On Tuesday 19 July, Minister Plibersek released the State of the Environment (SoE) report with a chapter dedicated each to Coasts and the Marine environment.

The four main findings from the Coasts Chapter include:

1. Coasts are a zone of concentrated biodiversity and productivity
2. Coasts are under pressure
3. Climate change will have profound impacts on our coast, particularly sea-level rise, and
4. Consistent and coordinated management approaches, involving Traditional Custodians, are needed to protect our coasts.

The four main findings from the Marine Chapter include:

1. Climate change is affecting fundamental aspects of our oceans and increasing the impact of other pressures
2. Many Australian marine habitats are healthy, but our reefs are declining
3. Better monitoring and marine management are needed
4. Even the best management will not stop environmental decline if we do not address climate change and cumulative effects

The SoE report also recognised that it is essential for environmental outcomes that Indigenous people are involved in the management of land and sea country.

The SCCG team attended the 29^th NSW Coastal Conference (31 May – 2 June) at Kingscliff NSW with this year’s theme being “Living with Uncertainty”.

The conference opened with two keynote speakers, Dr Pierre Wiart, Head of Climate and Risk Management from CoreLogic International and Dr Justine Bell-James, Associate Professor and Director of Higher Degree Research at the University of Queensland.

Dr Wiart presented on the coastal risk impact on the Australian property market and specifically the CoreLogic Methodology that was used to undertake this study.

Dr Bell presented on coastal wetland restoration law, including Blue Carbon restoration policy and barriers to wetland restoration. The notion of a “rolling covenant” concept was discussed as a potential solution to managing coastal wetland use with private landholders, where landholders could have a temporary right to use coastal wetlands until a defining trigger would stop the land use. This could set anticipation for landholders in an uncertain climate and if the established trigger, e.g. sea level rise, did not occur than landholders could continue to use their land without limitations.

There were short presentations throughout the conference on the themes of:

• Holistic Coastal Management
• Knowledge, Science & Uncertainty
• Empowering People
• Lessons from the Field
• Policy, Decision Making & Funding

SCCG Executive Officer, Sarah Joyce, gave a presentation on “Cooperation is the key to manage Greater Sydney Harbour”.

The conference finished with presentations from two keynote speakers, Dr Will Glamore, Associate Research Professor, Water Research Laboratory and Sabyah White, environmental activist.

Dr Glamore gave an important reminder to the conference attendees that now is the time to act on reducing global emissions. He reminded attendees that we are in the UN decade on Ecosystem Restoration and emphasised that Blue Carbon was the way to move forward quickly on reducing emissions, as multinational companies become eager to invest in these carbon sequestration schemes. He also suggested that CMPs should have a longer-term focus than 10 years and that governments should be investing in 30-50 year plans.

Ms White who is a 14 year old environmental activist, was a subject in the environmental documentary called Girls for Future which went around the world and places like COP 26. Ms White gave an inspirational speech about the anxiety her and other children feel about inaction and slow action on climate change within Australia. She spoke about the need for more positive actions that give her generation hope for the future.

Prof Bruce Thom closed the conference with an announcement that Newcastle City Council would co-host the 30^th NSW Coastal Conference and 16^th National Coast to Coast conference in November 2023.

The Crown Lands Compliance Strategy & Monitoring Unit has recently released three new resources on the Development on foreshore Crown land and waterways. This applies to all waterfront land below the mean high-water mark. To build any new structures or alter any existing structures on Crown lands or waterways, you first need to gain consent from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment as the landowner.

For further information see the new Crown Land resources below:

• Information Sheet – Development on foreshore Crown land and waterways, Information for waterfront landowners
• Brochure – Development on foreshore Crown land and waterways
• Flyer – Storage devices on foreshore Crown land and waterways