Oceans Act: Doing more than the EPBC Act?

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1 SA EDO Seminar Adelaide 23 August 2012 Oceans Act: Doing more than the EPBC Act? Chris Smyth Healthy Oceans Campaigner Australian Conservation Foundation

2 Australia s oceans twice land area and most diverse on Earth: 33,000 species (20% of what is likely) 45 of 78 known cetaceans 30 of 58 sea grass species 6 of 7 turtle species 20% of the planet s fish 3 oceans; 5 climate zones Southern waters: up to 90% of species found nowhere else 0.5% protected

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4 Ports Shipping Education Oil & gas Sailing Fishing Coastal development Navy Conservation Tourism Science Swimming Diving Waste Aquaculture

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10 State of ocean environment Declining water quality due to inappropriate catchment land use Climate change e.g. coral bleaching & damage to infrastructure Loss of habitat and impacts of marine pests Unsustainable use of resources Lack of science policy and long-term research and monitoring Lack of strategic, integrated planning in marine and coastal environments Need to resolve existing problems to stem slow decline of environmental quality

11 Current oceans law framework Strongly sector- and jurisdiction-based Regional marine planning neither ecosystembased nor integrated across sectors & jurisdictions, both key aspects of Oceans Policy, undermining progress to sustainability ESD and EBM poorly reflected in current legislation (Marine legislative review) Lack of integration in resource allocation, management, planning and conservation Australia s Oceans Policy of 1998 now dead in the water

12 EPBC and the 3-nm barrier Matters of National Environmental Significance Threatened and migratory species Commonwealth marine environment Threatened ecological communities and critical habitat Heritage areas Ramsar wetlands Sustainable Fisheries Assessments Strategic Environmental Assessments Bioregional Marine Plans Commonwealth marine reserves

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14 ACF/NELA oceans law reform proposal Intergovernmental Agreement on Australia s Oceans signed by Cth, states, territories which sets long-term goals for integrated and regional ecosystem-based oceans planning, protection and management Ecosystem-based, spatial regional oceans plans Cross-sectoral, expertise-based National Oceans Commission Complementary Cth/State/Territory legislation COAG Ministerial Council approval of plans Plans tabled in jurisdictional parliaments

15 ACF/NELA oceans law reform proposal Cross-sectoral, non-government National Oceans Advisory Committee and Regional Oceans Advisory Councils to advise Ministerial Council and the Commission Incentive payments from Cth to states, i.e. National Partnership facilitation and reward payments in return for implementing reform Development of National Coastal Policy and associated institutional and funding arrangements to implement it

16 What would Agreement do? Outline framework for cooperation and collaboration between Cth, states and territories Legislative, regulatory and policy framework for integrated ecosystem-based regional oceans planning across sectors and jurisdictions Mechanisms for development of consistent and effective standards and regulations Outline basic nature of legislative scheme to establish the National Oceans Commission Establish principles for MPAs, land-based pollution, resource allocation, approvals, role of traditional owners, oceans research

17 National Oceans Commission Coordinate, prepare, review, monitor integrated oceans planning to ensure ESD and EBM Oversee resource allocation for ecologically sustainable uses in each marine region Oceans Policy Statements, State of Oceans reports Report to COAG Ministerial Council Resource management authority plans referred Actions referred by state/territory agencies Assesses management performance of Cth/state/territory agencies

18 Regional oceans plans Ecosystem based, adaptive with reviews Public, inclusive cross-sectoral resource allocation process Indigenous communities given vital role Community engagement and education Operational objectives, indicators, targets, monitoring, review, risk analysis High-level protection at plan s core Approved by federal and relevant state/territory parliaments

19 Outcomes of oceans law reform Optimise economic and social benefits from oceans while protecting integrity of the oceans Provide greater security for stakeholders Minimise future conflict between users Maintain health and productivity of our living ocean resources Protect community assets and amenity

20 What s next? ACF and NELA will be seeking feedback on the draft proposal in the coming months (see summary of the proposal in NELA Journal) A series of round table discussions with interested stakeholders will be coordinated by the Environmental Law Roundtable of Australia and New Zealand Final proposal will be released in April 2013 in lead-up to federal election

21 Thank you