Air toxics are pollutants that are usually present in ambient air in relatively low concentrations, but have characteristics such as toxicity or persistence that make them hazardous to human, plant or animal health.

Overall, the pressures on air quality remain very similar to those present in 2011: a growing population, greater urban density and increasing car travel, but a slowing in the growth of public transport patronage.

The Antarctic Treaty and a set of related international agreements, known collectively as the Antarctic Treaty System, provide the framework for governance of the Antarctic region.

The concept of resilience has not been widely applied in Australian heritage management (see ‘Resilience’ in the SoE 2011 Heritage chapter, SoE Committee 2011).

In SoE 2011, the framework and structure for the management effectiveness assessment summaries were arranged to align with the business plan of the Heritage and Wildlife Division of the then Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Comm

Although human activity across Antarctica has increased during recent decades, it remains much lower than for all other continents. Human activity in Antarctica is highly seasonal, with the peak presence and activity occurring during the summer months.

The AAT comprises an area of approximately 5.9 million km2, and its coastline extends more than 11,200 kilometres (excluding offshore islands). 

Drainage divisions are the fundamental spatial unit for assessing the state of the inland water environment.

Understanding of the state and trend of biodiversity in Australia is limited. Few long-term national-scale monitoring programs are available; there are some disparate datasets on a smattering of species and ecosystems at regional to local levels.

Overall, this 2016 report raises many of the same issues that were raised in all the previous SoE reports dating back to 1996, including the 2011 report.

The distribution of threatened species around Australia provides an indication of current human impacts on native biota.

The distribution of threatened species around Australia provides an indication of current human impacts on native biota.

Carbon monoxide is not discussed in SoE 2016, because there has been little change since the 2011 report. Please refer to SoE 2011 for information on carbon monoxide.

Land use and land management can produce pressures on aquatic environments that include changes to flow, water quality and the availability of habitat.