Marine Planning
IntroductionMarine planning seeks to protect the marine, coastal and estuarine environment by ensuring that development and use is compatible with the environment it occurs within. It is an ecosystem based planning and decision support tool that provides information to coastal management agencies at State and Local Government level, as well as Natural Resources Management (NRM) Boards, to assist them to plan and manage for ecologically sustainable outcomes in the marine environment. This is an exciting new concept that has been developed here in South Australia, with the intention of protecting our marine environment by guiding the management of current and future activities within the ability of the environment to cope with their impacts. The key challenge for this project is for all users of the marine
environment to take responsibility for their actions and by doing
so, contribute to the ongoing health and vitality of our marine,
coastal and estuarine environment.
The majority of South Australians live and recreate along the coast and in its waters. This environment is a unique resource and we depend on it to support a variety of activities from sailing and fishing, to shipping and mining. For generations the marine environment has been used with little thought to the future. Now these environments on which we depend are being degraded by pollution from both land and marine sources, declining water quality, habitat loss, introduced marine pests, and levels of resource use that may well be unsustainable. This jeopardises the economic, social, cultural and recreational values we derive from the marine and coastal environment. We have an amazing diversity of species in southern Australia, with 85 percent of the fish species, 95 percent of mollusc species, 90 percent of echinoderm species, 75 percent of the red algae, and 95 per cent of the seagrasses found nowhere else in the world, giving them local, national and international biological significance.
What is a Marine Plan?A Marine Plan is an ecosystem based planning and decision tool that provides information to decision-making authorities on planning, regulating and managing appropriate levels of development and use in the marine, coastal and estuarine environments. Each Marine Plan consists of a zoning system set up to reflect the known habitat and species diversity of the region. Each zone will have a set of goals, objectives and strategies to effectively manage the zone whilst protecting the habitats and the species within them. The zoning of these units is based upon the most up to date information about the habitat and species diversity within each unit, and will be revised as more information becomes available. Marine Plans will not restrict or prohibit any activities or uses within the planning areas, but will inform all strategies, plans and policies concerned with development and use in the marine, coastal and estuarine environment. Marine Plans are not Marine Parks under the Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Program, although the two processes are closely linked. The Marine Planning Framework for South AustraliaThe Marine Planning Framework for South Australia (1Mb PDF) heralds a new era in conserving, protecting and using the State's marine environment and its resources. The Framework establishes the policy direction for a network of six individual marine plans spanning the whole of South Australia's state waters and is built on a foundation of ecologically sustainable development (ESD), ecosystem-based management and adaptive management principles. A brief description of the Framework is provided in the Marine Planning Framework for South Australia Overview (200Kb PDF). Regional marine plans offer a mechanism to achieve strategic, integrated planning and management of human activities in the marine environment. The Marine Planning Program of the Coast and Marine Conservation Branch has worked with many sectors of Government, industry, academic institutions and the community in developing an appropriate model for a State-based marine planning strategy. There are few successful models worldwide to guide the development of marine planning at the scale of South Australia's state waters. The South Australian Government believes it has developed a model that is a world's first in marine planning. The Framework (1Mb PDF) provides the basis for the development of six Marine Plans spanning South Australia's state waters.
Each Marine Plan is being developed through a process of consultation with the community, industry and government. The Framework will require a statutory basis from which to work. This will be provided through the proposed revision of the Coast Protection Act 1972. This will interact with the Development Act 1993, the Natural Resources Management Act 2004, and other coast and marine resource use legislation such as the Fisheries Act 1982. 
Monitoring the success of Marine PlanningThe success of marine planning is dependent upon improving the current condition of the marine environment, with a view to the future rehabilitation where practicable, of degraded areas. In order to determine whether Marine Plans are meeting the Government's objectives for the Framework (1Mb PDF), a Performance Assessment System (PAS) (650Kb PDF) has been developed. The PAS (650Kb PDF) for each marine plan will provide the primary mechanism for assessing and reporting on cumulative impacts in South Australia's marine environment. Data will be analysed and reviewed every two and a half years, to consider new information, refine zoning, and ensure that changes can be detected early enough for managers to adapt to changing circumstances.
The Spencer Gulf Marine PlanSpencer Gulf is a unique marine environment in South Australia. It contains the most extensive seagrass meadows in the State, and the mangrove Avicennia marina forms large stands around the coast. Both of these habitats provide vital nursery areas for a large number of fish and crustacean species in the Gulf.
The draft Spencer Gulf Marine Plan is the first of the State's Marine Plans; and will be used as a "pilot" to trial the concepts of the Marine Planning Framework for South Australia (1Mb PDF). The aim of the Marine Plan is to maintain a healthy and productive Spencer Gulf marine environment for current and future generations. The draft Spencer Gulf Marine Plan (2.5Mb PDF) has been developed with the assistance of the Spencer Gulf Regional Consultative Committee, and was released in July 2006 for a three-month consultation period. Public meetings were held at Cowell, Whyalla, Port Augusta, Port Pirie, Kadina, Minlaton and Adelaide during August 2006. Submissions have now closed and comments are being reviewed as part of finalising the Spencer Gulf Marine Plan. The Spencer Gulf Focus Document (800Kb PDF) provides a summary of the environmental, social and commercial values of the Spencer Gulf. See Spencer Gulf Marine
Plan brochure (150Kb PDF) Community InvolvementCommunity involvement in the Marine Planning process is essential to the success of each Marine Plan. The community will have opportunities to take part in the development of the plans through public meetings, submissions and participation on the Regional Consultative Committees. The development of each Marine Plan will involve the following steps:
Open Days - Protecting our marine environmentThe Department for Environment and Heritage will be visiting regional communities with a series of open days promoting marine planning, marine parks and other marine conservation programs.
Staff from the Department for Environment and Heritage will be in your local area on:
Come along anytime between 3 and 7 pm Additional information sessions will be organised in 2007.
Marine Integration ProjectThe State Natural Resources Management (NRM) Plan has adopted the relevant elements of the Marine Planning Framework for South Australia, giving direction for regional integration of NRM and Marine Planning. The Marine Integration Project has been developed to form links between regional NRM Planning and Marine Planning, and to engage coast and marine stakeholders in the development and implementation of the plans. The project covers the marine, coastal and estuarine environments from Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island, across to the Western Australian border. The project aims to:
The project is jointly resourced through the Australian Government's Natural Heritage Trust, the Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH - South Australia) and the:
Marine Planning Liaison Officers have been engaged in each of these regions and are working across NRM Boards, DEH and other government agencies, the local community, industry and interest groups.
For further information please contact marineDEH@saugov.sa.gov.au Contact UsFor more information about Marine Planning please contact: The Marine Planning Team GPO Box 1047 Phone (61 8) 8124 4900 Email: marineDEH@saugov.sa.gov.au LinksAdelaide Dolphin Sanctuary Environment Protection Authority - Water Quality Information Environment Reporting Estuaries Management and Planning Living Coast Strategy for South Australia Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Program Natural Heritage Trust Natural Resources Management(NRM) PIRSA - Fisheries and Aquaculture Planning SA Regional Natural Resources Management Boards South Australia's Strategic Plan State of Environment Report 2003 |
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