Page 635 - Week 02 - Thursday, 18 February 2016
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New to this report is a further section which evaluates how effective we have been in our management of the environment. This section uses the international union for conservation of nature management effectiveness framework, which is a new approach in the ACT’s state of the environment reporting. The IUCN framework focuses on six management elements—namely, context, planning, inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes, and the links between them.
The fifth and final section provides recommendations to the government. The 10 recommendations will assist with further progressing environmental management and prioritising funding for that here in the ACT.
The 2015 state of the environment report is largely positive about how we are tracking. It acknowledges the commitment and collaboration of the ACT government to the local community to date in helping make Canberra more sustainable. Canberra is rated highly on its livability attributes, such as cleanliness, maintenance and outdoor leisure opportunities. We have also performed very well through the delivery of the second action plan for climate change in relation to our climate change mitigation responses. Once again, outdoor air quality is rated highly and water quality measures are considered to be broadly effective.
The report acknowledges the significant proportion of the ACT designated as nature park or national park and the comprehensive legislative framework underpinning conservation, which includes the Nature Conservation Act 2014, the Planning and Development Act 2007, the Pest Plants and Animals Act 2005, the Heritage Act 2004 and the Emergencies Act 2004.
The report includes many ACT government and community case studies that highlight innovative initiatives that are designed to improve environmental values while redressing pressures and impacts on the environment.
While the report acknowledges our successes, it also reinforces the need to continue to build on our efforts towards creating a more sustainable city. The report highlights that our consumption and urban expansion patterns will have to be managed carefully if we are to ensure the continuing health of our environment and the livability of our city. Importantly, it notes that this is not a task for the government alone but will require commitment and participation by our community.
The report estimates that the average ACT resident’s ecological footprint was 8.9 global hectares in 2011-12. This is 3½ times higher than the world average. The report gives us food for thought. The government is mindful of the need to encourage measured economic growth whilst promoting change to more sustainable patterns of consumption and behaviour.
I am pleased to table the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment’s ACT state of the environment report for the period ending in 2015. I would like to thank the acting commissioner, Ms Ann Lyons Wright, for her efforts in bringing the report to a conclusion, and I note her attendance here in the gallery this afternoon. The commissioner has been performing well in an acting capacity whilst the government
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