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Australia State of the Environment Report

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Topics

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

Topics

A topic is a specific issue or subject discussed in the report. Each theme discusses these topics in detail.

From this page you can use the filters below to refine a list of topics of interest to you, or, list all topics available in the SoE report.

Ambient air quality

Domestic wood heaters

Emissions from domestic wood heaters—particularly smoke, but also VOCs—remain a significant pressure on ambient air quality during cooler months of the year in several parts of Australia.
2016
  • Read more about Domestic wood heaters
  • See Assessment Summaries
Relates to
Ambient air quality
Pressures
Murray DarlingTasmaniaAustralian Capital TerritoryEast CoastGreater Sydney
Ambient air quality

Domestic wood heaters

Smoke from domestic wood heaters remains a significant source of air pollution in some urban areas, regional towns and lower-density settlements, often contributing up to 50 per cent of the PM2.5 pollution on winter days.
2016
  • Read more about Domestic wood heaters
Relates to
Ambient air quality
Risks
Marine environment

Drivers influencing the marine environment

Drivers influencing the Australian environment are covered in detail in the Drivers report, and readers are encouraged to refer to that report. We briefly summarise the drivers influencing the marine environment here.
2016
  • Read more about Drivers influencing the marine environment
Relates to
Marine environment
Introduction
Overview

Drivers of environmental change

Two drivers are increasingly likely to shape Australia’s environmental challenges in the coming decades: population growth, distribution and composition; and economic activity.
2016
  • Read more about Drivers of environmental change
Drivers

Drivers: 2011–16 in context

The SoE 2011 report discussed 3 drivers of environmental change: climate change (described as a direct driver of change), and population growth and economic growth (described as indirect drivers).
2016
  • Read more about Drivers: 2011–16 in context
Relates to
Introduction
Marine environment

Dumped wastes

By volume, dredging contributes the largest pressure associated with dumped wastes (not including marine debris, toxins, pesticides and herbicides) on the marine environment.
2016
  • Read more about Dumped wastes
  • See Assessment Summaries
Relates to
Marine environment
Pressures
Marine North West
Inland water

Ecological processes and species populations

Assessing water-related ecological processes and species populations further indicates the health of aquatic ecosystems. Processes and populations add a layer of assessment that integrates many of the individual parameters assessed in previous sections.
2016
  • Read more about Ecological processes and species populations
  • See Assessment Summaries
Relates to
Inland water
State and trends
South East CoastMurray DarlingTasmaniaGreat Barrier ReefLake Eyre
Drivers

Economic activity as a driver of environmental change

The production of goods and services requires energy and materials—metals, minerals, water, food and fibre—all of which come from the environment.
2016
  • Read more about Economic activity as a driver of environmental change
Heritage

Economic growth

Heritage places are susceptible to loss of values through inappropriate changes arising from economic growth, including impact from production activities and damage from waste disposal.
2016
  • Read more about Economic growth
  • See Assessment Summaries
Relates to
Heritage
Pressures
Murray DarlingGreater MelbourneGreater Sydney
Marine environment

Ecosystem restoration

Marine ecosystems and their attributes, including species composition, ecosystem functions and resilience, are constantly changing.
2016
  • Read more about Ecosystem restoration
Relates to
Marine environment
Outlook
Tasmania
Overview

Effectiveness of management for specific pressures and drivers

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.
2016
  • Read more about Effectiveness of management for specific pressures and drivers
Relates to
Effectiveness of management
Climate

Effects of increased greenhouse gases

The growing concentrations of human-generated GHGs have resulted in an increased absorption, largely in the lower atmosphere, of the heat radiated from Earth’s surface, causing an increase in the global (land and ocean) mean surface temperature of 0.85 ± 0.20 °C from 1880 to 2012 (
2016
  • Read more about Effects of increased greenhouse gases
  • See Assessment Summaries
Relates to
Climate
Pressures
Coasts

Energy and resource extraction and processing

Impacts of energy and resource extraction on the coast mostly result from the development, expansion and maintenance of ports for processing and export, and the infrastructure needed to extract diffuse energy sources such as coal-seam gas.
2016
  • Read more about Energy and resource extraction and processing
  • See Assessment Summaries
Relates to
Coasts
Pressures
South CoastSouth East CoastSouth Australian GulfNorth East CoastTasmaniaGreater BrisbaneGreater Sydney
Marine environment

Environment protection systems

Australia has more than 100 laws and policy instruments addressing aspects of management of the marine environment, and many incorporate principles such as sustainable development (Haward & Vince 2008).
2016
  • Read more about Environment protection systems
  • See Assessment Summaries
Relates to
Marine environment
Effectiveness of management
TasmaniaMarine Temperate EastMarine South WestGreat Barrier ReefEast CoastMarine NorthMarine North WestMarine South EastMarine Coral Sea
Biodiversity

Escalation of existing pressures

It is inevitable that the impact of climate change will continue to increase, given current trajectories (see the Drivers and Atmosphere reports).
2016
  • Read more about Escalation of existing pressures
Relates to
Biodiversity
Risks
Biodiversity

Evidence of past resilience

Much of Australia’s biodiversity is renowned for its ability to deal with massive ecosystem shocks (e.g. fire, extended periods of dry or wet, extreme weather events such as cyclones).
2016
  • Read more about Evidence of past resilience
Relates to
Biodiversity
Resilience
Heritage

Evidence of past resilience

The resilience of heritage places depends on the nature of their values and the extent of the total resource. Australian bioregions that are well represented in the reserved lands system are much more resilient as a whole than under-represented bioregions.
2016
  • Read more about Evidence of past resilience
Relates to
Heritage
Resilience
Murray DarlingGreater Sydney
Biodiversity

Factors affecting resilience capacity

Multiple factors acting at various levels of organisation, from species to landscapes, will interact to determine resilience capacity.
2016
  • Read more about Factors affecting resilience capacity
Relates to
Biodiversity
Resilience
Murray DarlingTasmania
Heritage

Factors affecting resilience capacity

A major systemic threat to Australia’s heritage is its relative priority in planning, land use and development decision-making. Heritage is often determined to be expendable in the name of a greater community or economic good.
2016
  • Read more about Factors affecting resilience capacity
Relates to
Heritage
Resilience
Ambient air quality

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5)

PM2.5 is the finer particulate fraction of PM. PM2.5 particles are smaller, and therefore able to be transported further and persist for longer in the atmosphere than PM10.
2016
  • Read more about Fine particulate matter (PM2.5)
  • See Assessment Summaries
Relates to
Ambient air quality
State and trends
Greater BrisbaneGreater DarwinGreater HobartGreater AdelaideAustralian Capital TerritoryEast CoastGreater MelbourneGreater PerthGreater Sydney
Biodiversity

Freshwater species and ecosystems

The Inland water report assesses the state and trends of freshwater-related ecological processes and key species populations, with grades ranging from very poor with worsening trends across the Murray–Darling Basin, through poor to g
2016
  • Read more about Freshwater species and ecosystems
  • See Assessment Summaries
Relates to
Biodiversity
State and trends
Murray DarlingTasmaniaGreat Barrier ReefAustralian Capital TerritoryLake Eyre
Biodiversity

Genetic and species diversity

Despite recognition that the pressures described in Pressures affecting biodiversity have a key role in shaping biodiversity at the species and community levels, the role of these pressures in shaping patterns and distribution of genetic di
2016
  • Read more about Genetic and species diversity
  • See Assessment Summaries
Relates to
Biodiversity
State and trends
Biodiversity

Global climate change and climate variability

All recent state and territory SoE reports note the adverse effects of global climate change on biodiversity. These increasingly include extreme weather, as well as bushfire, drought, cyclones and flood.
2016
  • Read more about Global climate change and climate variability
  • See Assessment Summaries
Relates to
Biodiversity
Pressures
Tasmania
Antarctic environment

Global importance of Antarctica

Although isolated from other continents, Antarctica is connected to the rest of the world through oceanic and atmospheric circulations. Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean are key drivers of Earth’s oceanic and atmospheric systems.
2016
  • Read more about Global importance of Antarctica
Relates to
Antarctic environment
Introduction
Marine South WestMarine South EastAntarctica
Antarctic environment

Governance

The Antarctic Treaty System is the primary international governance framework for the Antarctic region.
2016
  • Read more about Governance
  • See Assessment Summaries
Relates to
Antarctic environment
Effectiveness of management
Marine South EastAntarctica
Inland water

Groundwater resources

Groundwater systems are important in providing water resources for much of the country, and are subject to the pressures of climate (McFarlane et al. 2012), development and growth.
2016
  • Read more about Groundwater resources
  • See Assessment Summaries
Relates to
Inland water
State and trends
South East CoastSouth West CoastSouth Australian GulfNorth Western PlateauMurray DarlingNorth East CoastSouth Western PlateauTasmaniaTimor SeaLake Eyre
Ambient air quality

Health impacts of air pollution

The major aim of monitoring and reducing air pollution is to reduce its adverse impacts on human health.
2016
  • Read more about Health impacts of air pollution
Relates to
Ambient air quality
Introduction
South East CoastGreater Melbourne
Heritage

Heritage listings

Identifying and protecting heritage places is fundamental to ensuring that they are appropriately conserved, celebrated and passed on to future generations. The reasons to consider heritage as a discrete part of the environment and to list heritage places include:
2016
  • Read more about Heritage listings
Relates to
Heritage
Introduction
Antarctica
Antarctic environment

Heritage values

Antarctica’s unique environment is internationally recognised, and a wide range of its heritage values are protected under the Madrid Protocol.
2016
  • Read more about Heritage values
  • See Assessment Summaries
Relates to
Antarctic environment
State and trends
Antarctica
Heritage

Heritage: 2011–16 in context

The SoE 2011 Heritage chapter concluded that the outlook for Australia’s heritage was dependent on government leadership in 2 key areas:
2016
  • Read more about Heritage: 2011–16 in context
Relates to
Heritage
Introduction
TasmaniaTimor SeaGreat Barrier ReefLake Eyre

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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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