NSW advances towards a productive and sustainable marine estate
19 May 2014
The Marine Estate Management Authority today released its first annual progress report on the implementation of the new approach to managing the NSW marine estate.
The 2013 progress report highlights marine estate projects and achievements, links to other NSW Government reform programs, and key achievements by the agencies and departments that are members of the Authority.
Established in March 2013, the Authority is supported by the Marine Estate Expert Knowledge Panel and advises the NSW Government on management of the marine estate to deliver on the vision for holistic management of the coast and sea.
“The Authority has made significant progress on its challenging schedule of works including release of Managing the NSW Marine Estate: Purpose, Underpinning Principles and Priority Setting. This paper sets out the manner of our approach and the principles underlying it,” Independent Chair of the Authority, Dr Wendy Craik, said.
“I am grateful for the cooperation and assistance of stakeholders and the community, staff of NSW Government agencies, the members of the Authority and Expert Knowledge Panel, and the support of the Minister for Primary Industries and Minister for the Environment.
“2014 is proving to be a busy and productive year and the Authority looks forward to continuing the conversation with the people of NSW about their values and desires for the marine estate,” Dr Craik said.
In 2014 the Authority is focusing on delivering the following priority tasks:
- Undertaking a marine estate community survey to capture the variety of community views about the marine estate at local, regional and state scales.
- Undertaking an assessment of threat, and risk to the marine estate.
- Developing the proposed Marine Estate Management Bill and regulations.
- Developing the Marine Estate Management Strategy to set policy directions and identify priorities for coordinated management to balance economic, social and environmental values.
- Piloting the new approach to marine park management in Solitary Islands and Batemans marine parks.