Introduction

Overview

This is the second Regional State of the Environment Report for the Australian Capital Region—a region created by the interest of the elected leaders of the 17 NSW Local Government Areas and of the ACT, to jointly benefit from a regional approach to planning and development (see the map on this page). The first Report was produced in 1997 for the Australian Capital Region Leader’s Forum, through the Office of the Commissioner for the Environment ACT. This 2000 State of the Environment Report has also been prepared through that Office, with major input from the Shire Councils in the Region.

The Australian Capital Region comprises the New South Wales Local Government Authorities of Bega Valley, Bombala, Boorowa, Cooma-Monaro, Crookwell, Eurobodalla, Goulburn City, Gunning, Harden, Mulwaree, Queanbeyan City, Snowy River, Tallaganda, Tumut, Yarrowlumla, Yass and Young, and the ACT.

State of the Environment reporting is a requirement of the NSW Local Government Act 1993, and of the ACT Commissioner for the Environment Act 1993.

Regional State of the Environment reporting is encouraged and supported by both the NSW Department of Local Government and the ACT Government, in particular the Department of Urban Services and its Minister. The ACT Government has provided additional funds for this project as a way of promoting ‘best practice’ regional environmental reporting and management, and each of the NSW Local Government Areas has also contributed financially.

While the Report is formally prepared by the Office of the Commissioner for the Environment, ACT, it is a joint effort of all the governments in the Region, and represents the goodwill and cooperation that has developed in this Region since we first embarked on this project in 1995.

The timing of comprehensive reports in the two jurisdictions does not always coincide, and such will be the case for the timing of the next State of the Environment reports. The ACT report will be for the period ending 30 June 2003, but the NSW Local Governemt Areas will be for the period ending 30 June 2004.

For the ACT, under section 19, the legislative requirement is that State of the Environment reports cover a reporting period that is not greater than four years. In practice, the Commissioner produces a report once in the life of each Legislative Assembly term of three years.

In NSW, under section 428, Councils must produce a comprehensive State of the Environment report every four years, with the first State of the Environment report after the election of Council being a comprehensive report. Councils must address the eight environmental sectors of land, air, water, biodiversity, waste, noise, Aboriginal heritage and non-Aboriginal heritage, with particular reference, with regard to each such environmental sector, to:

management plans relating to the environment
special council projects relating to the environment
the environmental impact of council activities.

Supplementary State of the Environment reports must be submitted in intervening years. These reports must identify any new environmental impacts since the Council's last State of the Environment report and update the trends in environmental indicators that are important to each environmental sector.

The principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development have been incorporated into the NSW Local Government Act by requiring Councils to manage their regulatory and service functions in an ecologically sustainable manner. State of the Environment reporting is a key mechanism for assessing progress towards sustainability.

About this report

In this Report for the period to 30 June 2000, we have responded to changes in legislation and approaches to environmental management and this is reflected in the way we have approached assessment of Issues and analysis of a number of Indicators. This is particularly the case with reporting on water quality and analysis of data relating to the Australian Capital Region’s ecosystems.

During this reporting period the Office of the Commissioner for the Environment, with the aid of a grant from the Department of Transport & Regional Services, completed a project creating SoE Author, a template or publishing system for electronic State of the Environment reports. This report is published on the template.

The template is available to all organisations, as a model on which to construct State of the Environment reports.

The reporting period

The reporting period for this State of the Environment Report is 1 July 1997 to 30 June 2000. While we have endeavoured to keep faith with that reporting period, not all data represent the exact period, either because of availability or because of the time frame necessary to analyse and present data appropriately. In future, such State of the Environment reports will take into account changes in environmental factors that have occurred since reporting began. In that way changes in aspects relating to the environment can be best analysed over longer time periods.

The legislation

An amendment to the NSW Local Government Act came into effect on 1 January 1998. In effect, it requires Councils to be well informed about the environmental circumstances of their areas, and to apply the principles of ecologically sustainable development in an integrated way.

Our aim is to link State of the Environment reporting with human and natural resource management and planning, and with Councils' and the ACT Government’s day-to-day management operations. State of the Environment reporting then provides a means of organising and accessing the ecological and socio-economic data essential for sustainable management rather than being simply an additional legal obligation.

The Themes–Issues–Indicators hierarchy

State of the Environment reporting has adopted a framework of Themes, Issues and Indicators to assess and report on the environment. In this report we have also looked at implications for the environment, for sustainable development, for management.

Themes are the main things you are likely to think of when you think of the environment. Air (or atmosphere), water, land, biodiversity and human settlement often come to mind; and it is these elements which we have classified as Themes to provide the overriding structure for the Report.

Issues are the things you might be concerned about within each of the Themes. The Issues we have suggested because of their general relevance to many regions are (for each Theme):

Atmosphere: Air quality, Climate
Biodiversity: Conserving biodiversity
Human settlement: Community well-being, Infrastructure and services, Resources (Energy and Waste)
Land: Land quality, Landuse and management
Water: Water quality and ecology, Water use and allocation.

Indicators are the key measurements, with analysis and interpretation, which are used to assess these Issues. For example, to report on the Issue of air quality, we need specific air quality measurements such as carbon monoxide levels, and measurements of key pressures that could cause a decline in air quality such as increases in motor vehicle traffic. We have developed an extensive list of Indicators, with descriptive text.

A look at the Indicators used to assess any of the Issues considered in this Report highlights the fact that the Indicators do not necessarily relate only to one Theme or to one Issue. The Condition-Pressure-Response (C-P-R) model was the basis for relating Indicators to each of the Issues and to each other. It is adapted from the Pressure-State-Response model of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Condition–Pressure–Response model

The ‘Condition–Pressure–Response’ model is the approach we use in State of the Environment reporting to decide which data we collect, analyse and report.

Condition Indicators present the data that tells us how the environment is at any particular time. A Condition Indicator for air quality, for example, could be the amount of carbon monoxide in the air, whether this amount affects our health, and whether the amount of carbon monoxide is increasing or decreasing. It is like asking a friend "How are you going?"

Pressure Indicators present data for the main human activities that could potentially adversely affect the Condition of the environment. For example, we know that motor vehicle exhaust is a main cause of air pollution in Australia, and the more we drive our cars the worse it is. So we have a Pressure Indicator that tells us how bad this Pressure is and whether it is getting better or worse. We have called it ‘Motor vehicle use’, and it uses data about how much we use our cars each year, and how many cars are being used.

Response Indicators present data about the main things we are doing to alleviate Pressures, or to improve the Condition of the environment. For example, our air quality can be improved by increasing our use of public transport, car-pooling, or improving fuel quality.

We have always stressed the interaction between Condition, Pressure and Response Indicators. Whereas there is always criticism of, and concern for, the adequacy of the ‘Condition-Pressure-Response’ model, we see it is as a fundamental method of ensuring that analysis of the environment is conducted in a systematic way and that data are collected in such a fashion as to allow a reliable evaluation of the environment and of the way it may be changing as a result of human pressure.

The long-term value of State of the Environment reporting

A three to four year period between successive State of the Environment reports is valuable for the political process of keeping environmental issues in the minds of the public and of the local, regional, State, Territory and National leaders. Such frequency of reporting may not necessarily be the most appropriate to indicate a change in the environment from one reporting period to the next.

The Indicators used to assess the state or condition of the environment allow us to recognise change over time, and thus allow the opportunity to modify practices to reduce undesirable pressures on the environment. Obviously, specific Indicators and their methods of measurement should be retained over long time periods to facilitate analysis of change over time. To adequately assess change requires accessible high quality data and information, collected in a systematic fashion, to allow the necessary comparison over time.

While each State of the Environment report must consider the environment during a specific reporting period, it must also consider the long-term evidence to assess whether we are experiencing real change or natural variability. The most recent situation must therefore always be considered in the context of the longest term for which data are available.

By considering the condition of the environment over time, natural variability will also be distinguished from change. Thus the longer the timeframe on which State of the Environment reports are prepared, the greater will be their value in providing the information to determine whether an event measured in a particular reporting period is continuing a previously evident trend (possibly change), is part of a naturally fluctuating system (variability), or an extreme event (such as a 500-year flood).

The capacity of natural systems to recover from the impacts of natural events or pressures such as flood, fire or extended periods without rain may well take more than three to four years. Similarly, the long-term adverse impacts of human activities such as settlement patterns, forestry, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, horticulture and different types of mining may take many years to become apparent. For example, the adverse impacts of vegetation clearing resulting in rising watertables and dryland salinity have taken years to emerge and be recognised for what they are. The beneficial impacts of revegetation programs may take even longer to be evident and long-lasting.

State of the Environment reports should advise management planning for Local Government Authorities, for State and Federal Government agencies, and for industries. The Indicators we use should be aligned as much as practicable to measurements made and data used in the day to day management of those organisations.

In that way State of the Environment reports will provide the relevant systematically acquired information to facilitate careful regional planning which will be necessary to balance the demands of development in such a way that they do not rob future generations of opportunities for their own proposed types of development nor of the natural character of the Region.

Community consultation

Community consultation assisted with the revision of the Issues and Indicators for this State of the Environment Report-2000. We greatly appreciated the expert assistance of Reference Groups which were appointed, as for all of our reports, for each of the Themes of state of the environment reporting. Councils conducted separate community consultation.