What is a strategic assessment?

Strategic assessments enable a `big picture’ approach to environment and heritage protection that provide certainty in the long-term, by determining where sustainable development can occur, the type of development that will be allowed and the conditions under which development may proceed.

They are broad landscape-scale environmental assessments of a policy, plan or program under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. They differ from the usual project-by-project impact assessments which focus on specific development activity.

What is the purpose of a Great Barrier Reef strategic assessment?

The comprehensive strategic assessment will provide an overall assessment of the effectiveness of management arrangements to protect the environmental values of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and the adjacent coastal zone.

Rather than assessing project-by-project, it will collectively look at planned future development and decision-making processes to protect environmental values and guide Reef management for the next 25 years.

What will be assessed under the strategic assessment?

Planning, policy and regulatory arrangements for a number of types of development activities will be considered, including:

• the full range of activities in the marine park
• water quality policies and controls
• national parks and protected areas
• development within the coastal zone, including urban, island, marina and aquaculture development
• industrial development
• port development

The plans, policies and programs to be considered in any strategic assessment are collectively known as the ‘Program’. The life of the Program will be 25 years during which there will be monitoring, evaluation and periodic review.

Why is the strategic assessment necessary if other environmental approval processes are already in place?

Applications for developments that have the potential to impact on the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and adjacent coastal zone are currently assessed individually. These assessments are extremely thorough and require two separate Commonwealth and State government approvals.

The comprehensive strategic assessment will take a longer-term view of development to ensure it is appropriately planned.

If the Australian Minister for the Environment is satisfied that processes in place adequately protect matters of national environmental significance (MNES), he may then endorse the Program and approve certain classes of action or types of development occurring in accordance with the program. Such an approval would allow activities under the program to proceed without the need for further Commonwealth approval of individual proposals.

How will the strategic assessment address the concerns raised by the World Heritage Committee?

The comprehensive strategic assessment forms part of the Australian Government's response to the World Heritage Committee's concerns regarding the impacts of development on the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

The issues raised during the public consultation period and those arising from the joint UNESCO World Heritage Centre/International Union for Conservation of Nature mission report have been considered in preparing the final terms of reference.

How are various government agencies involved?

GBRMPA and the Queensland Government are working together to develop the strategic assessments to ensure the final assessment reports are complementary.

There are two components to the comprehensive strategic assessment:

• Marine component—led by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

The marine component will look at the arrangements in place to manage and protect the Great Barrier Reef Region.

• Coastal component—led by the Queensland Government

The coastal component will look at coastal development such as planning for urban, industrial and port development. It will also look at the processes in place to identify, plan for and manage existing and emerging risks so that the unique environmental values of the Great Barrier Reef are protected.

GBRMPA and the Queensland Government are working closely on aspects where there are joint management responsibilities, for example shipping, water quality and island management. The Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Populations and Communities will oversee the coordination and production of the two reports.

What are the terms of reference?

The terms of reference define what the assessment will cover and how it will be carried out.

To ensure a consistent approach to developing the two strategic assessments, the terms of reference were developed in close consultation between the Queensland Government, GBRMPA and the Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.

The strategic assessment will be complex and the terms of reference are important to ensure that everyone has a clear understanding of what will be included and the process to be followed. Key components include:

1. Identifying and describing values to be protected

   A key step in the assessment process is to identify values that underpin 'Matters of National Environmental Significance' in the Great Barrier Reef Region.Values will be described and information gaps can be identified.

2. Identifying and analysing threats and pressures to the values

   Threats and pressures impacting on values identified above will be described. The assessment will analyse whether impacts are short or long-term and local or regional. It is important to understand how different threats and pressures impact on values in order to assess the effectiveness of management arrangements.

3. Assessing management effectiveness

   The assessment will examine how GBRMPA and Queensland Government’s management arrangements protect values. It will look at how impacts are avoided or reduced; the effectiveness of monitoring; enforcement; and how cumulative impacts are considered.

   Demonstration cases will be used as examples to examine management effectiveness, such as looking closely at management of a particular region or value.
   

4. Recommending changes to management arrangements

   Recommendations for changes to management arrangements will be made based on the above assessment.
   

What are matters of national environmental significance?

Under Commonwealth legislation (the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) there are a number of “matters of national environmental significance” (MNES). These include:

• World Heritage properties (e.g. Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and Wet Tropics World Heritage Area)
• National Heritage places (e.g. Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics)
• Wetlands of international importance (e.g. Bowling Green Bay and Shoalwater/Corio Bays are declared as Ramsar sites)
• Listed threatened species and ecological communities (e.g. green turtle, littoral rainforest and coastal vine thickets)
• Listed migratory species (e.g. humpback whales, migratory seabirds)
• Commonwealth marine area (i.e. waters beyond the State limit)
• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Any actions that have, or are likely to have, a significant impact on a matters of national environmental significance require approval from the Australian Government Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.

What issues were raised during the terms of reference consultation period?

The following key issues were raised during the public consultation process and were considered in finalising the terms of reference: 

• defining the scope of management arrangements to be considered
• defining methods to be used for the strategic assessment
• need for consistency between the Queensland Government and GBRMPA terms of reference
• how areas of overlap with the two strategic assessments would be dealt with
• criteria for selecting demonstration cases
• how cumulative impacts would be considered
• expert peer review and/or an independent assessment of management effectiveness
• explicit reference be made to the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Area
  

Respondents also made broad comments relating to values and concerns, World Heritage Area management, and how to assess projects during the assessment. 

How will impacts be analysed?

The strategic assessments must identify direct, indirect and cumulative impacts and then assess how these are avoided, mitigated or offset in order to determine whether the respective programs effectively protect matters of national environmental significance.

Given the scale and complexity of the strategic assessment, a tiered, or hierarchical approach will be undertaken that looks broadly at the existing risks to the reef and coastal zone, but then looks in finer detail at specific locations and initiatives as a means of demonstrating the effectiveness of the Program in protecting environmental values at a local or regional scale.

• Broad scale cumulative risk analysis - a Reef wide risk assessment of the multiple existing pressures on the various environment, social and economic values.
• Spatial distribution of cumulative risk - a spatial portrayal of cumulative risks to show areas where multiple impacts are occurring.
• Finer scale analysis - demonstration cases to look in finer detail at the Program’s effectiveness to protect and manage values and to guide management improvements.

How will demonstration cases be selected?

GBRMPA and the Queensland Government will work together to choose demonstration cases based on criteria set out in the terms of reference.

A number of demonstration cases will be undertaken to ensure appropriate coverage of the different types of planning and development activities in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and adjacent coastal zone. 

What will be produced?

The Queensland and GBRMPA strategic assessments will each deliver two reports:

• Program Report: describing in detail the management arrangements, including future commitments, to protect and manage matters of national environmental significance.
• Strategic Assessment Report: assessing the effectiveness of the management arrangements to adequately protect matters of national environmental significance from actual and potential impacts and recommendations for improvement.

What is the current status of the strategic assessment?

The terms of reference have been finalised following public consultation. The public will have further opportunities to input into the process and to comment on draft strategic assessment reports before they go to the Federal Environment Minister for consideration and decision.

What is Outstanding Universal Value?

The term 'Outstanding Universal Value' underpins world heritage listings.

Under the World Heritage Convention a property is considered to have outstanding universal value if it is of ”cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity”.

For a World Heritage property to be considered as having outstanding universal value, it must meet one or more of 10 criteria as well as meet several other requirements such as an adequate protection and management system to ensure its safeguarding.

Of the 10 criteria, six are 'cultural' while the remaining four are considered to be 'natural' criteria. Some World Heritage properties are 'mixed', being inscribed for both their natural and cultural values.

The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area is listed for all four of the World Heritage natural criteria. The strategic assessment is an important process to ensure the area is managed to protect its outstanding universal value.

How will GBRMPA and the Queensland Government ensure independence and transparency?

The strategic assessments will be based on the latest peer-reviewed scientific evidence and stakeholder information.

Key knowledge gaps and critical information needs have been identified early in the strategic assessment process. The Australian Government is funding regional sustainability projects to address these gaps and feed directly into the strategic assessment.

The final drafts of the strategic assessment reports will also be peer reviewed by relevant experts.

An independent assessment of management effectiveness will be undertaken for both strategic assessments.

How will GBRMPA and Queensland Government ensure community voices are heard?

There will be opportunities for stakeholders and the broader public to provide input throughout the strategic assessment process through:

• public consultation on the draft terms of reference (completed)
• purpose-designed regionally specific stakeholder workshops including Traditional Owner workshops
• consultation via GBRMPA’s Reef Advisory Committees (RACs) and Local Marine Advisory Committees (LMACs)
• an independent assessment of management effectiveness
• public consultation on the final draft Strategic Assessment reports and Program reports
• an independent assessment of management effectiveness
• a Stakeholder Reference Group being led by Queensland’s Deputy Premier to liaise with peak bodies.

What happens to development in the Great Barrier Reef Region in the meantime?

The strategic assessment does not affect any development approvals already granted under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Proponents can continue to refer development proposals to the Australian Government in the normal way while the strategic assessment is being undertaken.

Proponents who refer a development proposal action during this period will be expected to meet a high standard of assessment in terms of the level and rigour of information provided, including the consideration of cumulative impacts. This will ensure project-by-project assessments that occur during the strategic assessment period are managed appropriately and will not compromise the strategic assessment process.

How do I find out more?

For further information on the Great Barrier Reef Region Strategic Assessment including full terms of reference and Submissions Report visit www.gbrmpa.gov.au or subscribe to GBRMPA’s e-newsletter Reef in Brief.

For further information on the Great Barrier Reef Coastal Zone Strategic Assessment including the full terms of reference and Consultation Report visit www.qld.gov.au/GBRcoastalzone.