Home | IntroductionThe Environment of ShoalhavenShoalhaven City Council covers an area of 4,660 km2 and spans 160 kilometres of the NSW South Coast from Berry to Durras Lake (just north of Batemans Bay). (See Towns and villages map) Temperatures are generally mild with average temperatures of 15.5oC and 26.5oC for June and January respectively. Rainfall is more pronounced during the summer/autumn months, with the least rainfall occurring in July, August and September. The average annual rainfall is 1110mm and 1270mm for Nowra and Milton respectively. The geology is dominated by Permian age sandstones and siltstones. Older Ordovician age slates and shales make up the basement in the Clyde Valley with volcanic intrusions evident in the north of the City and at Milton and Bawley Point. The area is predominantly hilly or mountainous country to the west with a narrow coastal strip to the east. Most of the soils of the area are moderately to strongly acid and due to the parent geology most are of poor nutrient status with low water holding capacity. The high nutrient status soils of volcanic origin (eg Milton Monzonite) or alluvial origin (eg Shoalhaven Floodplain) have generally been cleared and represent very good agricultural land. Of course this past clearing of vegetation (much of it rainforest) has had significant impacts on regional wildlife. Today eucalypt forests and woodlands dominate the area with cleared land being prevalent in the alluvial valleys and in regions closer to the coast. Various specialised flora and fauna have developed in the rainforests, wetlands, coastal sand dunes and heath areas. Much of the City (68%) is in public ownership, which consists of Crown Land (11%), State Forest (23%) and National Park (34%). This provides a significant habitat for flora and fauna. This combined with the diverse habitats of the string of beaches, estuaries, wetlands and lakes along the coast make the area important for both wildlife purposes as well as important commercially for recreational and fishing opportunities to the human population. The City has two major river systems in the Shoalhaven and Clyde Rivers, a major coastal bay in Jervis Bay and numerous coastal lakes and estuaries. All these are very sensitive environments. This, combined with the high growth rate (2.4% compared to the NSW average of 1.5%), places considerable pressure on these natural resources. Without proper management these environmental attributes of the City could suffer. The area was first settled by Europeans in 1822 when Alexander Berry established a settlement at Coolangatta, near the mouth of the Shoalhaven River. Much of the floodplain landscape and areas around Berry was changed from this time as the land was progressively cleared for agriculture and timber getting. By the 1850s settlements were also well established in Kangaroo Valley and Milton/Ulladulla. Again fertile lands were cleared for agricultural activities and timber getting. Early logging involved the removal of the prized rainforest species such as Red Cedar. Today the traditional industries of dairying, timber and fishing are giving way to the growth industries of tourism, building and service sectors. The Shoalhaven is in fact the number one tourist destination of all Local Government areas in the State. There are significantly more caravan parks in the Shoalhaven when compared to other Local Government areas and many houses in the "coastal villages" are holiday homes. In fact the most recent census (2006 ABS) indicated that 14.1% of the dwellings in the Shoalhaven are mostly unoccupied compared to 8.9% for the rest of the State. These factors mean that during peak holiday periods the population increases by about four times. This places enormous demands on services such as water supply, sewerage and solid waste disposal as well as "people pressure" on the fragile environments. The estimated population of Shoalhaven City is 93, 900(Estimate). The City consists of 49 separate towns and villages, however most people live in the larger urban areas of Nowra/Bomaderry, Bay/Basin and Milton/Ulladulla. Integrated Environmental ManagementShoalhaven City is a multi-faceted Council that deals with many issues which would not be covered by Councils in many other Local Government areas. Council activities, which have the potential to have an impact (both positive and negative) on the environment, are:
When undertaking these activities the environment is increasingly a major consideration. Council's Management Plan outlines how Council plans to promote ecological sustainability and protect sensitive areas. The Management Plan notes that the State of the Environment reporting process is crucial in reporting progress in achieving these goals. As part of this process over recent years, Council has developed (and is developing) processes that allow the City's environment to be studied so that long term action plans may be implemented for the benefit of the environment and/or the benefit of the community. The results of these studies; what Council has found and what aims Council has for each sector of the environment have been reported in Council's annual State of the Environment Reports. Thus the State of the Environment Report not only serves as an important educational tool for the community but it is also an excellent management tool for Council. Of course Council is not the only "player" in relation to the environment. Various State government authorities cover different aspects of the environment and in many cases are the “key players” in protecting a sector of the environment. Co-ordination with all these different "players" in environmental and management planning is a significant goal. Co-ordination with the community is also essential. State of the Environment Reporting is seen as important locally and worldwide. The reason this process is extremely important is because it allows Council to:
State of the Environment Report The diagram below represents Shoalhaven Council's Integrated Planning and illustrates how the State of Environment Reporting provides information for decision making in the management planning process.
AimsThe aims of this and future State of the Environment Reports are as follows: As a Management ToolCouncil's Management Plan notes that the State of the Environment Report is an important tool to promote ecological sustainability and protect environmentally sensitive areas. By examining aspects of the environment, and looking at long-term trends, programs can be put in place for the betterment of the environment. Where information gaps are found that limit Council's ability to make informed decisions, programs will also be put in place (where possible) in an attempt to gather further information to allow more informed decisions to be made. For EducationThe Report aims to convey technical information on the environment and its management in a way which is easily understood. Through wide distribution it is hoped that this will help educate the community about their local environments and how they are affected by human activities. The document also recommends specific education programs to be conducted by Council so that aspects of the environment may be improved. AccountabilityThe Report also aims to provide local residents and property owners with an account of activities aimed at protecting and restoring the environment. The State of the Environment Report outlines courses of action for the coming year(s) and whether the aims from the previous year were met. In this way the community can see if Council is on track with its Environmental Management Programs. LegislativeThe Report aims to meet the legislative requirements as outlined in the Local Government Act (1993). Environment ProtectionIf the above aims are met, Council and the community will have gone a long way to promoting ecological sustainability and protecting environmentally sensitive areas within the City of Shoalhaven. StructureThe Local Government Act outlines eight environmental sectors that must be covered in all State of the Environment Reports. These have been reorganised into five themes;
The Local Government Act (1993) now requires that a comprehensive report covering the above is to be produced once every four years and in the intervening years only a supplementary report is required. A supplementary report is required to: (a) Identify any new environmental impacts since the Council's last State of the Environment report; and (b) Update the trends in environmental indicators that are important to each environmental sector Environmental IndicatorsIndicators are key measurable parameters of the environment which when monitored over time give us an understanding of the relative "health" of the environment. They also assist in understanding trends in the relationship between the current state of the environment and our desired state of the environment. Finding key indicators is not an easy task and governments and scientists around the world are grappling with the concept. Progress is slow but understanding what the communities and governments believe is important will help find workable indicators. Some available indicators are measured by Council and are reported in the detailed report. The development of others has not reached a stage where measurement can be undertaken or the data is not available. The Themes-Issues-Indicators hierarchyState of the Environment reporting has adopted a framework of themes, issues and indicators to assess and report the environment. 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):
Indicators are the key measurements that, with analysis and interpretation, are used to assess these issues. For example, to report on the issue of air quality, we need specific air quality measurements such as lead levels, and measurements of key pressures that could cause a decline in air quality such as increases in motor vehicle traffic. (see list of indicators) 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. The Condition-Pressure-Response modelThe "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 particulate matter in the air, whether this amount affects our health, and whether the amount of particulate matter is increasing or decreasing. 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 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. It is necessary to consider 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. Home | Introduction
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