State of the Environment Report 2021
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:
- Coasts are a zone of concentrated biodiversity and productivity
- Coasts are under pressure
- Climate change will have profound impacts on our coast, particularly sea-level rise, and
- Consistent and coordinated management approaches, involving Traditional Custodians, are needed to protect our coasts.
The four main findings from the Marine Chapter include:
- Climate change is affecting fundamental aspects of our oceans and increasing the impact of other pressures
- Many Australian marine habitats are healthy, but our reefs are declining
- Better monitoring and marine management are needed
- 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.
