CHAPTER 2
2.1 As an island continent with a long coastline Australia has many
different marine and estuarine environments. These span a wide range
of coastal types, climates and geological and biological regions, which
house a rich store of biological diversity. Many are far away from major
population centres and are little affected by human activities. Large
stretches of the coastline are among the least polluted places on earth.
2.2 Australia's marine environment spans almost 60 degrees in latitude,
from Torres Strait to Heard and Macquarie Islands, and 75 degrees longitude,
from Cocos Island to Norfolk Island. In November 1994 the 1982 United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) came into effect,
and with it Australia's declaration of its 200 mile Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ). The EEZ covers over 11 million square kilometres, one of
the largest in the world.
2.3 UNCLOS provides the rights to exploit the natural resources of the
EEZ but also obliges Australia, under Article 192, to protect and preserve
the marine environment of the EEZ. The Convention requires Australia to
prevent land based and ship sourced marine pollution and to work internationally
to prevent it. It requires Australia to advance knowledge of the EEZ by
undertaking marine scientific research and promotes the sustainable use
and conservation of the living resources of the high seas.[1]
2.4 The length of Australia's mainland coastline, including Tasmania,
is 36,735 kilometres, of which sand beaches comprise 53 per cent, rocky
shores 23 per cent, soft (mud) shores 22 per cent and estuaries, lagoons,
inlets and seawalls two per cent. Fourteen per cent is protected.[2]
2.5 Thirty per cent of the coastline is inhabited. Australia's settlement
has, naturally enough, been significantly influenced by its geography.
The combined result of the dryness of the continent and the nature of
various historical developments has been that the great majority of
the population is concentrated in the coastal zone of the east, south
east and south west.
2.6 It is a commonplace that Australia is among the most urbanised countries
in the world. It is also a commonplace that the vast majority of its urban
populations are located along the coast, mostly the eastern coast. Eighty
six per cent of the population live in the coastal zone[3],
67 per cent within the coastal towns and cities and 26 per cent within
three kilometres of the coast.[4]
The six state capitals, which include the largest cities in Australia
and contain 55 per cent of the population, all lie on the coast.
2.7 In recent years there has been an increasing dispersal from the major
cities to smaller coastal settlements. In the past two decades about half
of Australia's population growth has occurred in non-metropolitan parts
of the zone. The fastest growing areas have been the Sunshine Coast and
Gold Coast in Queensland, the central and north coasts of New South Wales
and the south west of Western Australia.[5]
While the Australian population grew by 32 per cent between 1971 and 1991,
the population of the non-metropolitan coastal zone grew by 95 per cent.[6]
2.8 This concentration of population along the coastal fringes of the
country has brought with it particular demands on the coastal zone and
particular problems, many of which are related to the subject of this
report.
2.9 The resources of the coastal zone are subject to a wide range of
uses, including:
- housing and urban development;
- tourism and recreation;
- industry and commerce;
- fisheries and mariculture;
- mineral and petroleum exploration and extraction;
- agriculture, grazing and forestry; and
- building, construction and infrastructure.
2.10 There is no dispute that the increasing demands placed on its resources
by a growing population have put Australia's coastal zone under serious
strain. A number of reports in recent years have reached similar conclusions.
As the Final Report Overview of the Resource Assessment Commission's
Coastal Zone Inquiry states: 'If our forebears had known what we know
now, and had not squandered what they did, the returns to us today would
be higher than they are.' [7]
2.11 The consequence of the concentration of Australia's population in
particular areas of the coastal zone has been that the environment of
many of those areas has been degraded. Pollution of rivers, lakes and
coastal waters and shores, and urban sprawl, have been identified as major
problems by all recent inquiries into the coastal zone. Australia's most
severe marine environmental problems are adjacent to the ten per cent
of the coast which is urbanised or urbanising.[8]
2.12 The importance of coastal marine environments, both ecologically
and economically, cannot be overstated. Australia has the third largest
area of mangroves in the world, and the northern mangroves are among the
world's most diverse. Our waters also have the greatest diversity of seagrass
and some of the largest seagrass beds in the world.[9]
The Great Barrier Reef is not only a national icon but is regarded internationally
as a reef system of unparalleled significance.
2.13 Estuaries, mangroves, seagrass meadows and coral reefs provide breeding
and feeding grounds for myriad marine species, including commercial fish
species. Seagrass meadows and mangroves provide essential habitats for
commercial and endangered species and act as sediment traps, consolidating
the sea floor and reducing the sediment load. Reefs and mangrove forests
also function as barriers protecting coasts against storm damage.[10]
2.14 The economic potential of the EEZ is enormous. In 1994 the Ocean
Outlook Congress, hosted by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Australian Institute of Marine Science
and the Australian Geological Survey Organisation, reported that Australia's
marine territories could contribute between $50 billion and $85 billion
a year to the national economy within a quarter of a century.[11]
Marine based industries are currently worth approximately $30 billion
per year.[12]
2.15 The degradation of the marine and coastal environment as a result
of pollution and coastal development thus has implications not only
for the quality of the environment itself, and attempts to preserve
it for future generations, but also has wider economic implications.
If only in terms of self-interest and the desire to maintain the marine
environment as a sustainable resource, there is an urgent need to address
issues raised in this report.
2.16 In the wake of earlier reports such as that of the Resource Assessment
Commission's inquiry and the 1995 State of the Marine Environment Report
the issue before those responsible for the management of the coastal
zone and the wider marine environment is how to approach the complex
issues raised by what we do now know. One of the recurring messages
to the Committee during the course of this inquiry was that although
there is much that is not known, and while there is still a great deal
of research that needs to take place, enough is known to guide
decision makers in managing the coastal zone for the future.
2.17 However, the overlapping jurisdictions of local, State and Commonwealth
Governments and their agencies, and the competing needs of land based
and marine industries, agriculture, urban development and tourism and
recreational use, present significant difficulties in planning management
strategies. These difficulties, and the need for integrated management
of the coastal zone and for cooperation between the different spheres
of government, were also recurrent themes of the evidence received by
the Committee.
2.18 The coastal zone, the marine environment, marine pollution: under
one heading or another Australia's coast and its waters have been the
subject of a number of reports and policy initiatives in recent years.[13]
However, many of those making submissions or giving evidence to the Committee
referred to the number of earlier reports and commented on the lack of
effective, coordinated action taken as a result. Evidence presented during
the course of the inquiry made clear the extreme urgency of the problem
and the overwhelming need for a coordinated approach from all spheres
of government.
2.19 In addition to inquiries by particular agencies or organisations
into specific geographical areas of the marine environment, or reports
on particular issues, these reports have included: 1991 House of Representatives
Standing Committee on Environment, Recreation and the Arts, The Injured
Coastline
1993 Resource Assessment Commission, Coastal Zone Inquiry
1995 Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories, The State
of the Marine Environment Report 2.20 The conclusions of different reports
over the years have been quite consistent. The Resource Assessment Commission
reported that:
Many current uses of coastal zone resources have significant
direct, indirect and cumulative impacts on the environment. Among the
most important consequences of increased resource use are continuing
degradation and loss of many coastal habitats (especially wetlands and
fish-breeding areas), increased risks to endangered species, over-exploitation
of many fisheries resources, introduction of exotic species into marine
and terrestrial habitats, accelerated erosion and loss of coastal soils,
and erosion of dune and beach systems. Of particular concern is the
declining water quality in many rivers and streams, estuaries, wetlands
and the ocean, caused by pollution from urban, agricultural, industrial
and marine-based sources. More intensive uses of coastal resources are
increasing the demands on the terrestrial and marine environments to
absorb these impacts. Evidence presented to the Inquiry shows that the
coastal zone is suffering the environmental and social stresses of continuing
urbanisation, which is occurring both on the fringe of metropolitan
areas and in an increasing number of coastal regions outside capital
cities. If no action is taken to change the way in which coastal resources
are used, there is a very considerable risk that ecosystems will be
destroyed, the recreational amenity of the coast will be degraded, and
economic growth and employment opportunities will be lost; in short,
the collective benefits provided by the coastal zone will cease to be
available to Australians.[14]
2.21 The State of the Marine Environment Report (SOMER) identified declining
water quality, loss of marine and coastal habitats, unsustainable use
of marine and coastal resources, lack of marine science policy and of
long-term research and monitoring of the marine environment, and lack
of strategic planning in the marine and coastal environments as the major
issues affecting the marine environment. These issues are particularly
associated with urban and developed coastlines.[15]
2.22 Most of the problems identified in the two reports cited above
are of particular relevance to the Committee's inquiry. The issues identified
by SOMER cover a number of specific matters which came to the Committee's
notice during the course of its inquiry:
- elevated nutrients and sediments, largely the result of inappropriate
catchment land use practices, sewage discharges and urban run-off;
- oil pollution, largely from urban run-off;
- heavy metals;
- organochlorines from herbicides and insecticides, which are magnified
or bioaccumulated in marine food chains; and
- beach and ocean litter, including plastics and fishing debris
which pose a threat to marine life.
- degradation of estuaries and coastal lakes as a result of sedimentation,
eutrophication, acid soil run-off, coastal developments, loss of
habitats and overfishing;
- declines in temperate seagrass beds caused by elevated nutrients
and sediments;
- loss of mangrove and saltmarsh habitats near urban areas through
reclamations, drainage and other developments, affecting in turn
fish and other sea life which use these as nurseries and feeding
grounds;
- inappropriate and unsustainable coastal development; and
- introduced exotic species which threaten habitats, marine communities
and aquaculture farms.
- lack of planning which considers the high degree of connection
between the land and the sea, and the different administrative jurisdictions
involved;
- lack of integrated catchment based management;
- lack of diffuse source pollution controls; and
- deficiencies in environmental impact assessment.
- lack of comprehensive, long-term scientific information, resulting
from a lack of long-term research and monitoring of Australia's
marine environment;
- lack of applied scientific knowledge on the marine environment
for practical use by local authorities; and
- lack of scientific understanding of the functioning of marine
ecosystems, necessary for effective management.
2.23 According to SOMER the most serious issues affecting the marine
environment stem from catchment use and therefore from declining water
quality. Increased levels of nutrients and sediments are the major problems.
The major causes of these problems are soil erosion and declining inland
water quality. The most serious consequences are the dieback of seagrasses
in temperate Australia and the threats to inshore corals in the wet tropics.[16]
2.24 SOMER found that the key issues are interrelated. Because the major
source of threats to the marine environment lie inland in the catchments,
strategic, integrated planning and management in the coastal zone is of
paramount importance.[17]
2.25 The problems identified by SOMER, and their causes, relate directly
to the primary term of reference of the Committee's inquiry, which deals
with land based sources of marine pollution. Various authorities cite
80 per cent as the figure for the proportion of marine pollution originating
from land based sources.[18]
2.26 The submission from the National Research Centre for Environmental
Toxicology stated that:
It is clear ... that marine pollution is intimately tied to land-based
activities ... Rivers frequently serve, intentionally or unintentionally,
as a means to dispose of waste products of industry, mining, agriculture,
human populations (sewage) and chemicals applied in the home and garden.
These waste products ultimately end up in the sea, where monitoring
chemical accumulations and studying their impact on biota is difficult.
Furthermore, coastal developments, which are particularly relevant in
Australia, may seriously impinge upon the quality of discharges from
waterways into the marine environment.[19]
2.27 One witness who appeared before the Committee referred to land
based marine pollution (LBMP) as:
one of the more intractable environmental problems challenging
humanity at the end of the twentieth century. This stems from the basic
fact that most human activities take place on land, but the oceans are
the ultimate sink for many of our wastes ... However, [it] is a politically
sensitive issue, inextricably linked to industrial growth and economic
development. Combating marine pollution involves questioning current
consumption levels and lifestyle, as well as waste prevention, reduction
and disposal strategies. It is because the problem is intimately related
to all that we do that it has proven so intractable, and that it has
been so difficult to adopt specific measures to manage or control it.[20]
2.28 The United Nations Environment Program's Global Program of Action
for the Protection of the Marine Environment From Land Based Activities,
adopted in Washington in November 1995, recognised that:
The major threats to the health and productivity and biodiversity
of the marine environment result from human activities on land - in
coastal areas and further inland. Most of the pollution load of the
oceans ... emanates from such land based activities and affects the
most productive areas of the marine environment, including estuaries
and near-shore coastal waters. These areas are likewise threatened by
physical alteration of the coastal environment, including destruction
of habitats of vital importance for ecosystem health.[21]
2.29 During the course of its inquiry the Committee heard the same
message from witness after witness, the message voiced repeatedly in
recent years at global conventions and in successive domestic reports:
that we must control our behaviour on the land in order to protect the
sea. There seems to be unanimous agreement as to the significance of
the impacts of land based activities on the marine environment. There
seems also to be unanimous agreement that the difficulties faced in
overcoming them are matters of political will, administrative complexity
and community education.
2.30 According to Australia's Report to the United Nations Commission
on Sustainable Development on the Implementation of Agenda 21, any general
curtailment of development in the coastal zone is not an option that can
be reasonably pursued as it would have serious implications for the Australian
economy and the welfare of all Australians.[22]
2.31 On the other hand, if nothing is done to protect the coast there
will be an increased risk of permanent damage that will significantly
affect the standard of living in Australia and the future amenity of
coastal ecosystems. The challenge is to manage the use of the coast,
and of the wider marine environment, in sustainable ways so that undesirable
impacts are minimised.
2.32 It is a challenge facing the whole community, from legislators,
bureaucrats and industry to individuals and local communities: to accept
the overwhelming need to change our collective ways when it comes to
agricultural and industrial practices, the nature and location of our
urban developments and our domestic and recreational habits; in fact,
our very lifestyle. It is precisely because the problem is related to
all that we do that it has been so difficult to confront but it is precisely
for that reason that we must confront it, and do so in a timely, coherent
and effective way, across all sectors of the community and all spheres
of government.
2.33 The principal sources of marine pollution dealt with in this report
are agricultural and urban run-off, sewage outfalls and industrial discharges,
and disturbance of the marine environment from coastal development.
Other issues include the introduction of exotic marine species, aquaculture
and oil pollution.
2.34 The report describes the nature of these problems and their effect
on the marine environment before examining current methods of addressing
the problems and possible means of improving their management. The report
also considers the state of our scientific knowledge of the marine environment
and the needs of the relevant agencies.
2.35 Inevitably, discussion of marine and coastal pollution involves
consideration of general coastal management issues. Chapter 4 of this
report focuses to a large extent on policies and frameworks which embrace
more than just pollution issues but which are central to the management
of marine and coastal pollution.
Footnotes:
[1] Our Sea, Our Future: Major
Findings of the State of the Marine Environment Report for Australia,
p. 101.
[2] Department of the Environment,
Sport and Territories, The State of the Marine Environment Report for
Australia: Technical Summary, Canberra, 1996, p. 226.
[3] Resource Assessment Commission,
Coastal Zone Inquiry, Final Report, p. 8.
[4] The State of the Marine
Environment Report for Australia: Technical Summary, p. 7.
[5] Resource Assessment Commission,
Coastal Zone Inquiry, Final Report, p. 8.
[6] The State of the Marine
Environment Report for Australia: Technical Summary, pp. 7-8.
[7] Resource Assessment Commission,
Coastal Zone Inquiry, Final Report Overview, Canberra, November
1993, p. 1.
[8] The State of the Marine
Environment Report for Australia: Technical Summary, p. 7.
[9] Department of the Environment,
Sport and Territories, Australia: State of the Environment 1996,
Collingwood, 1996, pp. 8.23-8.24.
[10] Department of the Environment,
Sport and Territories, Living on the Coast, Commonwealth Coastal
Policy, Canberra, May 1995, p. 36.
[11] CSIRO Division of Oceanography
et al, Ocean Outlook, A Blueprint for the Oceans, p. 3.
[12] Australian Marine Industries
and Sciences Council, Marine Industries Development Strategy, Canberra,
January 1997, p. 1.
[13] 'Almost sixty government
reports and inquiries have examined Australia's coastal zone since 1960.'
Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories, Australia: State
of the Environment 1996, Executive Summary, Collingwood, 1996,
p. 38.
[14] Resource Assessment Commission,
Coastal Zone Inquiry, Final Report, pp 357-358.
[15] The State of the Marine
Environment Report for Australia, Technical Summary, pp 499-502.
[16] The State of the Marine
Environment Report for Australia, Technical Summary, pp 499-502.
[17] Our Sea, Our Future:
Major Findings of the State of the Marine Environment Report for Australia,
p. 96.
[18] Our Sea, Our Future:
Major Findings of the State of the Marine Environment Report for Australia,
p. 55.
[19] National Research Centre
for Environmental Toxicology, Submission No 1, pp 2-3.
[20] Ms Caroline Williams, Submission
No 32, pp 1-2.
[21] United Nations Environment
Program, Global Program of Action for the Protection of the Marine
Environment From Land Based Activities, December 1995, p. 7.
[22] Department of the Environment,
Sport and Territories, Australia's Report to the UNCSD on the Implementation
of Agenda 21 1996, Canberra, 1996, p. 30.