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

Showing 30 of 183 results

Figure MAR39 Schematic of different types of cumulative impacts

2016
Marine environment
Effectiveness of management
Graph

Am image showing a representation of different types of activities, indicated by horizontal bars of 3 different colours, and the total impact of those activities, indicated by a vertical black line. The top part of the image shows activities that have no cumulative impact, in which...

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Figure LAN34b Indigenous land and sea interests in northern Australia

2016
Land
Outlook
Map

Download as pngDownload dataset Source: Petina Pert (CSIRO) - using data from multiple sources (Australian Government Department of Environment and Energy - IPA database, 2016; the National Native Title Tribunal for native title boundaries; and the Australian Bureau of Statistics...

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Key gaps in evaluating the marine environment

2016
Marine environment
Outlook
Report Content

2016 Marine environment Outlook This report has highlighted a number of key gaps in our current ability to assess the state of the Australian marine environment. In this section, we summarise these key gaps and...

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Vegetation clearing rates have stabilised across all jurisdictions since 2011, except Queensland, where clearing rates have increased

2016
Biodiversity
Key Finding

2016Weakening of vegetation clearing legislation in Queensland since 2011 has resulted in a tripling of clearing rates in that state in 2013–14 compared with 2009–10.  

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Figure ATM28 (bottom) resultant calculated savanna burning emissions in pre-project baseline period (1995–2004) and project period (2005–11), where horizontal lines represent mean emissions for respective periods

2016
Climate
Graph

Application of Australia's savanna burning emissions methodology to the West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement Project area: emissions Application of Australia's savanna burning emissions methodology to the West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement Project area: emissions...

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State and trends of the Southern Ocean

2016, 2011
Antarctic environment
State and trends
Assessment summary

Antarctic environment State and trends The physical environment: The Southern Ocean Antarctica...

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Box HER13 The Goods Line, Sydney

2016
Heritage
Pressures
Case Study
... most densely populated area. The original railway goods line, part of Sydney’s first railway opened in 1855, ran ... rail yards at Rozelle and Darling Harbour. Much of the line was closed when Darling Harbour Yard was redeveloped ... public entertainment, recreation and festivals. The Goods Line is an example of the potential for innovative ideas and ...
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Global importance of Antarctica

2016
Antarctic environment
Introduction
Report Content

2016 Antarctic environment Introduction Marine South West Marine South East Antarctica Although isolated from other continents, Antarctica is...

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Box ATM7 West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement project

2016
Climate
Resilience
Case Study

Annually, 20–80 million hectares, or 3–10 per cent of Australia’s land area, is affected by bushfires; 85–98 per cent of these fires occur in the topical savanna woodlands and rangelands. Methane and nitrous oxide produced from the combustion contribute 2–3 per cent of Australia’...

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Generally, marine habitats and communities in the Temperate East Marine Region and the South-east Marine Region have been subject to higher historical impacts, such as bottom trawling impacts on shelf and slope communities, than in other regions.

2016
Marine environment
State and trends
Key Finding

2016Generally, marine habitats and communities in the Temperate East Marine Region and the South-east Marine Region have been subject to higher historical impacts, such as bottom trawling impacts on shelf and slope communities, than in other regions.

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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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Box LAN15 Developing the north

2016
Land
Outlook
Case Study

Strong engagement with Indigenous communities in developing northern Australia (Australian Government 2015c) is crucial, in light of the increasing number of formal agreements and rights these communities are establishing on land and water; their presence on, and connection and...

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Anthropogenic noise

2016
Marine environment
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Marine environment Pressures Marine Temperate East Marine South West Great Barrier Reef Marine North Marine North...

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Figure MAR30 Trajectory of spawning stock biomass for southern bluefin tuna under the base case of the operating model used under the management procedure, 1930–2040

2016
Marine environment
State and trends
Graph

A line graph showing the trajectory of spawning stock biomass for southern bluefin tuna under the base case of the operating model used under the management procedure from 1930 to 2040. After falling steadily from 1930 to 2010, the line begins to rise again, based on management as...

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Box BLT14 Infrastructure Priority List: capital-city public transport initiatives

2016
Built environment
Effectiveness of management
Case Study
... proposing to deliver a new 30 kilometre metro-style rail line, from the Metro North West Line at Chatswood under Sydney Harbour through the Sydney ... and then, using converted rail tracks on the existing line, to Bankstown. The proposal would deliver 30 trains per ...
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State and trends of marine biodiversity: Quality of habitats and communities

2016
Marine environment
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Marine environment State and trends Tasmania Marine Temperate East Marine South West Great Barrier Reef East...

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Pressures on historic heritage

2016
Heritage
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Heritage Pressures South Australian Gulf Greater Sydney Changing use and tension between cultural and economic values For many historic sites, the current use of...

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Figure MAR18 (a) Transect lines for 2D and 3D seismic surveys, 1961–2012; total metres per square kilometre surveyed for (b) 2D and (c) 3D surveys conducted in Australian marine waters, 2001–2012

2016
Marine environment
Pressures
Map

Download as pngDownload dataset Source: (a) Data from Geoscience Australia; (b and c) National Environmental Science Programme Marine Biodiversity Hub Figure MAR18 (a) Transect lines for 2D and 3D seismic surveys, 1961–2012; total metres per square kilometre surveyed for (...

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The physical environment: The Southern Ocean

2016
Antarctic environment
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Antarctic environment State and trends Antarctica The Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean is changing in ways that are likely to affect regional and global climate, and marine productivity (...

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Box MAR6 Southern bluefin tuna

2016
Marine environment
State and trends
Case Study

Southern bluefin tuna is an important apex predator (at the top of the food chain) in Australia’s marine environment. Juveniles aggregate in the Great Australian Bight during the summer, and subadults and adults use southern and south-eastern waters primarily during winter....

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Box HER15 The City of Broken Hill—a National Heritage place

2016
Heritage
State and trends
Case Study

In January 2015, the City of Broken Hill was included on the National Heritage List—the first Australian city to receive this national recognition. Extensive research and community consultation, extending across several years, were a key part of the listing process. The values of...

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Marine regions

2016
Marine environment
Introduction
Report Content

2016 Marine environment Introduction Tasmania Marine Temperate East Marine South West Great Barrier Reef Marine North...

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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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Effective management of the Australian environment in the future also requires efficient, collaborative and complementary planning and decision-making processes...

2016
Outlook
Key Finding

2016Effective management of the Australian environment in the future also requires efficient, collaborative and complementary planning and decision-making processes, with clear lines of accountability; improved support for decision-making; a more strategic focus on planning for a...

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Figure ANT8 Annual average estimated cumulative ice mass loss and sea level equivalent

2016
Antarctic environment
State and trends
Graph

Gt = gigatonne; mm = millimetreSource: Adapted from Figure 4.16 of Vaughan et al. (2013) Figure ANT8 Annual average estimated cumulative ice mass loss and sea level equivalent, 1992–2012 The physical environment: The cryosphere

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Figure COA7 Regional distributions of sea level change (4 emissions scenarios) for the period centred on 2090 compared with 1986–2005

2016
Coasts
Pressures
Map

Download as png RCP = Representative Concentration Pathway Note: The projections (shadings) and uncertainties (solid lines) represent the contributions from thermal expansion, changes in terrestrial ice and ocean dynamics, gravitational response of the ocean to these changes, and...

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Figure LAN33 Density distribution of feral camels across their range in Australia, with aerial survey areas marked by hatching, 2013

2016
Land
Effectiveness of management
Map

Download as pngDownload dataset Note. Hatching indicates aerial survey areas Source: © Northern Territory Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, all rights reserved, as published in McGregor et al. (2013) Figure LAN33 Density distribution of feral camels...

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Jurisdictions covered

2016
Marine environment
Introduction
Report Content

2016 Marine environment Introduction Indian Ocean Australia’s marine environment is part of the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Southern Ocean. It covers a diversity of seascapes and...

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Resistance to change

2016
Coasts
Resilience
Report Content

2016 Coasts Resilience Great Barrier Reef For ecological habitats, species and processes, strong resistance to change is often related to high biodiversity and healthy ecosystem function. High...

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Drivers of environmental change

2016 Report Content

2016 Two drivers will continue to shape Australia’s environmental challenges in the coming decades: population growth, distribution and composition; and economic activity. Population and economic drivers lead to a range of specific pressures, which can be global, national,...

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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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Acknowledgment of Country

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.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2017-2018

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