Enabling activities

Purpose: Support all departmental purposes

Environmental science and research

The Department’s environmental science and research activity contributes to the delivery of all four of our purposes in the priority areas of environment and heritage, climate change, Antarctica and water and ensures that decisions about Australia’s environment are based on the best available information.

Our methods of carrying out our diverse science functions range from administering programs that fund specialised external research collaboration to directly employing scientists. Ourperformance reporting for the environmental science and research activity includes the programs and focus areas outlined below.

State of the Environment

The national State of the Environment report provides an assessment of the current state, recent trends and future outlook of the Australian environment. Since the initial report in 1996, reports have been prepared every five yearsunder the EPBC Act. The 2016 State of the Environment report is the fifth report to be completed in the 20 year history of national reporting.

Compiled by independent subject matter experts, the report will be available from early 2017 through an interactive online platform. During 2016, independent authors have been drafting assessments for particular aspects of the environment based on the State of the Environment themes of major drivers of environmental change such as, atmosphere, inland waters, land, marine, the built environment, the Antarctic environment, coasts, biodiversity and heritage. The report expands the successful reporting model of 2011—themes include a report card style graded assessment and description of management initiatives in place to address environmental concerns and the effectiveness of those initiatives.

A digital platform will enable users to make comparisons across time, download underlying data and investigate environmental issues that cut across multiple themes. Nearly 300 maps and figures will be available through an interactive platform. The report’s digital information platform will enable:

  • a strong understanding about the current state of the environment
  • ongoing use of the report’s information and data by governments, policy-makers, scientists, academics, environmental decision-makers, land managers and citizen scientists
  • a platform for the future publication of environment information.

The underlying data, sourced from 60 government and non-government sources, will be available for download as open-access data from data.gov.au.

A synthesis report providing an overview of the state of the environment will be prepared by the Chief Author and tabled by the Minister for the Environment and Energy in Parliament in the first sitting period of 2017.

National Environmental Science Program

The National Environmental Science Program (NESP) is a six-year $145million program to help decision-makers understand, manage and conserve Australia’s environment by funding world-class biodiversity and climate science. Six research hubs have been established under the program:

  • Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub
  • Earth Systems and Climate Change Hub
  • Marine Biodiversity Hub
  • Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub
  • Threatened Species Recovery Hub
  • Tropical Water Quality Hub.
Australian Biological Resources Study

The Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) program supports a range of resources including taxonomic capability, national databases, online applications and publications, and it helps Australia meet its international obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity. In 2015–16, 660 Australian species and higher-order taxa were revised or newly described through the grants and activities of the ABRS. This represents a substantial contribution to understanding Australia’s biodiversity. The development and online publication of fundamental species knowledge and information underpins national and international biodiversity conservation, threatened species and biosecurity management activities, including application of the EPBC Act.

The ABRS works collaboratively with Australian museums, herbaria, universities and the CSIRO to collate published material into authoritative national collections of taxonomic data and information, which are openly discoverable and accessible through our website.

Data include current authoritative species names, taxonomy, profiles, distributions and related ecological information and data provenance for Australian plants, animals, algae, fungiand other cryptogams. Data and information are disseminated through online tools such as the Australian Faunal Directory and Flora of Australia Online and web services harvested by national and international biodiversity applications, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the International Plant Names Index and the Encyclopaedia of Life. Thevalue of the information lies in its use by governments, conservation organisations, scientists, industry, educational institutes and the community. In particular, the Atlas of Living Australia depends on ABRS names and taxonomy as the authoritative source for Australian species and in turn is used by the Department, other government agencies and Australian science institutions as the basis for a host of analyses and applications. The Atlas of Living Australia reported over 43.6 million web hits on information associated with Australian faunal names sourced from the Australian Faunal Directory in 2015–16.

Bush Blitz is Australia’s largest nature discovery project — a unique multi-million dollar partnership between the Australian Government through Parks Australia and the ABRS, BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities and Earthwatch Australia to document plants and animals across Australia. Since its inception, the project has to date contributed 1193 putative (accepted to be) new species to those described under the ABRS.

The ABRS supported 81 early-career researchers in taxonomy in 2015–16 through student scholarships and travel grants and by preferentially awarding grants to applications that engage early-career researchers working with established researchers to encourage knowledge transfer. This enhances the effectiveness of the funding provided through the ABRS in building and maintaining Australia’s taxonomic capacity. The ABRS provides the only consistent source of funding for taxonomic research in Australia.

Bioregional Assessment Program

In 2015–16, the Department continued to increase understanding of the water-related impacts of coal seam gas and coal mining development by supporting the Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development (IESC) and by delivering bioregional assessments and other research. These actions collectively provide governments, industry and the community with access to better scientific knowledge when considering the potential environmental impacts of coal seam gas and coal miningdevelopment.

The IESC draws on its expertise in hydrology, hydrogeology, geology and ecology, and the best available science, such as that being delivered through the Australian Government’s Bioregional Assessment Program, to formulate its advice which is strengthening the science supporting environmental regulatory decision-making. The IESC held eight meetings during 2015–16, preparing advice on the water-related impacts of eight large coal mines for the Australian, New South Wales and Queensland governments.

The Department is ensuring that relevant scientific knowledge is available through its investment in the Bioregional Assessment Program. Bioregional assessments will be key tools for decision-makers in government and industry, the IESC and other interested parties to manage the cumulative impacts of coal seam gas and large coal mining development on surface water and groundwater.

The Department is working with the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO, Geoscience Australia, state governments, natural resource management bodies and others to deliver bioregional assessments in 13 regions with significant coal deposits and development pressure across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia (see Figure 2.6). Products continue to be made available as they are produced, and full completion is now expected by mid-2017. The extra time for completion is needed because of the scale and novelty of the scientific effort required and the inherent delays in accessing third-party data.

A new web-based information platform was launched in April 2016 to provide open access to the bioregional assessment technical products and results. This platform will be enhanced with a map-based component in early 2017.

The Department is working with CSIRO and the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme to assess the risks to the environment and human health of surface handling of chemicals associated with coal seam gas extraction. The Department expects this national assessment of chemicals associated with coal seam gas extraction to be completed in late 2016.

Figure 2.6: Bioregional assessment areas

Bioregional assessment areas under the Bioregional Assessment Program (© Copyright Department of the Environment and Energy)

Supervising Scientist Branch

The work of the Supervising Scientist Branch in 2015–16 meets two outcomes:

  • operational oversight and monitoring
  • closure of the Ranger uranium mine.

In 2015–16, we continued to provide oversight of uranium mining operations and the associated regulatory process in the Alligator Rivers Region of the Northern Territory, including a program of audits and inspections, document reviews and incident investigations (see Part 5, ‘Legislative reporting’ page 304 for a summary of supervision activities). The monitoring we conducted throughout 2015–16 did not detect any impacts on the environment surrounding the Ranger uranium mine, including Kakadu National Park. Further information on our supervision activities will be in the Supervising Scientist Annual Technical Report, to be published at the end of 2016.

We are required to report annually on the operations of the Supervising Scientist and certain related matters under the Environment Protection (Alligator Rivers Region) Act 1978. In previous years we have done this in a separate annual report. In 2015–16, this reporting has been consolidated into the Department’s annual report (see Part 5, ‘Legislative reporting’ page 303).

The Supervising Scientist Branch is responsible for developing and setting environmental standards to ensure that people and the environment are protected from the impacts of uranium mining. In 2016, we reviewed and updated the Ranger Water Quality Objectives, a suite of water quality standards, based on outcomes of the annual research and monitoring programs we have conducted over the past 12years. The research program will continue to contribute to the development of environmental standards which, in line with the scheduled rehabilitation of Ranger uranium mine, will include closure criteria against which rehabilitation success can been assessed. Over 90per cent of the research projects contribute to knowledge that will inform the rehabilitation process or the assessment of its success. Central to this is the ecological risk assessment for the decommissioning and post-decommissioning phases at Ranger, which has been undertaken by the Supervising Scientist Branch in collaboration with CSIRO and other stakeholders between 2014 and 2016, and will be published after it has been peer reviewed.

Consultative mechanisms employed by the Supervising Scientist include the Alligator Rivers Region Advisory Committee, which provides a forum for stakeholders to exchange views and information regarding the protection of the Alligator Rivers Region from the effects of uranium mining. Additionally, the Alligator Rivers Region Technical Committee ensures scientific research and monitoring conducted by the Supervising Scientist is appropriately targeted andrigorous.

A comprehensive summary of our research and monitoring activities in 2015–16 will be provided in the Supervising Scientist Annual Technical Report, to be published at the end of 2016.

Australian Climate Change Science Program

From 1989 to 2015–16, the Australian Government provided funding to the Australian Climate Change Science Program (ACCSP)—a partnership between the Department, CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology—as a key driver of Australia’s climate change research effort. The program supported research on the causes, nature, timing and consequences of climate change to Australia’s climate and the global climate system. In its final year the ACCSP continued to deliver high-quality scientific research, communicate the results to the Department and collaborate closely with national and international research organisations. Research findings from the ACCSP were published throughout the 27-year life of the program. An estimated 100 peer-reviewed articles will be published from research concluded in 2015–16.

A comprehensive annual report for the year to 30 June 2016, including research highlights and a comprehensive overview of the published results of the program, will be published online.

CSIRO is undertaking a review to evaluate the value of the science generated by the ACCSP. The outcomes of this review will be published on the program’s website by 30 June 2017.

Essential Environmental Measures for Australia program

The Essential Environmental Measures for Australia program aims to improve the Department’s capacity to track change in the state of the environment. An essential environmental measure is a quantifiable measure that provides information on aspects of our environment at local, regional and national scales.

The program brings together experts to:

  • identify measures that are essential to track change in our natural environment
  • improve the discovery, access and re-use of data and information for those measures.

The program is working with the native vegetation community to identify the most important measures and to make vegetation data more available. This is being done through two working groups: one that will develop the native vegetation measures and one that will develop an information model to increase availability of vegetation site data.

Results against key performance indicators

Objective: Improve understanding of Australia’s environment and inform environmental decision-making through collaborative research and enhanced discovery, access and use of environmental information

Criterion / Increase in the number of environmental datasets which are openly accessible and available on the internet and follow guidance provided under the National Plan for Environmental Information initiative
Result / Achieved
The Department continues to make good progress in making environmental datasets available through data.gov.au, the Australian Government’s central catalogue of public data, and directly as web services. For example, in 2015–16 we released 22 environmental datasets on data.gov.au.
The Department and the Bureau of Meteorology have a number of activities under way to collaborate with Australian Government data holders to improve discovery, access and re-use of environmental information. These include the Department’s Essential Environmental Measures for Australia Program and the Bureau’s National Environmental Information Infrastructure. The two agencies collaborate closely on these programs.
The National Principles for Environmental Information were released in December2015. These principles guide Australian Government data holders on providing discoverable, accessible and reusable information.
Criterion / Qualitative assessment shows that departmental staff, state governments, business, community groups and others are using research outputs from the National Environment Science Program to inform management and policy development
Result / Data/information not available or incomplete
Research under the six National Environmental Science Program (NESP) hubs began in June 2015 with 129 projects approved under the annual research plans.
The NESP requires researchers to make the outputs and data from funded research openly accessible and freely available. The Department is guiding the hubs to meet this requirement through the NESP Data and Information Guidelines. As the program matures and projects are finalised, NESP hubs are required to publish all research products and data on their websites and in enduring data repositories.
The NESP encourages the hubs to promote uptake of their research by requiring specified positions and funding to be allocated to knowledge brokering and communications activities for the life of the program.
Two evaluations of the NESP will include consideration of the engagement of stakeholders and uptake of NESP research. The first evaluation will be done in 2017–18 and the second at the end of the program in 2019–20.
Criterion / Qualitative assessment shows that departmental staff, state governments, business, community groups and others are using data on measures of key aspects of the environment to inform policy development and environmental decision-making
Result / Data/information not yet available or incomplete
Candidate measures have been identified for native vegetation. A working group is developing the supporting information so that vegetation measures can be endorsed by an expert panel in late 2016. A native vegetation data custodian working group is developing tools, including a data exchange protocol, to deliver more accessible and re-useable vegetation site data.
Marine measures will be considered in 2016 and endorsed by mid-2017.
Criterion / Qualitative assessment shows that departmental staff, state governments, business, community groups and others are using the 2016 State of the Environment report to inform policy development and environmental decision-making
Result / Data/information not available or incomplete
Preparation of the 2016 State of the Environment report is well under way. Independent authors have been commissioned to draft nine thematic reports. Scoping papers and drafts of each theme report have been circulated extensively across the Australian and state and territory governments and experts. A synthesis report will summarise key issues and challenges across all thematic areas. Thesame methodology is being used as for the 2011 report, which will enable direct comparison between assessments. The report will be published in an online, highly interactive format. It will be available in early 2017.
Research has been undertaken to provide insight into current usage of the report and its products and to identify opportunities to improve their utility and impact. This is informing the 2016 State of the Environment report communications strategy, development of targeted products and plans for post‑launch evaluation.

Objective: Protect the Alligator Rivers Region from the impacts of uranium mining[1]

Criterion / Ensure the concentration of uranium in surface water downstream of Ranger Mine remains less than 2.8micrograms per litre11
Result / Achieved
Concentrations of uranium in surface water downstream of the Ranger mine remained well below 2.8micrograms per litre during 2015–16, consistent with monitoring results from previous years (see Figure 2.7).

Figure 2.7: Uranium concentration downstream of Ranger mine