Ian Cresswell, Nic Bax and Franzis Althaus

CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship &

IMAS, University of Tasmania

Reviewing Commonwealth Marine

Bioregional Planning

More than MPAs?

Outline

• Potted history of Marine Bioregional Planning

• Where have we got to?

– Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network

– Areas outside the CMR Network

Photo credit: Mike Ball

• What might be in bioregional

plans?

• The role of science and

scientists

History of marine planning in Australia

• 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity – MPAs

• 1992 Intergovernmental Agreement on the

Environment –value of representative system

• 1998 Australia’s Oceans Policy

• 1998 ANZECC national commitment rep system

(release of Guidelines for NRSMPA)

• 2002 WSSD – commitment to representative

system of MPAs by 2012

• 2007 Goals and Principles for CMR

Meeting the deadline

• 14 June 2012 the Australian

Government announces

proposed CMR Network

– 60 marine reserves

– 3.1 million sq km or more than

1/3 of EEZ

• GBRMP and the Coral Sea

CMR => largest MPA covering

1.3 million sq km

Photo credit: Robert Thorne

Photo credit: Australian Customs

Marine Bioregional Planning

• 1998 Oceans Policy

• 2004 SE Marine Regional Plan completed

• 2006 Marine Bioregional Planning under EPBC

• 2007 SE CMR Network

• 2007–09 Marine Bioregional Profiles

• 2009–10 Areas for Further Assessment

• 2011 Draft MBP and CMR Network

• 2012 Proposed CMR Network

Value of scientific inputs

• Integrated Marine & Coastal Regionalisation for

Australia (IMCRA)

• South East Regional Marine Plan

• South West, North, North-west & East Marine

Bioregional Planning inputs

• Marine Bioregional Profiles

• Goals and Principles

• Species reports

“Limited information about Australia’s marine

biodiversity, especially for the species and

ecosystems of the more remote and deeper

areas, has been a barrier to developing a

strategic approach to the sustainable

management of our oceans.” - Environment Minister Peter Garrett 2009

Bathomes

Provinces

5500 fish species (Last et al. 2010)

Describing and predicting biodiversity

• National maps of 37 physical variables

on a 1 km2 grid.

• All available biological surveys going

back to Soviet trawl surveys in the

1960s.

• New statistical methods for predicting

biodiversity.

Bathymetry

Current stress

Oxygen SD

(Pitcher et al. 2011)

Describing and predicting biodiversity

>2 million sq km predicted

Public input on marine reserves

•Consultation

− 250 meetings

− 1950 full consultations

− >1/2 million written

submissions

South-west 40,000

North-west 20,000

North 13,000

Coral Sea 487,000

Temperate East 7,100

Photo credit: Mike Ball

Overall representation in the network

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Provincial Bioregions (PB) 35

Meso-scale Bioregions (MB) 37

Depth by PB 371

Key ecological features 43

Biologically Informed Seascapes 67

Seafloor types 83

Total 636 IUCN II

Network

None

Representation of provincial

bioregions

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

South-west

North-west

North

Coral Sea

Temperate East

Representation of IMCRA regions

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

South-west

North-west

North

Coral Sea

Temperate East

Representation of depth classes

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

South-west

North-west

North

Coral Sea

Temperate East

Representation of key ecological

features

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

South-west

North-west

North

Coral Sea

Temperate East

Representation of biologically

informed seascapes

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

South-west

North-west

North

Coral Sea

Temperate East

Representation of seafloor types

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

South-west

North-west

North

Coral Sea

Temperate East

CMR characteristics – depth

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

0-1

00

100-2

00

200-4

00

400-7

00

700-1

000

1000-1

300

1300-2

000

2000+

Coral Sea

North

North-west

South-west

South-east

Temperate-east

Total

CMR characteristics – IUCN x depth

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%0-1

00

100-2

00

200-4

00

400-7

00

700-1

000

1000-1

300

1300-2

000

>2000

Total

VI

IV

II

IA

What does the CMR achieve?

• A biodiversity focus on representative areas of the Australian EEZ

– Higher level of protection

– Onus of no significant damage

– Government to audit and report on progress

• Scientific reference areas

• Network is large but the proportions of continental shelf and shallow continental slope are small.

What about the

Marine Bioregional

Plans?

Photo credit: Mike Ball

Objectives – derived from EPBC Act

• Conserving biodiversity and maintaining

ecosystem health

• Ensuring the recovery and protection of

threatened species

• Improving understanding of the region’s

biodiversity and ecosystems and the pressures

they face.

Contents of MBPs

• List of conservation values

• Regional conservation priorities

• Pressures on conservation values deemed to be

of concern or potential concern (Schedule 1)

• Specific advice on matters of national

environmental significance (Schedule 2)

• Report cards

• Strategies and Actions

Draft strategies and actions

• Increase collaboration with research organisations

• Establish CMR as part of the NRSMPA

• Provide evidence-based information to support decision

making on developmental proposals under the EPBC Act

• Increase collaboration with fisheries management agencies

• Develop partnerships with relevant industries to gather

information

• Develop programs to coordinate species recovery

• Improve monitoring, evaluation and reporting on ecosystem

health

• Participate in international efforts to manage conservation

values

What could be strengthened?

• Current focus on improved understanding and collaboration.

• Need to set goals to reduce pressures or increase

conservation values.

• Mitigation and offset options should be identified where

goals are not achievable.

• Actions monitored and assessed against clear targets.

• Specific objectives, indicators, reference points, and

performance measures needed to monitor progress against

the objectives.

Other measures

• Management actions outside the Marine Reserve

Network needed to maintain biodiversity values

• Detail how other marine management agencies will

contribute to the achievement of its objectives

Photo credit: Willem van Aken

Zone A

Closed 2012 Zone B

Closed March

2012-13

The role of science and scientists

• Policy lead, science informed process

• Advocacy versus Advisory

• Strength lies in peer-reviewed publications

• Objective impartial advice

• Broad support for role in a ‘balanced outcome’

• Science critical in ongoing improvement / refinement

www.nerpmarine.edu.au

Contact:

Ian Cresswell

CSIRO Wealth from

Oceans Flagship

ian.cresswell@csiro.au