Outcome 1, program 1.2
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
KPIs
|
PBS Target
|
Results
|
Statutory decisions under the EPBC Act made within the statutory time frame.
|
95
|
90% of the statutory decisions under the EPBC Act were made within the statutory timeframes. This covers all statutory decisions made under the EPBC Act including permits, listings, recovery plans and environmental impact assessment.
|
Reported compliance incidents under the EPBC Act which are assessed or further investigated in accordance with the published departmental compliance and enforcement policy.
|
100
|
100%
944 reports about 446 new incidents representing potential breaches of Part 3 of the EPBC Act were investigated.
|
Listed species or ecological communities for which a recovery plan or conservation advice exists or is in preparation.
|
100
|
100%
Of the 1 729 listed species and ecological communities, 56% were covered by recovery plans and 44% were covered by conservation advices.
|
National cetacean conservation measures support international priorities and meet legislative requirements.
|
|
Significant progress on cetacean conservation and management following agreement with the jurisdictions to progress the following priority measures: whale watching; ship strikes; research; guidance on strandings, entanglements and euthanasia; conservation management plans, and the National Network of Whale and Dolphin Sanctuaries.
Drafts of the guidance document, Southern Right whale recovery plan and research prospectus were delivered. The Five year Strategic Plan for Whalewatching has been submitted for consideration at IWC63.
Australia also attended a workshop on reducing the risk of vessel-cetacean collisions and will use the key learnings to inform the development of a national strategy to reduce vessel-cetacean collisions.
|
KPIs
|
PBS Target
|
Results
|
Identifying new areas for declaration as Commonwealth marine reserves.
|
|
New Commonwealth marine reserves (sometimes called marine protected areas or marine parks) are being identified through the marine bioregional planning process as part of Australia’s commitment to establish a National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas by 2012.
|
Developing five marine bioregional plans and undertake public consultation on those plans.
|
|
A draft Marine Bioregional Plan and a Commonwealth marine reserve network proposal for the South-west Marine Region have been launched for public consultation. Draft marine bioregional plans and Commonwealth marine reserve network proposals are being prepared for the North-west, North and East Marine Regions. They will be released for public consultation during 2011.
|
National Environmental Research Program research information products publicly available [%].
|
95
|
|
Individual National Environmental Research Program projects delivered that meet their agreed objectives [%].
|
95
|
|
Taxa revised or newly described under the ABRS [#].
|
550
|
Researchers were supported under the ABRS National Taxonomy Research Grants Program [#] (65).
Biodiversity research projects were co-funded with other agencies [#] (16).
Value of contribution made by other agencies to co-funded biodiversity research projects [% less than or equal to] (44).
|
Relevant decisions under the EBPC Act consider Marine Bioregional Plans.
|
Yes
|
|
KPIs
|
PBS Target
|
Results
|
Completed marine mammal research projects are providing key results to relevant management authorities.
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Fisheries assessments completed within agreed timeframes [%].
|
95
|
Yes (100%)
|
Annual research program into the impact of uranium mining on the environment is endorsed by the Alligator Rivers Region Technical Committee.
|
Yes
|
The KPI was met. The Committee Chair wrote to the minister in July 2011 recognising the high quality and relevance of research work undertaken.
|
Times uranium concentration of surface water downstream of Ranger Mine exceeds 6 micrograms per litre [#].
|
0
|
The KPI was met. There were no exceedances of the target level in any monitoring results.
|
Resources
The following resources relate to information referred to in Outcome 1, Biodiversity and Ecosystems.
Australian Government Coral Triangle Initiative Support Plan www.environment.gov.au/cti
Australian Marine Mammal Centre homepage www.marinemammals.gov.au/
Environmental biosecurity www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/feral-pig-impacts.html
www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/projects/index.html
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act www.environment.gov.au/epbc
Environmental Monitoring Program www.environment/gov.au/coasts/oilspill.html
Fact sheets, summaries, and contact details relating to all cetacean issues www.environment.gov.au/coasts/species/cetaceans
International protection of whales – Australian Government policy and current activities www.environment.gov.au/coasts/species/cetaceans/international
The following resources relate to information referred to in Outcome 1, Biodiversity and Ecosystems.
Invasive animal island eradication projects and island conservation www.feral.org.au/islandnet
Invasive species impact on the Australian environment www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive
Marine pest threats to Australia’s unique marine environment and marine industries www.marinepests.gov.au
Minister Burke’s launch of the Blue Whale research project, in Jersey www.youtube.com/watch?v=47IuegENYEk
Montara Commission of Inquiry www.ret.gov.au/montarainquiryresponse
Supervising Scientist’s annual report www.environment.gov.au/about/publications/annual-report/
Supervising Scientist Division www.environment.gov.au/ssd
outcome 1
biodiversity and ecosystems
Legislation
Operation of the Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997
This annual report is prepared in accordance with section 43 of the Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997 (NHT Act) and reports on the operation of the NHT Act for the periods 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010 and 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011. The NHT Act requires the report to include the financial statements relating to the operations of the Account and the Auditor-General’s report on the financial statements. This information is in the appendices.
Activities carried out under the NHT Act are integral to achieving the department’s outcomes on biodiversity and ecosystems. Consequently, some of these activities are reported on elsewhere in this annual report (cross reference to Program 1 of Outcome 1 – Caring for our Country) and in the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts Annual Report 2009–10.
Purpose and objectives of the Natural Heritage Trust
The Natural Heritage Trust was established by the Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997 to conserve, repair and replenish Australia’s natural resources. It is administered by the Natural Heritage Ministerial Board, which in 2009–10 and 2010–11 comprised the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and Communities2 and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
The objectives of the Natural Heritage Trust are:
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Biodiversity conservation—to protect and restore Australia’s terrestrial, freshwater, estuarine and marine ecosystems and habitat for native plants and animals.
-
Sustainable use of natural resources—to use and manage Australia’s land, water and marine resources in ways that maintain and improve the productivity and profitability of resource-based industries.
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Community capacity building and institutional change—to support individuals, landholders, industry and communities by giving skills, knowledge, information and institutional frameworks to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable resource use and management.
Caring for our Country
Investments through the Natural Heritage Trust in 2009–10 and 2010–11 contributed to a number of outcomes under the Caring for our Country program3. The government established Caring for our Country in 2008 to conserve, protect and restore the Australian environment by making it healthier, better protected, well-managed and resilient; secure our farming resource base and support sustainable food and fibre industries by focusing on protecting ecosystems and promoting biodiversity, clean air and water and healthy soils and ensure that, in a changing climate, we can continue to provide a diversity of ecological services that Australians rely on.
Caring for our Country is managed jointly by the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
Caring for our Country strategic goals are to be achieved by focusing on six national priority areas:
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Natural Reserve System (NRS)—the NRS will be expanded to ensure a comprehensive, adequate and representative system of reserves to conserve Australia’s unique landscapes, plants and animals.
-
Biodiversity and natural icons—to increase native habitat and protect biodiversity and natural icons, actions will be taken to protect World Heritage Areas, tackle weeds and pest animals that threaten biodiversity, and improve outcomes for nationally threatened species and communities.
-
Coastal environments and critical aquatic habitats—coastal and wetland initiatives, including those under the Great Barrier Reef Rescue Program, will protect and rehabilitate areas of critically endangered and endangered species and migratory shorebirds, improve the quality of water discharged into coastal environments and protect Ramsar wetlands.
-
Sustainable farm practices—farmers and land managers will be encouraged to adopt sustainable on-farm land management practices that maintain and improve production and deliver ecosystem services for the whole community.
-
Community skills, knowledge and engagement—investment in the skills and knowledge of Indigenous people, volunteers and communities will enable these groups to work collaboratively with regional and other organisations to deliver landscape-scale change.
Specific strategies to achieve the five-year outcomes for each of these national priority areas are outlined in the Caring for our Country Outcomes 2008–2013 available on the Caring for our Country website.
The Caring for our Country report cards for 2009–10 and 2010–11 are currently being prepared for release. The report cards detail achievements and progress on the Caring for our Country five-year outcomes, including contributions made by projects funded under the Natural Heritage Trust. Once they are released, the report cards will be available on the NRM or Caring for our Country website.
The government recognises that many different groups must work together to bring about change and that a diverse range of stakeholders who are working and volunteering in Natural Resource Management (NRM) are making important contributions. In 2009–10 and 2010–11, Caring for our Country projects were delivered through:
-
regional NRM organisations
-
community groups
-
non-government organisations
-
state and territory governments and local governments
-
Indigenous groups
-
research organisations and academic institutions.
2010–11 Natural Heritage Trust expenditure4Total expenditure under the Natural Heritage Trust in 2010–11 was $213 million. The breakdown of this expenditure by Caring for our Country national priority area is presented in Table 1. A breakdown of Trust expenditure in each state and territory is presented in Table 2.
Table 1: Natural Heritage Trust expenditure by Caring for our Country national priority area 2010–11
National priority areas and other budget items
|
Expenses (GST exclusive) $ million
|
National Reserve System
|
56.5
|
National Reserve System
|
45.4
|
Indigenous Protected Areas
|
11.1
|
Biodiversity and natural icons
|
26.1
|
Natural icons and World Heritage
|
9.1
|
Biodiversity protection
|
17
|
Tasmanian devils
|
0
|
Cane toads
|
0
|
Coastal environments and critical aquatic habitats
|
62.1
|
Reef Rescue
|
34
|
Community Coastcare
|
17.9
|
Aquatic habitats
|
1.5
|
National priority areas and other budget items
|
Expenses (GST exclusive) $ million
|
Gippsland Lakes and Eastern Creek Wetlands
|
6.2
|
Tuggerah Lakes
|
2.5
|
Sustainable farm practices
|
5.8
|
Land management change
|
5.8
|
Northern and remote Australia
|
0
|
Community skills, knowledge and engagement
|
29.4
|
Caring for our Country facilitators
|
8.1
|
Indigenous rangers
|
7.5
|
Indigenous emissions trading scheme
|
2.4
|
Community Action Grants
|
3.7
|
Monitoring, evaluation, reporting and improvement
|
5.6
|
Community skills, knowledge and engagement
|
2.1
|
Regional baseline funding
|
0
|
National Reserve System
|
0
|
Biodiversity and natural icons
|
0
|
Coastal environments and critical aquatic habitats
|
0
|
Sustainable farm practices
|
0
|
Community skills, knowledge and engagement
|
0
|
Implementation
|
33.1
|
Implementation
|
33.1
|
Other
|
0
|
Administration of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
|
0
|
Core departmental priorities
|
0
|
TOTAL expenditure (GST exclusive)
|
213
|
Table 2: Natural Heritage Trust expenditure by state and territory 2010–11
State/territory
|
Expenses (GST exclusive) $ million
|
New South Wales
|
21.5
|
Victoria
|
8
|
Queensland
|
81.6
|
Western Australia
|
8.5
|
South Australia
|
6.9
|
Tasmania
|
4.4
|
Australian Capital Territory
|
0.3
|
Northern Territory
|
15.4
|
Non-state specific
|
66.4
|
TOTAL expenditure (GST exclusive)
|
213
|
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