Ballina Shire Council 2004 Comprehensive State of Environment Report Ballina Shire Council State of Environment Report Table of Contents section Page 1 Introduction 1.1 Why has this report been produced?......................................1 1.2 SoE Reporting: A short history ...............................................1 1.3 The pressure-state-response model.......................................2 1.4 How does this report work?....................................................5 1.5 Environmental Management Resources.................................5 1.6 Agency response to SoE process ..........................................6 1.7 Future SoE reports.................................................................6 2 Water 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................7 2.2 Trends at a Glance.................................................................8 2.3 Pressures On Our Water........................................................8 2.4 State Of Our Water ..............................................................19 2.5 Response to these pressures...............................................29 2.6 More Information ..................................................................42 2.7 Definitions ............................................................................42 2.8 References...........................................................................43 3 Waste 3.1 Introduction ..........................................................................51 3.2 Trends at a Glance...............................................................51 3.3 Pressures On Our Waste Management ...............................52 3.4 State Of Our Waste..............................................................55 3.5 Response To These Pressures............................................59 3.6 More Information ..................................................................62 3.7 References...........................................................................62 4 Biodiversity 4.1 Introduction ..........................................................................63 4.2 Trends at a Glance...............................................................64 4.3 Pressures On Our Biodiversity .............................................65 4.4 State Of Our Biodiversity......................................................70 4.5 Response To These Pressures............................................76 4.6 More information ..................................................................84 4.7 References...........................................................................85 5 Land 5.1 Introduction ..........................................................................97 5.2 Trends At A Glance..............................................................98 5.3 Pressures On Our Land .......................................................99 i Ballina Shire Council State of Environment Report 5.4 State Of Our Land ..............................................................103 5.5 Response To These Pressures..........................................111 5.6 More Information ................................................................117 5.7 References.........................................................................118 6 Atmosphere 6.1 Introduction ........................................................................119 6.2 Trends At A Glance............................................................119 6.3 Pressures On Our Atmosphere..........................................120 6.4 State Of Our Atmosphere...................................................125 6.5 Response To These Pressures..........................................127 6.6 More Information ................................................................130 6.7 References.........................................................................131 7 Natural and Cultural Heritage 7.1 Introduction ........................................................................134 7.2 Trends At A Glance............................................................135 7.3 Pressures On Our Heritage................................................136 7.4 State Of Our Heritage.........................................................138 7.5 Land protected for conservation purposes .........................141 7.6 Aboriginal Heritage.............................................................142 7.7 Response To These Pressures..........................................143 7.8 References.........................................................................147 8 Conclusion 8.1 Conclusion .........................................................................148 ii Ballina Shire Council State of Environment Report List of Appendices A Local Results from “The Richmond River Catchment: Stream Health Assessment Report”..............................................................................45 B EPA Licences in Ballina Shire.................................................................48 C Supplementary National Parks and Wildlife Information ........................87 D Supplementary information supplied by NSW Fisheries ........................91 E Bushland Friendly Nursery Scheme – List of Environmental Weeds ......94 F Climate according to the Koeppen classification system.......................132 iii Ballina Shire Council State of Environment Report 1 Introduction 1.1 Why has this report been produced? The 2004 State of the Environment Report for Ballina Shire provides an overview of the environmental performance of the community, industry and state and local government over the past four years. Council produces a Snapshot report each year as an update, which is freely available from the Council offices, Ballina Library and on Council’s website. The Snapshot updates trends, identifies new and upcoming issues and provides progress reports on particular initiatives being undertaken to address environmental issues. This Report is a Comprehensive Report prepared under the terms of the Local Government Act 1993. Comprehensive reports are prepared every four years, so that the previous Comprehensive State of the Environment Report was prepared in 2000. The three intervening reports provide information on the progress of issues identified in the Comprehensive reports as well as identifying new issues that will be examined in more detail in the next comprehensive report. State of the Environment Reporting is an effective tool for informing the public about their environment. It describes the impacts of human activities on the environment, as well as identifying the potential implications of our actions on our social, economic and environmental health. SoE reporting is effectively a “Report Card” on the condition of our environment and natural resources, as it provides an opportunity to monitor the performance of government policies against actual environmental outcomes. 1.2 SoE Reporting: A short history State of the Environment reporting was developed as a concept by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Australia is a member of this organization, consisting largely of developed countries, who together share a commitment to democratic government and the market economy. The OECD’s Environment Committee was instructed in 1979 to derive a core set of comparable environmental indicators for member countries as a means of monitoring environmental health. The concept of reporting on environmental outcomes was made a legislative requirement in NSW following the introduction in 1993 of the Local Government Act, which requires annual reporting on a number of areas including management of public monies and public infrastructure as well as environmental issues. SOE reporting was intended to include reporting on a set of national indicators, however delays in the development of notional indicators led NOROC to develop a set of 21 agreed and consistent indicators for use by Councils in the Northern Rivers. Reporting on these indicators provides local government with certainty about the types of information that might be expected from the NSW Government, as well as the community with certainty about the minimum indicators to be reported against. It should be noted that not all these indicators have information available for 1 Ballina Shire Council State of Environment Report reporting, and this has generally been as a result of some NSW Government agencies’ failure to prioritise the provision of this information. According to the State of the Environment Advisory Council (SEAC), there are six principles that guide reporting and the use of indicators. These are rigour, objectivity, co-operation, open-ness, global vision and ecological sustainability. Again, according to the SEAC, the objectives of SOE reporting are:- to provide accurate, timely and accessible information about the condition and prospects of the Australian environment; to increase public understanding of these issues; to facilitate the development of an agreed set of national environmental indicators, and to review and report on these indicators; to provide an early warning of potential problems; and to report on the effectiveness of policies and programs designed to respond to environmental change, including progress towards achieving environmental standards and targets. 1.3 The pressure-state-response model The pressure-state-response model was developed by the OECD and is now widely used by local government