Urban Coastal EnvironmentsAndy Steven, Emma Johnston & Contributors

Our coastal Australiabiodiverse

under‐explored

defines Australian lifestyle

commercially valuable

under increasing pressure

Drivers for the Coastal domain

Shipping traffic

Advanced Minerals & Energy Projects

Marine parks

Population Growth

Urbanizing  Coastal Environments • Rapidly changing and often disturbed: 

• deteriorating water quality• Changing morphology• Loss of habitat and  • Changing biotic composition

• Highly valuable – economically, socially, culturally and ecologically

• Competing Uses • Vulnerable built infrastructure • Global Challenge

Coastal challenges: a question of balance

Pressures

• population growth + development • conflicting uses• catchment + industry impacts • exploitation of resources• climate change + variability

Opportunities

• port development• oil, gas + mineral resources• tourism and recreation• new marine industries• renewable energy• water + food security

Informed, timelytransparent decisions

Protection of vulnerable areas & species

The way in which our coasts are managed will have profound consequences for most Australians!

Research for What and for Whom?

Reporting & outlook

Regional planning

Reduced uncertainty in EIA

Integrated coastal zone management

Marine reserves

Environmental guidelines

OCIASCoastal Research

Informing

WfO Vision  |  Andy Steven  | Protecting Infrastructure & PeopleIndustry Innovation

Coastal Sub‐Theme White Papers1. Coastal contamination. Apte et al. 2. Indigenous Coastal Knowledge & Research Priorities. Bayliss et al. 3. Climate change impacts and adaptation in the urban coastal 

environment. Bishop et al. 4. Green engineering and marine urban development. Dafforn et al. 5. Recreational Fisheries in Australia. Griffiths et al.6. Biosecurity and Marine Pests in Coastal Waters. Piola et al.

Other Submissions &/OR Interest• Geosciences Australia• Bureau of Meteorology• WAMSI• Microbial consortia• FRDC Indigenous 

Research Group• Numerous individual 

researchers

• Victorian Coastal Council• SeaChange TaskForce• Prawn Farmers 

Association• NSW OEH and DPI• Australian Maritime 

Safety Association• IMAS

Ten Coastal Science Priorities1. Better characterise coastal habitats, environment processes and define 

envelopes of natural variability.   2. Understand catchment & contaminant pathways & define thresholds of concern3. Address cumulative impacts and identify important stressor interactions.4. Develop bio‐observing technologies.5. Understanding connectivity and resource use. 6. Incorporate quantitative and qualitative social and cultural perspectives into 

coastal decision‐making.7. Develop, test and apply eco‐engineering approaches.8. Develop methods to mitigate coastal hazards.9. Improve data coordination and accessibility.10. Support the development of urban/coastal industries.

Why do this? National Outcomes• Stronger alignment with national policies • Accurate maps of coastal estate.• Improved management of key coastal natural and cultural assets • Identification of trade‐offs and better prioritization and decision‐

making• More efficient, relevant and reliable monitoring and assessment• Better preparedness and resilience to natural disasters and extreme 

weather events• Social license to operate and improved human well being

Issue  – Knowing the extent, condition, trajectory and resilience of coastal assets

• Lack spatial and baseline information for regional and  planning and approvals

• Envelope of “natural” conditions• Lack efficient and effective 

monitoring technologies• ecosystem connectivity and 

integrated a whole‐of‐system understanding

Science Needs  – assessing the extent conditioand trajectory of coastal assets

• Mapping methods for rapid and comprehensive spatial mapping of terrestrial and aquatic coastal habitats

• Development of sustained bio‐physical and bio‐observing technologies

• Develop whole‐of‐region and nested integrated coastal models that can be readily applied to assess specific coastal scenarios 

Bio-observing: eco-’omics

• Improved understanding of microbial processes

• Metagenomic & Transcriptomic approaches to biomonitoring

• Understanding ecosystem function-diversity links

Issue: Contamination• Historical Legacies and ongoing inputs

• Major contaminants: metals, herbicides, pesticides nutrients and sedimentation

• “Emerging Contaminants”: POPs, plastics, pharmaceuticals, CO2

• Little monitoring of contaminants or their impacts

• Result: social, economic and ecological values threatened

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Research needs: Contamination

• Establishing regionally specific guidelines and thresholds• Novel bio‐functional diagnostics• Contaminant interactions research• Methods for research on new contaminants

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Issue – Biotic Invasions• Pressure ‐ Increasing coastal trade, 

climate change, recreational vessel movement,  aquaculture and habitat modification

• Result – increasing rate of biotic invasionwith economic and ecological costs

Research needs: Biotic Invasion• Improved methods for rapid detection of invasive marine species 

• Novel incursion prevention methods 

• Introduced disease and parasite research

• National coordination of research programs 

Issue: We’ve paved ‘paradise’ • Pressure ‐ Increasing coastal 

urbanisation, climate change and port development

• Result – foreshore armouring, addition of artificial structures, beach nourishment and habitat loss

Research Needs – Eco‐engineering• Multi‐disciplinary Projects to test innovative eco‐engineering approaches to coastal development

• Multi‐functional objectives for coastal engineering (e.g. carbon sequestration, habitat provision)

• Large scale field trials and adaptive Management Studies

Issue ‐ Recreational Fishing• ~3.36 M Australians (19.5%) fished in 2000/01• 23.2M fishing trips to catch 72 M fish• Expenditure estimated at $1.8B per year• Diversity of marine species captured • Significant economic and social benefits• Recreational harvest for many species 

significant and may exceed commercial catches

Research Needs ‐ Recreational Fishing• Long‐term monitoring including catch, effort, participation, social wellbeing and economic contribution

• Better understand the social and economic costs and benefits of coastal recreation. 

• Design and maintain a national database on recreational fisheries

Issue: Incorporating Indigenous Coastal Knowledge

• Traditional owners with cultural & legal rights• Deep connections between land, sea and people;• Solutions that encompass values, aspirations & 

cultural knowledge • Indigenous Protected Areas established• Co‐management arrangements• Major industry engagement & interaction

Research Needs: Indigenous Knowledge• Recognise and incorporate 

indigenous knowledge and management techniques into coastal NRM

• Co‐developed research programs• Protocols, monitoring & evaluation 

frameworks for the understanding, value of indigenous coastal resource use, and risks to those values

Issue ‐ Better Access to Coastal InformationForecasting

Reporting

Analysis

Integration

Aggregation

Quality assurance

CollationMonitoring

DistributionDone poorly to well

Done poorly

Done well, where done

Drowning in Data,  Gasping for Information

Science Needs ‐ Better Access to Coastal Information

• Consistent approaches to data and information management 

• open data standards, vocabularies, provenance• enhanced discovery of data products and 

services.• Data – Model assimilation• Methods to forecast environmental and climate 

conditions• Better Visualisation

What do we need?  ‐ Infrastructure• Sustained observational network of regionally 

representative coastlines and estuaries• Resourcing of long‐term ecological research sites • Access to archives of current and new satellite data and 

real time data streams for forecasting and surveillance • Support lab and field based experimental infrastructure • Computer infrastructure to develop a coordinated public‐

access coastal knowledge hub. 

What do we need? –Training & Capacity Building• University training in ecotoxicology, risk assessment and 

environmental genomics, bioinformatics, social sciences, economics, planning, eco‐engineering and ecosystem modelling

• Maintain national expertise • Develop methods and support training for non‐scientists to assist 

in the collection of data• Empower government, industry and communities to make better 

use of coastal information services in decision‐making.• Translate coastal research to best‐practice and ‘how to’ guidance 

on coastal issues• Bring disciplines together – e.g. engineers and social economics

Realisation – Funding• Coordinate funding that enhances collaboration across University 

and Government Institutional boundaries and with Industry.• Fund initiatives that favour interdisciplinary and cross‐disciplinary 

team approaches. • Develop formal programs to promote international collaboration • Directed and strategic use of offset funding to test coastal 

innovations• Discretionary research funds should not be used to support on‐

going operational monitoring.

What do we need?  – Information Management • Build upon and support NCRIS investments in data and 

computational infrastructure to provide better access to coastal data. 

• Targeted investment in coastal databases: – Existing: NEXIS, NEDF, NFSDF– New: registry of recreational fishers and a portal on recreational 

fisheries, accepted parameter libraries for EIA modelling

• Clearinghouse of best practice information and guidelines• Ongoing development of consistent open data standards, 

vocabularies, provenance and discovery of data

Overview ContributorsName Institution Contribution

Andy Steven  CSIRO Theme Convenor/Principle author

Emma Johnston UNSW and Sydney Institute of Marine Science Theme Convenor/Principle author

Jo Banks Sydney Institute of Marine Science Author

Peter Bayliss CSIRO Senior author – Indigenous research

Marcus Barber CSIRO Senior author – Indigenous research

Simon Apte CSIRO Land and Water Senior author – Contaminants

Shane Griffiths CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Senior author – Recreational fisheries

Richard Piola Defence Science and Technology Organisation Senior author – Biosecurity & NIS

Melanie Bishop Macquarie University Senior author – Climate change 

Katherine Dafforn UNSW Senior author – Green Engineering

Mariana Mayer Pinto UNSW Senior author – Green Engineering