Australia Third National Report 1

1. 
   No
   

2. 
   Yes, the same as the global target
   

3. 
   Yes, one or more specific national targets have been established
   

The Australian Government, together with the States and Territories, has developed a National Biodiversity and Climate Change Action Plan. Following an Australia-wide consultation process, a plan was adopted by the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council in 2004. The National Biodiversity and Climate Change Action Plan is the first document to provide a broad framework to support adaptation to climate change across Australia, and one of the first biodiversity adaptation plans in the world. The plan will help coordinate the activities of different Australian governments to address the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and will be an important step in coordinating national, state and territory government's climate change impacts and adaptation programs.

The action plan sets seven specific objectives to help Australia’s biodiversity adapt to the impacts of climate change, and specifies the necessary actions to reach these objectives. The objectives focus on gathering knowledge (see 1 and 2), minimising impact on biodiversity (see 3, 4, 5 and 6) and incorporating knowledge and harm-minimisation strategies into the management of natural resources and land-use (see 7).

1. 
   Agricultural
   

2. 
   Inland water
   

and Climate Change Action Plan

3. 
   Marine and coastal
   

4. 
   Dry and subhumid land
   

and Climate Change Action Plan

5. 
   Forest
   

and Climate Change Action Plan

6. 
   Mountain
   

and Climate Change Action Plan

1. 
   No
   

2. 
   Yes, into national biodiversity strategy and action plan
   

3. 
   Yes, into sectoral strategies, plans and programmes
   

The National Climate Change Adaptation Programme is a $14.2 million programme that aims to prepare Australian governments and vulnerable industries and communities for the unavoidable impacts of climate change. Key objectives of the four year programme are to:

• 
  advise Government on policy issues related to climate change impacts and adaptation, including key risks to and opportunities for Australia
  
• 
  build capacity to support the development of effective and targeted adaptation strategies
  
• 
  engage stakeholders and provide targeted and scale-relevant information and tools to industry sectors and regions
  
• 
  integrate climate change impacts and adaptation considerations into key policies and programmes, including into risk management practices across vulnerable sectors.
  

In July 2005 the Australian Government released ‘Climate Change Risk and Vulnerability: Promoting an efficient adaptation response in Australia’, a report which takes a risk management approach to identifying sectors and regions that might have the highest priority for adaptation planning. In the report, biodiversity is identified as highly vulnerable, requiring urgent attention as natural systems have limited autonomous adaptive capacity, and biodiversity has significant cultural, social and economic significance. http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/impacts/publications/risk-vulnerability.html

1. 
   No
   

2. 
   Yes, the same as the global target
   

3. 
   Yes, one or more specific national targets have been established
   

• 
  maintenance and improvement of ambient air quality; and ambient marine, estuarine and fresh water quality;
  
• 
  minimisation of environmental impacts associated with hazardous waste; and,
  
• 
  expansion in the re-use and recycling of used materials.
  

The Australian government, through the Australian Greenhouse Office also manages the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, which compiles national data to estimate sources and sinks of greenhouse gases. Inventory methods are continually reviewed and updated to maintain the high quality emissions estimates and trend analyses underpinning Australian greenhouse policy.

Carbon accounting is carried out under the National Carbon Accounting System which provides accounting for sources and sinks of greenhouse gases associated with land use, land-use change, and forestry in Australia.

Water pollution is managed through the National Water Quality Management Strategy (NWQMS), which was introduced by the Australian, State and Territory Governments in 1992 as a response to growing community concern about the condition of the nation's water bodies and the need to manage them in an environmentally sustainable way (see www.daff.gov.au/nwqms). In 1994 the NWQMS was included in the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Water Reform Framework. Monitoring guidelines and water quality guidelines are integral parts of the Strategy. Water quality targets are under development for inclusion in regional plans in accordance with the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (NAP) and the extension of the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT).

1. 
   Agricultural
   

2. 
   Inland water
   

3. 
   Marine and coastal
   

4. 
   Dry and subhumid land
   

5. 
   Forest
   

6. 
   Mountain
   

1. 
   No
   

2. 
   Yes, into national biodiversity strategy and action plan
   

3. 
   Yes, into sectoral strategies, plans and programmes
   

A key set of 60 environmental indicators for the atmosphere is recommended for Australian state of the environment reporting. Of these, 16 relate to climate variability and change, 9 to stratospheric ozone, 19 to urban air quality, and 16 to regional air quality. A further 5 potential key indicators for climate variability and change are also identified. (see http://www.deh.gov.au/soe/index.html)

The National Environment Protection Council (NEPC) is a statutory body that has set agreed uniform standards for ambient air quality see http://www.deh.gov.au/atmosphere/airquality/standards.html. The National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) is the only nationwide, publicly accessible inventory of pollutant emissions. The NPI provides a broad base of information on pollutant emissions for the community, government and industry. NPI data are often calculated rather than measured. Data accuracy varies according to the determination technique used. (An overview of the sixth NPI reporting year (2003-04 is at www.npi.gov.au, current to 31 January 2005).

Water pollution

A key set of 61 environmental indicators for estuaries and the sea is recommended for Australian state of the environment reporting at the national scale. Of these, 3 relate to cited species or taxa, 9 to habitat extent, 17 to habitat quality, 6 to renewable products, 2 to non-renewable resources, 5 to water or sediment quality, 17 to integrated management, and 2 to ecosystem-level processes. Monitoring strategies and approaches to interpreting and analysing each of the indicators are discussed, and possible sources of data are noted. Recommendations are also made for further development of environmental indicators for estuaries and the sea. (see http://www.deh.gov.au/soe/index.html)

1. 
   No
   

2. 
   Yes, the same as the global target
   

3. 
   Yes, one or more specific national targets have been established
   

1. 
   Agricultural
   

2. 
   Inland water
   

3. 
   Marine and coastal
   

4. 
   Dry and subhumid land
   

5. 
   Forest
   

6. 
   Mountain
   

1. 
   No
   

2. 
   Yes, into national biodiversity strategy and action plan
   

3. 
   Yes, into sectoral strategies, plans and programmes
   

1. 
   No
   

2. 
   Yes, the same as the global target
   

3. 
   Yes, one or more specific national targets have been established
   

1. 
   Agricultural
   

2. 
   Inland water
   

3. 
   Marine and coastal
   

4. 
   Dry and subhumid land
   

5. 
   Forest
   

6. 
   Mountain
   

1. 
   No
   

2. 
   Yes, into national biodiversity strategy and action plan
   

3. 
   Yes, into sectoral strategies, plans and programmes
   

The trend is generally stable in both marine and terrestrial environments although more research on, for example, use of fire in tropical savannahs as a food production tool, may be required. Further research might also be required to ascertain the sustainability of terrestrial wild harvest products harvested by indigenous peoples (e.g.; wild fruits, nuts and seed harvested for food and therapeutic uses). Some early work has been undertaken by the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre (CRC). Also see http://www.desertknowledge.com.au/index.cfm?attributes.fuseaction=showProjects, particularly projects 1.112 and 4.101.

1. 
   No
   

2. 
   Yes, the same as the global target
   

3. 
   Yes, one or more specific national targets have been established
   

1. 
   Agricultural
   

2. 
   Inland water
   

3. 
   Marine and coastal
   

4. 
   Dry and subhumid land
   

5. 
   Forest
   

6. 
   Mountain
   

1. 
   No
   

2. 
   Yes, into national biodiversity strategy and action plan
   

3. 
   Yes, into sectoral strategies, plans and programmes