Grave fears for coastal communities with severe storms here to stay
A report into the state of the Australian environment has revealed that the biggest threat facing coastal areas comes not from overpopulation, industry or even rising sea levels, but from the weather. Here’s why.
The South Coast News
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A long-delayed report into the state of the Australian environment has revealed that the gravest threat coastal areas currently face comes not from overpopulation, industry or even rising sea levels, but from the weather.
The State of the Environment report, which was released on Tuesday, is the first report of its kind since 2016, and details the degradation of Australian flora and fauna since colonisation in a number of key areas, including animal and habitat loss, pollution, and coastal erosion.
A survey of 43 coastal Local Government Areas compiled as part of the report found that extreme weather events were considered to be the greatest threat to the nation’s coasts overall, coming after months of heavy rain which battered the NSW South and Central Coasts.
“On average, LGAs considered extreme weather events to be the pressure imposing the greatest impact on their local coast,” the report states.
“This was followed by terrestrial invasive species – a concern shared by academic experts – coastal development and land use, and erosion and inundation.”
Worse still, the report found that very few of the pressures on the coast were considered by LGAs to be well managed.
“The growing threat of more frequent and severe extreme weather events is difficult to manage, at least in the short term, and has impacts that can dwarf those of population- and industry- related pressures,” the report states.
“For example, the 2019–20 megafires and the mass dieback of mangroves in Northern Australia undoubtedly resulted in staggering losses in biodiversity and ecosystem services, most of which are unmeasured.
“The cost of the 2019–20 megafires is estimated to exceed $100 billion − making it Australia’s most economically costly natural disaster to date.”
With 87 per cent of Australians living on the coast, the damage done to the nation’s shoreline has wide-reaching impacts.
“The degradation of our coastal environment has economic consequences for coastal livelihoods and our $60 billion tourism industry, the seventh largest national tourism market globally,” the report states.
“Coasts, especially features such as the Great Barrier Reef, are a strong focus for both domestic and international tourists visiting Australia.”
Furthermore, as a consequence of ongoing ecological pressures, two-thirds of the environmental components – environments, habitats, and species – assessed by academic experts for the report were considered to be in poor condition at a national scale.
“Shorebird species are the most imperilled species group, with 12 of 19 migratory species showing national-scale population decline in recent decades,” the report states.
“This decline appears to be primarily driven by destruction of their habitat overseas, such as land reclamation occurring in China.
“We should expect the extinction of some threatened species within the next decade unless urgent management intervention occurs.”
Overall, the report found that Australian society has “undervalued certain ecologically important coastal habitats”, such as saltmarshes, mangroves, and dune vegetation, leading to their severe degradation.
“Because of their prime positioning close to the water and perceptions of low aesthetic appeal, these habitats have been deprioritised in favour of coastal development, and exploited or degraded by human activities. Historical losses of these habitats are yet to be rectified, though new impacts are less common and restoration efforts are underway,” the report states.
“Restoration projects exist for several key habitat-forming species, including seagrasses, mangroves, shellfish and algae. Most of these projects aim to advance knowledge of the principles for restoration and provide proof-of-concept, but are rarely conducted at spatial scales necessary for restoration of whole populations.
“They offer hope, however, that restoration can be achieved in the future with sufficient resources.”
One such project is underway in the Eurobodalla Shire, where efforts to preserve and revitalise damaged shoreline received a boost in June after the NSW Government announced it would pledge nearly half a million dollars to multiple council projects.
The long-gestating Wagonga Inlet Living Shoreline project hopes to address environmental issues after benefiting from $310,000 in NSW Government funding, the lion’s share of the recent cash splash.
The collaborative project between council, NSW DPI Fisheries, The Nature Conservancy Australia (TNC), and the Federal Government will involve transforming and restoring a section of the shoreline between the Narooma Swimming Centre and Ken Rose Park.
TNC Australia South East oceans manager Kirk Dahle said the project embodied the organisation’s mantra of “humans and nature thriving together”, and would allow for better public access to the inlet.
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