Community Involvement
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The Government of South Australia is committed to facilitating
community involvement in the development of marine parks across
the State. Public participation in marine park planning and management
is critical for successful marine park establishment. Public participation
will involve formal committees as well as an extensive community
consultation program. The following flow chart outlines the opportunities
for community involvement:
Community involvement in marine parks development
process
- With the release of the draft Marine Parks
Bill, there was an opportunity to review the draft Bill. DEH
staff travelled around the State to provide information and updates
on the draft Marine Parks Bill.
- Copies of the Marine Parks Act will be
available from DEH once it has been approved by Parliament.
- At the time of releasing the proposed marine
park outer boundaries, the community will have an opportunity
to provide scientific and technical information to assist with
boundary finalisation.
- Marine Park boundaries will be finalised
and interim management arrangements may be put into place.
Interim management arrangements are unlikely to affect existing
uses and activities. The public will have the opportunity to obtain
information about the interim management arrangements and boundary
coordinates.
- Marine park consultative committees may
be established to advise on the draft management plan and act
as a local community information conduit. There will be an opportunity
for your local community to nominate representatives for the local
(or regional) marine park consultative committee.
- At this stage in the process there will be an
opportunity for the local community to provide information
on any environmental, social and economic aspects of the marine
park, which, along with our scientific information will be
used to determine the different zones within the marine park boundary.
Wherever possible, every effort will be made to accommodate existing
uses when developing marine park management plans and zoning arrangements.
- Once all the available information for a marine
park has been considered a draft management plan will be
prepared and released for public comment, which will include the
draft zoning and other management arrangements. At this stage
in the process there will then be an opportunity for the community
to provide comment on the draft zoning and other management arrangements.
- Following public consultation on the draft plan,
the submissions will be reviewed and the management plan will
be finalised. There will be opportunities for the community to
obtain information and updates on the final zoning and other
management arrangements for the marine park.
- Once a marine park is finalised, there will
be a range of opportunities for the community to assist with
park management. Opportunities may involve joining a Friends
of Park group, or assisting with community monitoring within the
marine park.
- Following completion of the 19 proposed marine
parks under the South Australian Representative System of Marine
Protected Areas, there will be opportunities for the community
to nominate other areas for consideration as marine parks.
Note that steps 1 to 10 relate to the stages in the diagram 'Community
Involvement in Marine Parks Process - Target: 19 Marine Parks by
2010'.
Committees
The committees that have been established to date include a Marine
Advisory Committee, a Scientific Working Group, a Stakeholder Reference
Group and a Consultative Committee for the pilot Encounter Marine
Park.
Marine Advisory Committee
The Marine Advisory Committee provides advice to the Minister for
Environment and Conservation on the development of policy and management
frameworks for marine issues within State waters. Key activities
to be undertaken by the Committee include:
- providing advice to the Minister on the development of marine
parks in South Australia;
- providing expert commentary on the application of policy and
development of frameworks for the planning and management of marine
environments;
- providing advice on planning and management issues in respect
to Marine Parks; and
- ensuring adequate consideration of environmental, social and
economic issues arising from the development and dedication of
marine parks.
Members of the committee have a commitment to the conservation
of marine and estuarine environments, consistent with the principles
of ecologically sustainable development, and have qualifications
or experience in:
- marine conservation;
- marine ecology or biology;
- natural resources management or environmental protection;
- tourism or eco-tourism;
- economics, law or sociology;
- local government or urban and regional planning;
- aquaculture production;
- commercial fisheries;
- mining and petroleum exploration and / or production;
- recreational fishing;
- recreational diving; and
- Indigenous heritage and / or culture or Native Title.
See Terms of
Reference (ToR) (100Kb PDF)
Scientific Working Group
The Scientific Working Group provides advice on technical and scientific
matters relating to the marine environment, and will also assist
with the process of identifying and selecting areas for the system
of marine parks across South Australia.
Members of the Working Group have a commitment to the conservation
of marine and estuarine environments, consistent with the principles
of ecologically sustainable development, and have a broad range
of knowledge, skills and experience across the following areas:
- marine ecology;
- marine biology;
- coastal oceanography;
- marine geology / geomorphology;
- marine ecosystem modelling; and
- spatial analysis and modelling.
See Terms of Reference (ToR) (50Kb
PDF)
Stakeholder Reference Group
In July 2005, the Minister for Environment and Conservation established
a key stakeholder reference group to facilitate further discussion
on the Encounter Marine Park Draft Zoning Plan and the Marine Parks
legislation. The group is chaired by the Minister and includes representatives
of the following stakeholder groups:
- Seafood Council (SA) Inc;
- South Australian Fishing Industry Council;
- South Australian Recreational Fishing Advisory Council;
- South Australian Aquaculture Council;
- Local Councils (Alexandrina, Yankalilla, Victor Harbor and
Kangaroo Island);
- Local Government Association;
- Conservation Council of South Australia; and
- The Wilderness Society (SA Branch).
Encounter Marine Park Consultative Committee
A consultative committee was established in 2002 for the pilot
Encounter Marine Park. Membership was expertise based and drawn
from the local community, industry and local government. The committee
assisted DEH to develop the Encounter Marine Park Draft Zoning Plan,
released for public comment in March 2005.
See Terms of Reference (ToR) (100Kb
PDF)
Similar consultative committees may be established to assist with
the development of zoning schemes and management plans for other
marine parks.
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