Australia state of the environment 2016: overview

• Main Authors: William Jackson, Robert Argen, Nic Bax, Graeme Clark, Sarah Coleman, Ian Cresswell, Kathryn Emmerson, Karen Evans, Mark Hibberd, Emma Johnston, Melita Keywood, Andrew Klekociuk, Richard Mackay, Dan Metcalfe, Helen Murphy, Alex Rankin, David C. Smith, Barbara Wienecke
• Format: Report
• Language: unknown
• Published: Department of the Environment and Energy (Cth) 2017
• Subjects: Environmental protection; Climatic changes; Biodiversity conservation; Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://apo.org.au/node/74267

In the past five years (2011–16), environmental policies and management practices in Australia have achieved improvements in the state and trends of parts of the Australian environment. Australia’s built environment, natural and cultural heritage, and marine and Antarctic environments are generally in good condition. There are, however, areas where the condition of the environment is poor and/or deteriorating. These include the more populated coastal areas and some of the growth areas within urban environments, where human pressure is greatest (particularly in southeastern Australia); and the extensive land-use zone of Australia, where grazing is considered a major threat to biodiversity. In Australia, the key drivers of environmental change are population growth and economic activity. The extent to which these drivers lead to environmental impacts depends on a range of factors, including: how many of us there are where and how we live the goods and services we produce (for both domestic and export markets) and consume the technologies we use to produce our energy, food, materials and transport how we manage the waste we produce. Keeping impacts within limits is one key to a sustainable future. If not managed well, drivers can generate pressures that have immediate and long-term negative consequences for the environment. If managed well, however, drivers can be harnessed to achieve environmental benefits. The main pressures facing the Australian environment today are the same as in 2011: climate change, landuse change, habitat fragmentation and degradation, and invasive species. In addition, the interactions between these and other pressures are resulting in cumulative impacts, amplifying the threats faced by the Australian environment. Evidence shows that some individual pressures on the environment have decreased since 2011, such as those associated with air quality, poor agricultural practices, commercial fishing, and oil and gas exploration and production in Australia’s marine environment. During the same ...