurisdictional reporting on pressures

2016
Biodiversity
Pressures
Report Content
... state and territory in Australia has highlighted a range of key pressures in their jurisdictional reporting. Many of these pressures are common across all jurisdictions—for ... land clearing and vegetation fragmentation, pest animals, weeds, disease and pressures resulting from climate ...
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Coastal land

2016
Coasts
Pressures
Report Content
... to aquatic environments ( Allinson et al. 2014 ). Because of the concentration of human activities near the coast, a disproportionate amount of coastal land is polluted compared with the rest of ...
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Box LAN14 Weeds, feral animals, fire and research at Wattleridge and Tarriwa Kurrukun Indigenous Protected Areas, New South Wales

2016
Land
Effectiveness of management
Case Study
... declared in the state, in 2001, and covers 648 hectares of native bushland. Tarriwa Kurrukun (which means ‘strong ... the traditional owners. The Banbai Rangers are tackling weeds and feral animals on both properties. Some of the biggest challenges for managing weeds on the IPAs are the weather, difficulty in accessing ...
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Effectiveness of inland water management

2016, 2011
Inland water
Effectiveness of management
Assessment summary

Inland water Effectiveness of management Recent national assessments of management performanceWater management in AustraliaReviews of state and regional managementReviews of state and regional management Murray DarlingTasmania...

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State and trends of Australia’s heritage 2016

2016
Heritage
State and trends
At a glance

At a glanceAustralia’s heritage registers list natural and cultural places at national, state and local levels, but in an inconsistent manner, and with disparate levels of resourcing and regulation. As announced during the 2014 International Union for Conservation of Nature World Parks...

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Australia State of the Environment 2016 has been prepared by independent experts using the best available information to support assessments of environmental condition, pressures, management effectiveness, resilience, risks and outlook.

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We, the authors, acknowledge the traditional owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community; we pay respect to them and their cultures and to their elders both past and present.

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