There is no dispute that Australia's marine environment is under increasing
strain. A number of reports in recent years have reached the same conclusion,
that pollution of rivers, lakes and coastal waters and shores are serious
problems. The causes are varied; pollution entering the coastal zone
is usually a complex mixture of elements from a variety of point and
diffuse sources.
The key issues are declining water quality, the loss of marine and
coastal habitats, the lack of strategic planning and management practices,
and the lack of a marine science policy based on adequate scientific
understanding of the marine environment These issues are particularly
associated with urban and developed coastlines.
The Committee received evidence that elevated levels of nutrients and
sediments entering the marine environment are the most serious issues
affecting Australia's rivers, estuaries and inshore marine environment.
The major sources of these pollutants include agricultural activity,
sewage outfalls and urban stormwater. Of particularly grave concern
is the implication of elevated nutrients and sediments in the widespread
die-back of seagrass beds and the threat they pose to the corals of
the Great Barrier Reef. Other effects include the spread of toxic algal
blooms and an increase in aquatic weeds.
Seagrasses are ecologically critical to the long-term sustainability
of the coastal zone because of their high productivity and their ability
to trap sediments. They are also nurseries and habitats for a wide range
of species, including commercially important fish species as well as
endangered species such as turtles and dugongs.
Other threats to the marine environment include:
- the release of sulphuric acid from a possible 30,000 square kilometres
of acid sulphate soils around the eastern and northern coasts of Australia,
killing marine life and destroying infrastructure;
- the use of pesticides which can bioaccumulate in the food chain,
with serious effects on marine life and human consumers;
- exotic pests transported to Australian waters in ballast water, which
can permanently alter the balance of marine ecosystems and pose serious
threats to commercial activities;
- coastal development, which can destroy mangrove and wetland habitats,
cause pollution and sedimentation from construction works, and establish
long-term patterns of urban and industrial waste disposal into the marine
environment;
- aquaculture activities, which can cause the loss or alteration of
habitats and involve increased local levels of nutrients;
- heavy metals, which can bioaccumulate in the food chain and cause
permanent damage to living organisms;
- litter, including ships' waste, particularly plastic items and discarded
fishing equipment, which can have a serious effect on marine life; and
- oil from industrial, sewage and stormwater discharges and from repeated
small spills such as in-port refuelling accidents. These can have a
more lasting and serious effect on the environment than occasional,
dramatic large spills from tanker accidents.
Certain issues emerged as recurring themes during the course of the
inquiry. Foremost was the complex, multi-sectoral, multi-jurisdictional
nature of the administration of the coastal zone and the lack of integrated
management across sectors, geographical areas and spheres of government
in dealing with specific problems.
Strategic, integrated planning and management in the coastal zone is
of paramount importance and the term 'integrated management' was used
again and again to describe the only effective way of dealing with the
issues involved. Fragmentation of coastal zone management responsibility
is exacerbated by jurisdictional boundaries that do not reflect physical,
geographical and ecological features and do not take account of natural
processes that operate across boundaries.
A significant example of the fragmentation of responsibility is the
lack of coordination between those charged with the responsibility for
controlling maritime matters and those charged with the responsibility
for controlling pollution from the land. Land based marine pollution
cannot be tackled within the narrow coastal strip alone; the source
of the problem extends well inland and upstream. To consider this and
other matters, a scoping exercise needs to be undertaken as a matter
of urgency. Such an exercise would:
- identify the existing relevant laws and arrangements, with analysis
of how they relate to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS) and other relevant international arrangements;
- examine initiatives in Australia that reduce the impact of human
activity on the marine environment;
- consider the management implications of the decision to establish
a 200 nautical mile Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ); and
- provide the foundation for the development of a soundly based national
oceans policy.
The idea of a central body at Commonwealth level, coordinating marine
affairs, including the management of marine pollution, was canvassed
frequently during the course of the Committee's inquiry. The Commonwealth
Government has specifically rejected such a notion but has recognised
the need for greater coordination of activities in the coastal zone
and policies for its management by different spheres of government.
However, the Committee believes that the Government should consider
the establishment of a central authority to coordinate the development
of policies and to recommend action to different spheres of government
if the complex problems of marine and coastal pollution are to be sufficiently
addressed.
The Commonwealth has extensive powers to regulate land based marine
pollution as well as ship sourced pollution but despite its obligations
under international agreements to prevent, reduce and control land based
marine pollution, there is no legislation enacted by the Commonwealth
applying directly to land based marine pollution. This reluctance of
the Commonwealth to enter the field of pollution control or environmental
protection legislation means that the State frameworks will continue
to be the primary tools by which land based marine pollution is addressed.
State governments devolve considerable responsibility for management
of the coastal zone to local government authorities. Although local
governments are responsible for significant expenditure on infrastructure,
many local government authorities have no specific coastal policies
or objectives relating to their areas of jurisdiction. However, many
local authorities do have sectoral objectives that indirectly affect
coastal zone management.
Local government administration usually relates only to matters within
each authority's jurisdiction and pays limited attention to matters
affecting other areas. This has contributed to the 'tyranny of small
decisions' whereby the cumulative impact of a number of small developments,
which may individually cause minimal environmental effects, generates
significant and sometimes detrimental effects on the resources of the
coastal zone.
Another major issue raised during the course of the inquiry was the
lack of adequate scientific understanding of the marine environment,
and the lack of support for research into the area. These were recurrent
themes of submissions and evidence presented to the Committee during
the course of the inquiry. This lack of understanding contributes to
the difficulties in developing appropriate management processes to ensure
sustainable development of marine resources and address existing pollution
problems.
High quality scientific knowledge of the marine environment, down to
the level of individual ecosystems, habitats and species, is critical
in identifying impacts of marine pollution and monitoring the success
of amelioration measures over the longer term. The establishment of
a comprehensive data-base and the ongoing collection of data are necessary
for the effective development and management of all maritime and coastal
zones, particularly for the management and control of land based pollution.
The lack of long-term data on the marine environment, and the lack
of coordination of what data there is, reflect the lack of a strategic
approach to coastal zone planning and management in Australia and specifically
the lack of a long-term marine science strategy. It also reflects a
trend for marine science funding in Australia to favour short-term,
specific, project based research.
One of the most crucial impediments to assessing the effects of pollution
is the lack of taxonomic knowledge, particularly of marine invertebrates:
we simply do not know enough. Taxonomy, the identification and classification
of organisms, does not require a lot of money but does require long-term
funding and positions. However, it is not a science that is generally
attractive to funding. It is a long-term baseline information provider
but does not produce any kind of output of a commercial nature or even
generate much public interest. Long-term basic scientific research,
which provides the foundation ultimately for good management, is not
something that attracts much funding attention at all from whatever
source.
The Committee received evidence regarding a number of existing strategies
and possible further measures aimed at addressing certain specific pollution
problems. Regarding land based marine pollution, the need for effective
catchment management strategies, genuinely involving the whole community,
was a recurrent theme, and relates to the concern for integrated management
referred to above.
An issue which was raised in relation to a number of specific problems
was that of the possible treatment and reuse of waste water. Examples
were given of innovative techniques to conserve or recycle water resources,
thus reducing the impact on the marine environment and providing economic
benefits at the same time. In some cases the benefits of such schemes
are clear. In others the capital and environmental costs involved make
the value of such projects questionable. Careful analysis of long-term
costs and benefits is necessary.
Central to tackling the problem of marine pollution is the education
of the community in general. In particular, combating marine pollution
involves questioning current consumption levels and lifestyle, as well
as waste prevention, reduction and disposal strategies. Because the
problem is intimately related to all that we do, it has proven to be
intractable, and it has been difficult to adopt specific measures to
manage or control it.
The Committee welcomes continuing efforts by industry and community
groups to educate members of the public and operators within particular
industries about marine pollution issues, and an increasing focus on
the marine environment in schools. The greater the level of awareness
of general and industry-specific issues the more likely it is that individuals
and organisations will understand that it is in their own interest and
that of the community at large to manage their activities so as to minimise
the effect on the marine environment.
Community participation in the assessment and management of land based
marine pollution enhances community ownership of the problem and ensures
that an awareness of the problem and a recognition of the need for a
solution exists in the community. Such participation can also identify
strategies which are responsive to community concerns and generate broader
decision making perspectives not limited to past practices and interests.
It is vital to ensure that all sectors of the community are represented
and heard on catchment management committees and in consultation with
government authorities: agricultural, industrial, commercial, local
government and community groups, and that no particular group is in
a position to determine strategies favourable to its own interests but
not to those of the community at large.