The Australian government’s Oceans Policy148 sets out a framework for integrated ecosystem-based planning and management for Australian Commonwealth waters. The Oceans Policy envisages the preparation of regional marine plans and the creation of a National Representative System of Marine
139 EPBC Act, s 176. 140 EPBC Act, s 176(4).
141 EPBC Act, ss 176(4) and 176(4A). 142 EPBC Act, s 316.
143 EPBC Act, s 324S. 144 EPBC Act, s 341S. 145 EPBC Act, s 328.
146 These are dealt with separately in section 11 below. 147 See for example EPBC Act, s 321.
148 Commonwealth of Australia, 1998.
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Australia Protected Areas (NRSMPA), in close consultation with state and territory agencies.149 The programme
for regional marine planning was placed under the EPBC Act in 2005, and the plans are known as marine bioregional plans. The system includes identification and establishment of marine protected areas in Commonwealth waters, but not including coastal waters,150 which are managed by the relevant state and territory authorities. It is for this reason that various marine protected areas around Australia’s coastline have separate state- and Commonwealth-managed sections.151
The NRSMPA152 is a national system of marine protected areas, initiated in 1998, that aims to contain a comprehensive, adequate and representative sample of Australia’s marine ecosystems. It consists of marine protected areas in Commonwealth, state and territory waters. It is intended to form part of an integrated strategy for marine conservation and management, within a broader range of Commonwealth, state and territory mechanisms to achieve biodiversity conservation and the complementary sustainable management of Australia’s marine jurisdiction. The ultimate goal of the NRSMPA is to protect marine areas that represent all major ecological regions and the communities of plants and animals they contain.153
It may be noted in passing that the National Reserve System discussed previously does not include marine areas. Australia’s Strategy for the National Reserve System 2009–2030 recognizes the need for links between the two. The Strategy states:
While this Strategy does not cover the establishment of protected areas in the marine environment, the National Reserve System’s approach aligns with that of the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas, which provides for the conservation, protection and management of marine and estuarine environments. The links between terrestrial, inland freshwater and marine protected areas will be particularly important in the context of climate change and for Indigenous land and sea country aspirations. Where possible, it would be beneficial to adjoin terrestrial and marine protected areas to enhance connectivity. A strong alliance between the two approaches will also improve coordination of on-ground actions to strategically address conservation objectives for the whole landscape and adjoining marine environments.154
Marine bioregional planning includes the preparation of a profile for each marine region, describing key habitats, species, natural processes, heritage values, human uses and benefits. On the basis of the regional profile, the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts conducts a strategic regional assessment of the conservation values of and current and emerging pressures on the marine environment, which is in turn included in the draft marine bioregional plan to be concluded after a period of public consultation. The marine bioregional plan must identify conservation values, priorities
149 See DEWHA, 2008b.
150 The EPBC Act uses the term ‘coastal waters’ to denote waters under the jurisdiction of a state. This reflects the Offshore Constitutional Settlement that was reached between the Commonwealth government and the state governments in 1975, the result of which was that the states were recognized as having jurisdiction over activities within three nautical miles of their coastlines (see Attorney-General’s Department, 2007). The more usual term ‘territorial waters’ refers, in Australia, to waters beyond the three nautical mile limit up to twelve nautical miles, in accordance with the outer limit established under Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982). Coastal waters are defined in s 227 of the EPBC Act:
(2) The coastal waters of a State or the Northern Territory are: (a) the part or parts of the territorial sea that are:
(i) within 3 nautical miles of the baseline of the territorial sea; and (ii) adjacent to that State or Territory; and
(b) any marine or tidal waters that are inside that baseline and are adjacent to that State or Territory but are not within the limits of a State or that Territory.
151 For example, the Solitary Islands Commonwealth Marine Reserve is on the seaward side and adjacent to the New South Wales Solitary Islands Marine Park. The whole marine area is managed by the New South Wales Marine Parks Authority on behalf of the Australian Government’s Department of the Environment, Water, Her- itage and the Arts (DEWHA, 2008c).
152 See DEWHA, 2008b.
153 Summarized from DEWHA, 2008b. 154 Commonwealth of Australia, 2009b, p. 9.
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and measures for protection, a network of marine protected areas, and a set of sustainability indicators to assess the health of the marine environment.155 Box 8 sets out the aim and focus of the marine bioregional planning process, and Map 4 depicts the marine planning regions.
Marine bioregional plans are prepared pursuant to section 176 of the EPBC Act. This provision applies to both terrestrial and marine bioregional planning, and can include the following:
• components of biodiversity, their distribution and conservation status;
• important economic and social values;
• heritage values;
• objectives relating to biodiversity and other values;
• priorities, strategies and actions to achieve the objectives;
• mechanisms for community involvement in implementing the plan; and
• measures for monitoring and reviewing the plan.
Box 8: Marine bioregional planning
Marine bioregional planning is implemented in five regions. The process is explained as follows:
Australia’s marine bioregional planning program is designed to provide a clearer focus on conservation and sustainable management of Australia’s marine environment. It is a process that is underpinned by the principles of ecologically sustainable development and it takes an ecosystem approach in managing Australia’s marine biodiversity and environment. […] The marine bioregional planning process focuses primarily on Commonwealth waters (the area of Australian jurisdiction that extends past state/Northern Territory waters from around 3 nautical miles to the outer limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone some 200 nautical miles from the shore).
Source: DEWHA, 2010b.
10 Characteristics, establishment, amendment and
revocation of Commonwealth protected areas
As indicated previously, the Minister may establish a variety of protected areas at the Commonwealth level. The processes of establishment, amendment and revocation vary according to the individual category of protected area, as set out in Part 15 of the EPBC Act: World Heritage properties, National Heritage places, Commonwealth Heritage places, wetlands of international importance (Ramsar sites), biosphere reserves, Commonwealth reserves and conservation zones.