Environment and Resource Management

Introduction

State of the Environment Report 2007

Our future depends on sustaining healthy living systems where the environment, society and the economy are all in good condition and all work together. The terms 'sustain', 'sustainability' and 'sustainable development' all mean different things to different people. Put simply, sustainability means ensuring that the things valued most by society such as health, family, clean air and water, safe food, personal security, shelter, education, employment and opportunity are available for future generations. By tracking the health of living systems, or the state of the environment, we can identify chances to improve the way that we do things to ensure that our values, decisions, institutions and activities are consistent with protecting the Earth.

State of the environment reporting is an internationally accepted approach to assessing environmental performance and the condition and trend of our natural capital. It provides the necessary information for environmental and natural resource management decisions and actions that allow for successful environmental management.

State of the environment reporting has progressed internationally since the 1970s. It began in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at a time when concern with environmental degradation had become a prominent social and political issue. Many countries now prepare state of the environment reports, while, in Australia, various shire and city councils as well as most states and the Commonwealth report regularly.

This Report, State of the Environment Queensland 2007, was produced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in collaboration with experts across government and industry. It is the third in a series of quadrennial publications.

State of the environment reports review the significant programs, activities and achievements of public authorities in the protection, restoration or enhancement of Queensland's environment. They include an assessment of the condition of major environmental resources and identify significant trends in environmental values. The information published will help evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of strategies implemented to improve environmental performance and achieve the objectives of environmental legislation and programs.

Statutory requirements

State of the environment reporting is a statutory requirement under both the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (EP Act) and the Coastal Protection and Management Act 1995 (Coastal Act). The EP Act requirement applies to Queensland's environment generally, while the Coastal Act requirement relates specifically to the coastal zone. The Acts require the EPA to prepare an assessment of the state of the environment and of the coastal zone at least every four years. This report is designed to meet the requirements of both Acts.

Section 547 of the EP Act and section 166 of the Coastal Act specify that the report must:

(a) include an assessment of the condition of Queensland's major environmental resources
(and major coastal resources);

(b) identify significant trends in environmental
(and coastal) values;

(c) review significant programs, activities and achievements of persons and public authorities relating to the protection, restoration or enhancement of Queensland's environment (and coastal zone); and

(d) evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of environmental (and coastal management) strategies implemented to achieve the objects of the Acts.

In addition to meeting the statutory requirements under the EP Act and the Coastal Act, this report is used to meet a range of reporting obligations and information needs including OECD Environmental Performance Reporting requirements, the environmental reporting inputs for Priorities in Progress reporting and resource condition information to support the evaluation of key programs including the National Action Plan for Water Quality and Salinity and the extension to the Natural Heritage Trust.

Environmental management and state of the environment reporting in Queensland


Figure 1.1 The protection of Queensland's environment
is to be achieved by an integrated
management program that is consistent
with ecologically sustainable development.

The EP Act states that the protection of Queensland's environment is to be achieved by an integrated management program that is consistent with ecologically sustainable development (ESD). ESD is defined in the EP Act as 'protecting the environment while allowing for development that improves the total quality of life, both now and in the future, in a way that maintains the ecological processes on which life depends'.

Under the EP Act, state of the environment reporting is an integral part of a four-phase planning and management cycle (see Figure 1.1).

Researching the state of the environment is part of phase 1. Reporting on the state of the environment is important to ensure accountability of environmental strategies and to provide objective measures of environmental performance and progress towards sustainability. This third report provides a decade of natural resource condition measures and describes environmental trends and management in Queensland. The report is the result of whole-of-government cooperation overseen by an interdepartmental committee whose members represent key departments including Departments of Premier and Cabinet, Treasury, Local Government and Planning, Primary Industries and Fisheries, Natural Resources and Water, Mines and Energy, Public Works and Housing, Education, Health, Transport, and Tourism. The committee is chaired by the EPA.

Aims

This report builds on the information base established in the 1999 and 2003 reports for developing sound environmental management strategies and for assessing the sustainability of development in Queensland. It attempts to:

The report is designed for use principally by decision makers, planners and policy analysts in the private sector and in government at all three levels. It is hoped that the report will be a valuable resource for regional natural resource management bodies, community groups, students and the public generally.

Components

A variety of media have been employed in the publication of this report. The key findings document, a summary of the main results and policy responses, is available in hard copy. The full report, discussing the state of the environment, is available on compact disc. Both the key findings document and the full report are available on the Internet at www.derm.qld.gov.au/soe.

The report is supported by a website (SoE Online) that provides information at the indicator level and is updated annually. This website has the most recent information on a range of environmental indicators and statistics: www.derm.qld.gov.au/soe-online.

Environmental themes

The scope of this report is broad, examining a range of physical, social and cultural elements. The chapters explore nine themes: sustainability, atmosphere, land, inland waters, coastal zone, biodiversity, invasive plants and animals, human settlements and natural and cultural heritage.
The thematic areas have been selected from the broad definition of the environment in section 8 of the EP Act:

'"Environment" includes-

(a) ecosystems and their constituent parts, including people and communities; and

(b) all natural and physical resources; and

(c) the qualities and characteristics of locations, places and areas, however large or small, that contribute to their biological diversity and integrity, intrinsic or attributed scientific value or interest, amenity, harmony and sense of community; and

(d) the social, economic, aesthetic and cultural conditions that affect, or are affected by, the things mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c).'

A range of issues (issue papers) are discussed within each chapter. The report concludes with a chapter on legislation, which evaluates the effectiveness and efficiency of environmental strategies associated with the EP and Coastal Acts.

Although the environmental themes are treated separately in individual chapters, the issues are interrelated. Most subjects are discussed within a single chapter in order to avoid undue duplication. Nonetheless, certain material can logically be discussed in more than one chapter; for example, the effect of the severe drought and high levels of greenhouse gas emissions on the environment have been explored in many issues. Every effort has been made to identify links and provide cross-references.

The wetland system is a good demonstration of how different issues are interrelated. The health of Queensland's water resources depends on the interconnectivity between rivers and streams, lakes, swamps and fens, estuaries, groundwater and the ocean. These different elements are explored over several chapters in the report as illustrated in Figure 1.2.

In this report, the topic of introduced species has been explored as a separate theme in Chapter 8, Invasive plants and animals. This contrasts to its treatment in the previous two reports where the topic was covered under the themes of biodiversity, inland waters and coastal zone. The consolidation of information on this topic recognises the increasing detrimental impact of introduced species on our economy and social wellbeing.


Figure 1.2 Coverage of the information provided in State of the Environment Queensland 2007.
Source: EPA

DPSIR Framework

The report uses the driving forces-pressures-state-impacts-responses (DPSIR) framework to explore key contemporary environmental issues for Queensland (Figure 1.3). The DPSIR framework was developed by the European Environmental Agency to improve the socioeconomic and sociocultural aspects of environmental reporting.


Figure 1.3 The driving forces-pressures-state-impacts-
responses framework
Source: Adapted from Global International Waters
Assessment (GIWA) 2003 European Environment Agency

The DPSIR model is an expansion of the pressure-state-response (PSR) framework, also known as the pressure-condition-response (PCR) model, which was developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and used as the basis for reporting in previous reports. The DPSIR model extends the PSR/PCR framework by taking into account the driving forces or causes for change as well as the impacts on environmental, social and economic systems. Driving forces are the socioeconomic and sociocultural forces that propel human activities and which increase or mitigate pressures on the environment. Pressures are the stresses that human activities place on the environment. State (or condition) is the quality of the environment relative to its native state and impacts are the effects of environmental degradation. The responses refer to the action undertaken by society to improve or manage the environmental situation.

Each chapter within the report is made up of a series of papers covering the key issues for each theme. The information for each issue is treated in the context of the DPSIR model where possible. Discussion opens with a summary of key findings that provides a critical assessment of the issue, and presents the main conclusions regarding its impact on the environment, its significance and its challenge to natural resource management. This is followed by a list of key indicators and their status, showing present condition and trend. Wherever possible, status is indicated by the following key: good condition [ ]; of concern [ ]; and poor condition [ ]. The issue's importance is described, and drivers and impacts are identified and explained.

The mid-section of each paper presents information on the pressure and condition of the issue, highlighting the pressure(s) influencing it and outlining the current condition and trend (defined as resultant influences of identified pressures). This is followed by a section on the government's response to the issue, including an assessment of the relative effectiveness of responses, suggestions for future policy and management directions and identification of data gaps. The final section lists the references cited.

Environmental indicators

Indicators are used to characterise and inform environmental conditions, pressures and responses. An indicator is a physical, chemical, biological or socioeconomic measurement that provides a numerical indication of some aspect of an environmental issue. Indicators are meant to track the condition of complex environmental systems, and so must be examined in the context of their relation to the system they represent.

High-quality environmental reporting is a rapidly growing research discipline that pursues better environmental management practices and accountability. Significant work to advance the discipline is occurring within Australia and across the world (for instance, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) to ensure that there are direct links between monitoring and management practices.

To have successful reporting on environmental issues it is important for there to be congruence between the different scales of reporting (local, regional, state, national and international), particularly with respect to the choice of indicators at each level and how they may be aggregated to address wider jurisdictions. This should be coupled with good monitoring and evaluation of these indicators. Indicators, in turn, need to be sound measures of the consequences of management initiatives. Comprehensive information is required for effective environmental management; paucity of information may hamper efforts.

The indicators selected for this report are a combination of the ANZECC core environmental indicators for state of the environment reporting (ANZECC 2001), the state-specific indicators used in the two previous reports and some new additions.

Table 1.1 lists the indicators used to compile this report. They are categorised according to the PSR model. Pressure indicators tend to give warning of environmental issues (leading indicators) and, if selected properly, should track the effectiveness of responses put into effect during previous reporting cycles. State indicators identify the condition and trend of particular aspects of the environment and, once standards or benchmarks are established, tell us if a problem exists and whether it is getting better or worse. Response indicators are limited and information published tends to be qualitative lists of measures adopted by government and community. The effectiveness of these responses will be evident from changes in the environmental pressure and condition indicators in future reporting cycles.

Table 1.1 also lists indicators that were used previously but are absent in this report. Changes in monitoring programs (including their discontinuation) and lack of data (often due to the collection of information on a time scale different from the quadrennial release of this report) have meant that it has not always been possible to track trends consistently across Queensland's three State of the Environment reports. In some cases this presents a significant challenge in achieving the intent of the report, which is an evaluation of society's approach to environmental management. Nonetheless, the report provides an excellent opportunity for reviewing the appropriateness of measures, including identification of gaps in and barriers to collection of information, allowing for a continuous cycle of improvement in reporting on Queensland's environmental performance.

The Queensland public now has access to up-to-date environmental and sustainability indicators and statistics via SoE Online. This website contains credible, peer-reviewed, interpreted information from government, universities and other contributors and serves as the source of reliable statistics for this report, among others.

Report preparation

Oversight for this report has been provided by the Sustainability and Environmental Reporting Interdepartmental Committee (SER IDC) which is made up of representatives from key departments. The SER IDC has coordinated the selection, measurement and reporting of issues and indicators in the report.

The report was compiled by experts from government, research agencies and universities. Each issue paper was prepared by a nominated author or authors and then reviewed by experts in the field. The authors and reviewers are listed at the beginning of each issue paper.

The EPA gratefully acknowledges the efforts of all authors and reviewers, without whose expertise and time this report would not be possible.


Providing information at a regional scale

There has been a growing focus on regional report planning and the release of state of region and shire reports. This report concentrates primarily on the condition and trend of Queensland's major environmental assets. While the report aims not to duplicate the reporting obligations of regional bodies, local government authorities or other state planning and reporting requirements, regional information at the scale of local government areas, catchments or bioregions is included where available. Figure 1.4 shows the regionalisations used and referred to in this report.

Data acquisition

A large volume of information was collated, interpreted and used in this report. The information presented represents the best available at the time of collation of the report and pre-dates recent Local Government Areas and the Machinery of Government changes for Queensland.

The information has been drawn from a wide range of sources which are cited throughout the text. Published citations can be found in the reference lists at the end of each issue paper. Other sources are generally acknowledged by the use of organisational abbreviations where abbreviations are explained in the glossary at the rear of the report. The EPA and authors may have provided additional information that appears without specific acknowledgment.

The EPA gratefully acknowledges the use of data provided by a wide range of organisations and individuals, both government and private, for this report.

Future directions for state of the environment reporting

State of the environment reporting is required in Queensland at least every four years. This report is the third edition but there is always room for improvement. The EPA is keen to hear readers' views on whether the report meets their needs and their suggestions for future reports.

A feedback form is available online to capture your ideas.

Alternatively, you can forward your ideas in writing to:

The Program Manager - SOE
Greenhouse Sciences and Environmental Reporting Unit
Environmental Protection Agency
 PO Box 15155
CITY EAST QLD 4002

Table 1.1 Issues and indicators used to compile this report (PDF, 364K)*

Queensland in profile

Queensland 's land resources lie between the latitudes 10°S and 29°S and the longitudes 138°E and 153°E. The total land area is 172.8 million ha; of this, 54% is classified as tropical. The area within the state's administrative jurisdiction includes numerous coastal islands.

The mainland coastline extends about 6000 km, and features 1165 offshore islands and cays. The Great Barrier Reef, the most significant feature of the state's coastal zone, consists of 3400 separate coral reefs, shoals and other formations, and extends more than 2300 km from Bramble Cay to Lady Elliot Island.

The state can be divided into four main landscape regions: the eastern highlands, the western plains, the north-western uplands and the coastal plain (Figure 1.5).
Much of the eastern coastline consists of long, sandy beaches with sand dunes and high sand deposits. Almost the entire eastern coastline is overlooked by the Great Dividing Range, which rises in places to over 1000 m. By contrast, the Gulf of Carpentaria is surrounded by low-lying plains: during the wet season, sea and land may be difficult to demarcate.

Queensland 's soils, like those of the rest of Australia, are often ancient, highly weathered and leached of nutrients. The continent has been geologically stable, suffering little volcanic activity or creation of new land masses, for many millions of years.

Australia's most naturally diverse state, Queensland has 13 terrestrial and 14 marine bioregions, defined on the basis of broad patterns of biological and physical characteristics. These regions support more than 1000 ecosystem types, habitat for approximately 66% of Australia's known frog, reptile, bird and mammal species and 47% of its vascular plant species. Queensland also has the highest total area of wetland in Australia, occupying 4% of the state or 71 000 km², and contains 39 of the 40 different types of identified Australian wetlands.

The state's terrestrial vegetation communities can be grouped into the broad categories of forests (including woodlands), arid shrublands, grasslands, heathlands and wetlands. Distribution is largely determined by soil type, rainfall and temperature. Native forests are found over approximately 28% of the state, and native grasses over 86%, in both open grassland and woodland settings. The coastal zone has over 2 million ha of seagrass, 447 000 ha of saltmarsh and 190 000 ha of mangroves.

Queensland also has a diverse cultural heritage, comprising everything we have from the past, including the recent past. People from many different cultural backgrounds have come here to live and have left their imprint on the cities, towns and countryside in such forms as landscapes that are important for their scenic and recreational value or which have special significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and buildings, industrial installations and archaeological sites that have played significant roles in our history. These places are important to our communities and to the nation as a whole, and enrich our sense of identity.

Climate

Queensland has large variations in its climate. The inland west of Longreach and Charleville is subtropical with low rainfall and hot summers. The northern end of the state has very warm summers with heavy monsoonal influences. The region to the south is subtropical with a warm, humid summer and a comparatively dry winter with clear skies. The eastern coastal strip is heavily influenced by the warm waters of the Coral and Tasman seas. It is therefore free from extreme temperatures and has high humidity that tends to drive rain onto the coast.

Across the state, summer rainfall declines with distance from the coast and winter rainfall declines with distance from the south. Rainfall varies highly from year to year, being strongly influenced by the El NiÑo Southern Oscillation phenomenon. Seasonal variability is also high, with most rain falling in the summer months. The Wet Tropics in the far north has the highest rainfall in Australia, with more than 90% of its annual rainfall occurring between November and April. The Innisfail area receives more than 4000 mm a year due to its high relief and coastal location. In contrast, Birdsville has the lowest annual average rainfall in the nation, receiving about 200 mm a year.

Queensland is susceptible to harsh yet variable climatic conditions, including severe droughts and floods, frosts, tropical cyclones and violent thunderstorms with damaging winds and hail. For example, in 2006 south-east Queensland was experiencing severe drought conditions while, to the north, tropical cyclone Monica was causing floods.

Climatic variability significantly affects the water supplies, coastal systems, vegetation, biodiversity and agriculture systems, and often exacerbates human-induced environmental pressures. Pressures are currently being felt statewide, with 60% of the land area being drought declared.

Water resources

Queensland 's drainage pattern is controlled mainly by the Great Dividing Range, a loosely arranged chain of mountains, hills and high country running roughly parallel to the east coast. About 76% of all the rivers' discharge occurs in sparsely populated catchments that drain to the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Coral Sea north of Mackay: only 6% of mean annual river flows discharge to the inland river systems. Few inland streams are perennial. During the dry season, many are reduced to empty channels with remnant billabongs. High evaporation rates west of the Great Dividing Range reduce surface water availability even further. Since the last report in 2003, surface water has become scarcer, which has put more pressure on other water sources such as groundwater.

Although mainly dry, Queensland produces 40-45% of Australia's runoff while representing only 20% of the nation's land area. These proportions highlight not only the aridness of the Australian continent, but also the seasonality of much of the rainfall and the large falls received by the relatively small Wet Tropics area.

Groundwater provides about 44% of total annual water use in Queensland. The single largest groundwater source is the Great Artesian Basin, which underlies about 70% of the state. It is the sole source of permanent water for stock and provides water for 84 towns that are located on the Basin.

The scarcity and unreliability of rainfall have led to the need to store and divert surface water from rivers and storages and to extract groundwater from artesian sources to meet human needs. However, diversion has reached or exceeded sustainable levels in certain areas and water extraction and river modification have affected natural flow regimes, water quality, aquatic ecosystems and fish migration. Water scarcity is becoming a major issue for south-east Queensland where most of the population lives. Current drought conditions have put unprecedented pressure on existing water supplies.

Land and sea

Queensland 's variety of landforms, forest and mineral resources and vegetation supports innumerable economic uses, cultural values and intrinsic environmental benefits. Beef cattle and sheep graze about 85% of the state; crops account for about 2%. Protected areas including national parks occupy about 4%, and managed forests and timber reserves occupy about 2.5%. The remainder of the land is used for services, housing, industry and mining activities. Crown land, leasehold land and freehold leases cover 83.4% of the state.

About three-quarters of the forest cover is woodland. Closed forests are confined mainly to coastal areas and parts of the southern inland. Almost all of the forest resource is native forest (99.6%). About 2.4 million ha of the 8.0 million ha of Crown reserves are used for commercial forest operations. Plantation forests cover only about 0.4% of total forest area, but supply 61% of timber consumed, and this proportion is increasing.

Coastal waters provide a wide range of cultural values and economic uses. These include recreational and tourism activities, commercial shipping and fishing, a growing aquaculture industry, and, in some areas, wastewater disposal. Fisheries on the southern and central coast have been harvested for many years, while those of the more remote northern Great Barrier Reef and the Gulf of Carpentaria have been developed only over the past three decades. Marine parks cover approximately 38% of coastal waters, although most of these parks are managed for multiple uses rather than providing complete protection.

European settlement has led to native vegetation being cleared to make way for other land uses, particularly grazing and urban development. This clearing and fragmentation of native habitat has led to major losses in biodiversity. Clearing has also contributed many areas of soil loss and degradation. Almost half of the woody ecosystems have been cleared since European settlement. However, land clearing has been significantly reduced recently through introduction of laws prohibiting broadscale land clearing.

Subsequent uses of cleared land have also had many detrimental effects on the environment. Intensive cropping and grazing have had a range of impacts on soil and vegetation quality. Excessive grazing (by domestic, feral and native herbivores), altered fire regimes, harvesting activities and pollution, alone or in combination, have contributed to losses and declines in biodiversity. Water quality in many river systems, aquifers and nearshore waters has declined, affected by stormwater runoff from both agricultural and urban areas and by industrial and sewage effluents. Catchment development is believed to have increased fine-grained sediment exports to nearshore waters by two to five times natural levels. At least 80% of wetlands in areas affected by urbanisation and intensive agriculture have been destroyed or seriously degraded, while wetlands in the remote north are relatively unaffected.

Fishing is the most readily identifiable economic and recreational use placing pressure on marine ecosystems. Several commercial and recreational fisheries show signs of over-exploitation. Indirect impacts such as seabed disturbance and discarded bycatch cause concern. Effects from the growing aquaculture and tourism industries are also significant.

The spread of exotic and displaced native species (as the result of European settlement and land and sea use practices) has had severe impacts. At current rates, 10 new species are introduced every year. Weeds cost about $600 million annually. Introduced animals currently cost approximately $110 million each year. These eat, compete with and displace both terrestrial and marine native plants and animals. Introduced plants and animals have caused extensive damage to grazing land, crops and soils, and are difficult and expensive to control.

Mineral and energy resources

Queensland has extensive deposits of most minerals.
The Carpentaria-Mount Isa region in the north-west contains major base metal deposits (particularly copper, lead, zinc and silver). The north and east also contain various deposits, including the majority of the state's gold and some base metals. Large bauxite deposits occur on Cape York Peninsula. The largest coal deposits are located in the Bowen Basin, which extends almost 500 km south from Collinsville.

The state has modest supplies of crude oil and natural gas. Crude oil reserves and production have been declining since the late 1980s. By 1996-97 the overall self-sufficiency in oil products had fallen to less than 10%. Significant sources of renewable energy (solar, wind, bagasse and biogas) are available, but currently meet a very small proportion of energy needs and remain largely undeveloped.

The electricity and transport systems are reliant on fossil fuels, which contribute to greenhouse gases and atmospheric pollution. Queensland's per capita use of energy is relatively high. Electricity use rose by 22% from 2004-05, and per capita energy use is also growing.

Human settlements

The population density is very low, supporting around 2 persons/km². Most residents live in the south-east in urban areas. In 2006, Queensland had the second largest population in Australia with a population of 4.053 million people. In 2005-06 the population grew by 1.9%. The population is concentrated along the east coast with many large population centres including Brisbane (2005 population was 1.8 million), Gold Coast (2005 population was 0.494 million) Cairns (2005 population was 0.128 million) and Townsville (2005 population was 0.101 million).

Low density or urban sprawl is characteristic of population centres. A rapidly growing population generates more waste, increases demand for energy and transport, and requires space for housing and infrastructure. These activities place pressure on the environment. In this context, creating a healthy living system through sustainable development remains a challenge for government and communities.

Environmental management


Figure 1.5 Queensland in relief.

Queensland 's environmental values and natural resources are shared by all Queenslanders. As a consequence, all sectors of the community-government, industry, commerce, agriculture and each and every individual-have responsibility for environmental protection.

All three spheres of government, Commonwealth, state and local, have roles in environmental management, and recent years have seen increasing cooperation and resource sharing among the spheres. The Commonwealth Department of Environment and Water Resources focuses on issues of national environmental and cultural heritage significance. At the state level, the Environmental Protection Agency is the lead agency for all environmental management matters, but many other government departments also have significant roles. Local governments have extensive powers and responsibilities and play an important role in helping communities achieve economic, social and environmental outcomes. In particular, they provide water, sewerage and cleansing services and are responsible for land use planning, building control and waste management.

Governments are increasingly consulting and seeking participation from the private sector and the community in their planning, policy development and programs. Many environmental protection responses and activities exist outside government. Ecologically sustainable development needs to be pursued globally, nationally, regionally and individually. Community, industry and government responsibilities and responses to individual environmental issues are outlined in the following chapters of this report.

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Last reviewed 16 May 2011
Last updated 28 November 2007

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