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

Showing 30 of 359 results

Box BIO10 Ongoing declines of Christmas Island reptiles

2016
Biodiversity
State and trends
Case Study
... so infrequently that the data are insufficient to assume a decline ; it is listed as vulnerable under the EPBC Act . Captive ... predators is thought to be the key factor in the decline of native reptiles on Christmas Island. Many known reptile predators ...
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Australia has a long-term trend of declining rainfall

2016
Atmosphere
Key Finding

2016  Australian rainfall has been largely variable in the past 100 years, particularly the past 40 years. The millennium drought (2000–10) was followed by the wettest 2-year period on record (2010 and 2011). After that, drought re-emerged across large areas of southern and eastern...

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Australia’s biodiversity is continuing to decline (with some exceptions noted in SoE 2016 thematic reports), and new approaches are needed to prevent accelerating decline in many species.

2016
Biodiversity
State and trends
Key Finding

2016Australia’s biodiversity is continuing to decline (with some exceptions noted in SoE 2016 thematic reports), and new approaches are needed to prevent accelerating decline in many species.

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Box WAT6 Groundwater-dependent ecosystem risk assessment for declining groundwater levels

2016
Inland water
Risks
Case Study

The National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility has developed a risk assessment framework for groundwater-dependent ecosystems under conditions of declining groundwater levels (Chambers et al. 2013). The framework was developed by a multidisciplinary team of ecologists,...

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Some government initiatives for biodiversity discovery and management have ceased, while new activities have begun, but they have not been able to halt overall decline

2016
Biodiversity
Key Finding

2016In 2011–16, overall funding for several major government initiatives changed, with funding for landcare significantly reduced, and new programs such as the Green Army and the Biodiversity Fund introduced. Funding for climate adaptation research has declined significantly since 2011.  

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State and trends of soil acidification

2016, 2011
Land
State and trends
Assessment summary

Land State and trends Soil: Salinity and acidification Year...

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Coastal and marine species and ecosystems

2016
Biodiversity
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Biodiversity State and trends Murray Darling North East Coast Tasmania Greater Darwin Greater Hobart...

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Box HER20 IUCN World Heritage outlook 2014

2016
Heritage
State and trends
Case Study
... Kakadu National Park is subject to high threats and decline in many species of small mammals, as well as some birds and other ... World Heritage Area is subject to threats from decline in some significant species and climate change . ...
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Terrestrial plant and animal species: Birds

2016
Biodiversity
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Biodiversity State and trends Tasmania Photo by David Westcott Pale-yellow robin (Tregallasia capito), Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, Queensland...

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Terrestrial plant and animal species: Reptiles and amphibians

2016
Biodiversity
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Biodiversity State and trends Reptiles and amphibians As was the case in SoE 2011, there has been little improvement in the status of listed reptile and amphibian taxa at the national level. However, some species...

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Activities associated with the built environment consume significant natural resources, but the efficiency of use of energy and water has improved recently

2016
Built environment
Key Finding

2016In recent years, we have seen reduced per-person use of greenfield land, cars and energy, and reduced per-person waste to landfill. Apart from waste to landfill, these changes are not yet enough to cause absolute declines in impact. Policies will need to accelerate the per-person...

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State and trends of soil carbon

2016, 2011
Land
State and trends
Assessment summary

Land State and trends Soil: Carbon dynamics Year...

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Water abstraction and interception

2016
Inland water
Risks
Report Content

2016 Inland water Risks Three factors contribute to the risk posed by increasing water abstraction and interception: the demands of a growing population increases in per-person water consumption for this population...

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Box HER22 Second National Indigenous Languages Survey—key findings

2016
Heritage
State and trends
Case Study
... considered to be ‘very strong’ are showing signs of decline . Some traditional languages are gaining more speakers. Mostly, ...
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State and trends of quality of habitat-forming species

2016
Coasts
State and trends
Assessment summary

Coasts State and trends Biodiversity: Habitat-forming speciesCoastal waterways Year...

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Executive Summary - Biodiversity

2016
Biodiversity
Executive Summary

Biodiversity 2016The value of Australia’s biodiversity is difficult to measure, but biodiversity is a key part of Australia’s national identity, and is integral to subsistence and cultural activity for Indigenous Australians. It is also fundamentally important...

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Box LAN3 Bees—pressures and impacts

2016
Land
Pressures
Case Study
... There are concerns globally that many pollinators are in decline , in response to pressures such as habitat loss, disease, ... abundance to detect whether native bee species are in decline . Data are available, however, to indicate that the drivers of ...
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State and trends of biodiversity

2016, 2011
Biodiversity
State and trends
Assessment summary

Biodiversity State and trends Coastal and marine species and ecosystemsFreshwater species and ecosystemsTerrestrial plant and animal species: Threatened species listsTerrestrial ecosystems and communitiesGenetic and species...

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State and trends of species populations and groups

2016
Coasts
State and trends
Assessment summary

Coasts State and trends Biodiversity: Threatened species Year...

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State and trends of the built environment 2016

2016
Built environment
State and trends
At a glance

At a glanceAustralian cities are generally characterised as low density, with a high proportion of detached homes, and with good amenity in terms of access to commercial and community services, and green space. Although considered generally good, the delivery of amenity in growth areas in...

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Box HER11 Great Eastern Ranges Initiative

2016
Heritage
Pressures
Case Study
... ( GERI 2016 ) is a strategic response to the ongoing decline and mass extinction of native species in eastern Australia. It ... of landscapes and habitats, thus halting the further decline and loss of species increasing the number of people working ...
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Box WAT3 Great Barrier Reef catchments: best management practices

2016
Inland water
Pressures
Case Study

Farming practices in reef catchments have received significant attention in recent years as part of an initiative to improve reef water quality, and to slow or stop declines in the condition of coral reefs and seagrass meadows. The Queensland and Australian governments are...

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Outlook under a business-as-usual scenario

2016
Outlook
Report Content

2016 Outlook It is clear from SoE 2016 that some parts of Australia’s environment are not yet being managed sustainably. Although some uncertainties exist, assuming current trends continue and policies or management arrangements are not changed...

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Effectiveness of biodiversity management 2016

2016
Biodiversity
Effectiveness of management
At a glance

At a glanceThis report has documented the widespread lack of consistent long-term data for assessing the effectiveness of investments in biodiversity management in Australia. Although it is reasonable to assume that there are many program-related examples that link investment to positive...

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Interactions among pressures

2016
Biodiversity
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Biodiversity Pressures Few of the pressures documented in this section occur in isolation. Rather, pressures interact in complex ways, often compounding the threat to biodiversity. For example, land clearing...

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Overview of state and trends of biodiversity

2016
Biodiversity
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Biodiversity State and trends What has changed since 2011? The list of nationally threatened species and ecological communities has increased, with the addition of 30 new ecological communities, and 44 animal and...

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Outlook for Australia's air quality

2016
Ambient air quality
Outlook
At a glance

At a glanceThe outlook for Australia’s urban air quality is generally good. However, there is strong evidence that periods of poor urban air quality can have serious adverse long-term and short-term impacts on human health (particularly on the health of susceptible individuals). Although...

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Introduction 2016

2016
Climate
Introduction
At a glance

Australia has always been a land of extremes. In a single year, we can experience heatwaves, floods, fires, cyclones and drought. Australia’s highly variable climate is influenced year to year by large-scale drivers in the atmosphere and ocean, such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO...

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State and trends of biodiversity 2016

2016
Biodiversity
State and trends
At a glance

At a glanceUnderstanding of the state and trends of the vast majority of individual species in Australia is limited. The lack of effective monitoring data for understanding state and trends, even for threatened species, is highlighted by every jurisdiction and all previous state of the...

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Figure HER6 Net overall change in state heritage register listings, 2011–12 to 2015–16

2016
Heritage
State and trends
Graph

Total change to state and territory heritage register listings, 2011–12 to 2015–16 Total change to state and territory heritage register listings, 2011–12 to 2015–16 Net change heritage listings 2012 to 2016 Australian Capital Territory63 New South Wales107...

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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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