STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2001 Joe Hajdu Australian Institute of Urban Studies (Project Convenor) Darrell Kraehenbuehl City of Melbourne (Project Coordinator) Michelle Bennett City of Darebin John Bruce Department of Infrastructure, Manningham City Council & Municipal Association of Victoria Phil Burn Department of Natural Resources and Environment Jo Connor City of Moonee Valley Lisa Di Felice City of Boroondara Dietmar Dinges Environment Protection Authority Jennifer Johnson Municipal Association of Victoria Oz Kayak Transport Research Centre, RMIT University Nancy Krause Moreland City Council Thomas Kuen City of Monash Kelly Miller RMIT University Peter Mondy City of Yarra Bronwyn Pegler Knox City Council Anton Rossi-Mel City of Port Phillip Anne Tourney City of Boroondara John Tunney City of Melbourne Michael Vanderzee Department of Natural Resources and Environment Pat Vaughan Banyule City Council John Wisniewski City of Greater Dandenong Financial supporters in 2000/01 with steering committee representation Financial support also provided by Nillumbik Shire Council and City of Stonnington. This bulletin was prepared by Denise Elias. Please contact Andrew Parnell, City of Melbourne, Tel. (03) 9658 8742, E-mail [email protected], for additional copies of this bulletin. Earlier bulletins are available at http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au ISBN 0 86459 160 8 September 2001 Material in this publication may be reproduced subject to acknowledgment of AIUS. Printed on recycled paper. Design and production by Mediation Communications. Environmental Indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne - Bulletin 4 CONTENTS FOREWORD 1 3. LITTER 15 INDICATOR: Table 1. Litter by material type: average AT A GLANCE – A SUMMARY OF for surveys conducted Dec 1988, April 1999, June 1999 WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING 2 and Oct 1999. INDICATOR: Graph 1. Average number of litter items INTRODUCTION 3 by region and survey, Dec 1998 - Oct 1999. INDICATOR: Table 2. Litter by material type for 1. AIR QUALITY 4 year Dec 98 - Oct 99. FIGURE 1: Composition of litter by mass: Coburg 1997. INDICATOR: Graph1. Concentration of 8-hour ozone during 2000. INDICATOR: Table 3. Visual litter assessment of Melbourne waterways: May/June 2000. INDICATOR: Graph 2. Number of days on which 8-hour INDICATOR: Table 4. Litter counts at Melbourne ozone concentrations exceeded the SEPP objective of beaches: average number of items per site for the 50ppb during 2000. summer periods 1998/99 and 2000/2001. INDICATOR: Graph 3. Melbourne-Geelong network: INDICATOR: Table 5. Litter by material type at Melbourne Number of days on which the 8-hour ozone objective beaches: average number of litter items per survey: was exceeded: 1983 – 2000. 2001/2001. INDICATOR: Graph 4. Airborne Particulate Index (derived CASE STUDY: Radio Tracking Litter in the Plenty River. by measuring visibility) during 2000. INDICATOR: Graph 5. Number of days on which the Airborne Particle Index exceeded the SEPP objective of 20km (API value of 2.35) during 2000. 4. COUNCIL PRIORITY & INDICATOR: Graph 6. Maximum concentration of particle COMMUNITY CONCERNS 21 (PM10) during 2000. INDICATOR: Table 1. Local government environmental INDICATOR: Graph 7. Melbourne-Geelong network: expenditure and revenue: 1998/99. number of days on which the 1-hour visibility objective CASE STUDY: City of Port Phillip – Community was exceeded: 1983 – 2000. consultation. CASE STUDY: Commuter Inhalation of Hazardous Pollutants. 5. BIODIVERSITY 23 2. TRANSPORT INDICATOR: Graph 1. Number of native and introduced 9 bird species recorded in metropolitan Melbourne, INDICATOR: Table 1. Mode of travel for all trips in 1991 – 2001. metropolitan Melbourne 1995 – 1999. INDICATOR: Graph 2. Diversity of sensitive stream macroinvertebrates (mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies) INDICATOR: Figure 1. Mode of travel to work by and imperviousness of surrounding land surface. zone (inner, middle and outer), 1996. INDICATOR: Map 1. Future growth areas. INDICATOR: Table 2. Length of bicycle network per length of road network, Dec 2000. INDICATOR: Map 2. Regional corridors. INDICATOR: Table 3. Total fuel consumption and INDICATOR: Map 3. Vegetation important to wetlands estimated greenhouse gas emissions of passenger protected under the Ramsar Convention. vehicles in Australia: 1998/99. CASE STUDY: Knox Wildlife Atlas – Native Wildlife Information and Monitoring. CASE STUDY: City of Melbourne: Pedestrian Information Management System. CASE STUDY: Community Information on Indigenous Vegetation. CASE STUDY: City of Manningham Bicycle Strategy. CASE STUDY: The Yarra Natural Heritage Strategy. CASE STUDY: Transport Management in the City of Darebin. CASE STUDY: City of Manningham – Biodiversity Initiatives Program. CASE STUDY: Biodiversity Protection – City of Darebin. REFERENCES 31 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 33 PHOTO CREDITS 34 Environmental Indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne - Bulletin 4 FOREWORD It is with considerable satisfaction that I write this Foreword on behalf of the Australian Institute of Urban Studies. When the first bulletin appeared in 1998 we could not have guessed that our project would still exist four years later, in fact be going from strength to strength. This shows that the bulletins have met with a positive response and more specifically, an increasing number of councils and other organizations have given us the support needed to continue their publication. For this support we are most grateful. We have sought to improve and expand each issue of the Bulletin so that the environmental information found in its pages becomes more interesting and valuable to its readers. With this in mind Bulletin 4 has revisited the indicators first presented in Bulletin 2. The air quality data has been either updated, or where new statistics were not available due to differing time frames, other measures of this important indicator have been introduced. Similarly with transport, data has been updated and expanded. However as well as that, we have included a number of case studies as examples that show the imaginative polices which some councils are developing in this area. Case studies have also been included in the biodiversity theme. Here it is the diversity of council initiatives that is impressive. They range from policies of conservation to restoration and public education. As our data on biodiversity in Bulletin 2 was limited, we made a special effort to expand its scope. Data on the environmental indicator of litter has been updated and made more detailed. A brief account of a novel litter assessment initiative also has been included. We have also included some generic statistical data on funds devoted by local government to environmental expenditure. This gives some indication of councils’ relative priorities in this field. The Steering Committee is considering further qualitative research to gather more specific information of council environmental priorities. This is just one example of the gaps in environmental information that still exist, not to mention data that is incomplete or lacking in precision. The City of Melbourne is the principal sponsor of the Bulletin and without this support the whole project would not have been possible. On behalf of the Institute I would also like to acknowledge the financial support provided during 2000/2001 by the following councils – Banyule, Boroondara, Darebin, Monash, Moonee Valley, Moreland, Nillumbik, Stonnington and Yarra. An enthusiastic Steering Committee has produced this Bulletin, and I would like to say a special thank you to Darrell Kraehenbuehl, Peter Mondy, Dietmar Dinges, Michelle Bennett, Lisa Di Felice, and Phil Burn for their consistent contribution to the preparation of this issue. Finally, the hard work of our consultant should be acknowledged. Denise Elias has been instrumental in collecting, interpreting and preparing the text. Thank you very much Denise for your dedication and excellent work. Joe Hajdu Project Convenor Australian Institute of Urban Studies. Please forward any comments on this Bulletin to: Australian Institute of Urban Studies GPO Box 262W Melbourne, 3001 Environmental Indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne - Bulletin 4 1 AT A GLANCE – A SUMMARY OF WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING The, envirometer provides readers with a ‘snapshot’ of the key messages emerging from the data. The reading is not a quantitative measurement and it is important that readers do not interpret the reading in isolation from the detailed data and commentary presented. AIR QUALITY I Melbourne’s 8-hour ozone concentrations exceeded objectives on ten days during 2000. I Melbourne’s airborne particle index (API) exceeded objectives on 26 days The Envirometer during 2000. Air quality is improving, but care is still required. I Despite these exceedences, Melbourne’s overall air quality is improving over time. TRANSPORT I There was a slight increase in use of Melbourne’s public transport between 1997 and 1999. The Envirometer I Car usage per person has remained fairly constant, although it still makes up There have been increases in two thirds of all trips. sustainable transport use, although car usage remains an area of concern. LITTER I There has been an overall decline in litter in urban areas and on beaches, although summer brings out a higher incidence of littering. I The Envirometer Litter in waterways remains an area of concern. While some areas are improving, others are still cause for concern. COUNCIL PRIORITIES AND COMMUNITY CONCERNS I There is scope for local councils to shape environmental policies to more closely