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

Showing 30 of 185 results

Resilience

2016
Resilience
At a glance

Resilience is the ability of the environment to withstand or recover from a shock or disturbance. Although the concept of resilience was developed and is mainly used in relation to ecosystems, it is a valuable concept across the environment and in environmental management. Effective...

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Risks

2016
Risks
At a glance

Even after management actions and resilience are taken into consideration, some pressures can continue to pose a risk to the environment. Identifying and assessing the risk to the environment examines both the likelihood that the impact will take place and the severity of anticipated...

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Industrial point sources

2016
Ambient air quality
Risks
Report Content

2016 Ambient air quality Risks If not effectively controlled, emissions from industry can place health and amenity at risk, not only at the neighbourhood level, but more generally at the airshed level. During the past...

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Factors affecting resilience capacity

2016
Biodiversity
Resilience
Report Content

2016 Biodiversity Resilience Murray Darling Tasmania Multiple factors acting at various levels of organisation, from species to landscapes, will interact to determine...

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Outlook for Australia’s climate 2016

2016
Climate
Outlook
At a glance

At a glanceThe outlook for Australia’s climate depends on the effectiveness of international and national efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Without mitigation, surface temperature increases of 3.7–4.8 °C above 1850–1900 temperatures are projected. To remain below 2 °C warming above...

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Managing biodiversity for resilience

2016
Biodiversity
Resilience
Report Content

2016 Biodiversity Resilience The ability of ecosystems to tolerate and recover from disturbance is a phenomenon that is vitally important to understand. Resilience has stimulated much valuable research that has...

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Resilience of biodiversity 2016

2016
Biodiversity
Resilience
At a glance

At a glanceResilience is a key underpinning principle of Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010–2030, as well as state and territory, and regional biodiversity strategies. The definition of resilience in biodiversity strategies and policies is still relatively ambiguous, and...

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Box LAN7 Land management to reduce sediment and pollutant delivery to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon

2016
Land
State and trends
Case Study

The Great Barrier Reef catchments drain an area of 423,134 square kilometres of coastal Queensland, consisting of 6 major catchments and 35 subcatchments, and covering 2300 kilometres from the southern tip to the northern extent (Figure LAN15). The predominant land use is grazing...

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State and trends of contaminated Antarctic sites

2016, 2011
Antarctic environment
State and trends
Assessment summary

Antarctic environment State and trends Australian Antarctic Program’s station environment: Contaminated sites and pollutionAustralian Antarctic Program’s station environment: Operation indicators Antarctica...

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Australian Antarctic Program’s station environment: Contaminated sites and pollution

2016
Antarctic environment
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Antarctic environment State and trends Antarctica Contaminated sites and pollution Contaminated waste disposal is a product of past practices of Antarctic expeditions, and is referred to...

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Australian Antarctic Territory

2016
Antarctic environment
Introduction
Report Content

2016 Antarctic environment Introduction Antarctica The AAT (Figure ANT1) comprises an area of approximately 5.9 million km2, and its coastline extends more than 11,200 kilometres (excluding...

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Availability of information

2016
Biodiversity
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Biodiversity Pressures No consistent national-level data are available on the impact of pressures on all aspects of biodiversity in the past 5 years. The Australian Government released a Threatened Species...

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Resilience of inland water environments 2016

2016
Inland water
Resilience
At a glance

At a glanceA challenge in assessing resilience of inland water environments is recognising resilience when it occurs, especially because Australian ecosystems have developed to be both resistant and resilient. We can contribute to resilience by reducing extreme and detrimental ecosystem...

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Risks to Australia’s climate 2016

2016
Climate
Risks
At a glance

At a glanceAn understanding of the risks associated with Australia’s climate will lead to improved action plans to adapt to the changes predicted to occur. Our climate is a dynamic system; therefore, the risks need to be re-evaluated frequently. Recent climate change projections for...

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Overview of challenges to effective management

2016
Effectiveness of management
Report Content

2016 Effectiveness of management Without detracting from positive trends in some areas, successive SoE reports have highlighted consistent problems and trends for the Australian environment. These include: the continuing loss of Australia’s...

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Resilience of the Antarctic environment 2016

2016
Antarctic environment
Resilience
At a glance

At a glanceAlthough organisms living in Antarctica have evolved to cope with severe events, it is challenging to measure their level of resilience and to predict how future climate change will affect Antarctic ecosystems. This is largely because our understanding of key parameters is still...

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Cumulative impacts and management of multiple uses

2016
Marine environment
Effectiveness of management
Report Content

2016 Marine environment Effectiveness of management Great Barrier Reef Ecosystem-based management aims to balance human activities with environmental stewardship to maintain ecosystem...

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Pressures affecting Antarctic marine species

2016, 2011
Antarctic environment
Pressures
Assessment summary

Antarctic environment Pressures Pressures on the marine environment Antarctica Year...

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Effectiveness of marine management

2016, 2011
Marine environment
Effectiveness of management
Assessment summary

Marine environment Effectiveness of management Triage responses to changes resulting from pressuresCumulative impacts and management of multiple usesSustainability and sector managementEnvironment protection systemsEvaluation of...

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Land use and management

2016
Land
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Land State and trends North East Coast Great Barrier Reef Australia’s population is concentrated along the eastern, south-eastern and south-western coastal fringes...

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No marine species have been removed from the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) threatened species list since 2011; 8 species and 1 ecological community have been added

2016
Marine environment
Key Finding

2016Since 2011, 2 sea snakes, 2 seabirds, 2 sharks, 1 sawfish and 1 fish have been listed, and 2 fish species have been reclassified as critically endangered. Giant kelp forests across south-eastern Australia were the first marine community to be listed as a threatened ecological community...

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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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Australian Antarctic Program’s station environment: Operation indicators

2016
Antarctic environment
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Antarctic environment State and trends Antarctica Although human activity across Antarctica has increased during recent decades, it remains much lower than for all other continents. Human...

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Figure ATM23a Trends in extreme fire-weather days (annual 90th percentile of daily Forest Fire Danger Index values) at 38 climate reference sites

2016
Climate
State and trends
Map

Interact with mapDownload as pngDownload dataset Note: Map trends are given in Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) points per decade. Larger circles represent larger trends. Filled circles represent trends that are statistically significant. Source: Bureau of Meteorology...

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Pressures affecting ambient air quality

2016, 2011
Ambient air quality
Pressures
Assessment summary

Ambient air quality Pressures Prescribed burning and bushfiresIncreasing populationNonregulated diesel engines, including shipping and nonroad transportCommercial and other domestic sourcesDomestic wood heatersIndustryMotor...

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Managing for resilience

2016
Marine environment
Resilience
Report Content

2016 Marine environment Resilience Great Barrier Reef Marine North Marine North West Marine South East Most management...

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Pressures affecting biodiversity

2016, 2011
Biodiversity
Pressures
Assessment summary

Biodiversity Pressures Pressures facing aquatic ecosystemsChanged hydrologyAltered fire regimesPest species and pathogensPressures from livestock productionUrban developmentPollutionGlobal climate change and climate...

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Some pressures are increasing, with uncertain impacts on the marine environment

2016
Marine environment
Key Finding

2016Since 2011, there has been an increase in most forms of vessel activity in marine waters. As a result, risks associated with grounding of vessels, anchor scouring, accidents at sea in ecologically sensitive areas, vessel strike of marine animals, and introduction of foreign marine...

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Approach

2016
Biodiversity
Report Content
... in grade and trends. As with SoE  2011, the reference point from which the assessment of grade and trends is ... European settlement (approximately 1750). This reference point has been accepted as the basis for planning the  ...
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Effectiveness of atmospheric management

2016, 2011
Ambient air quality
Effectiveness of management
Assessment summary

Ambient air quality Effectiveness of management Management of sources of pollutionManagement frameworkIndoor air quality...

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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.

This site is a major undertaking to improve the usability of SoE information. We are grateful for the support of users in our ongoing efforts to improve SoE reporting.  Please report problems with the site via our feedback page.

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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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