Chapter 15
Australian Integrated Coastal Management:
A Case Study of the Great Barrier Reef
N. Harvey
15.1
Introduction
The Aus;tralian coast is 69630 km in length with the adjacent continental shelf covering an area of 2.5 million km 2 and varying in width from 15 km to 400 km (State of the
Environment Advisory Council 1996). However, definitions of the coastal zone vary
between the different governments. The Commonwealth (of Australia) government, for
example, has a very broad definition of the coastal zone based on policy rather than
any biophysical or cadastral criteria: "The boundaries of the coastal zone extend as far
inland and as far seaward as necessary to achieve the policy objectives, with a primary
focus on the land/sea interface" (Commonwealth of Australia 1992a).
This reflects the dilemma of trying to come up with a workable definition. A major
Commonwealth coastal inquiry, conducted by the Resource Assessment Commission
(RAC), into the coastal zone adopted the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Environment Directorate approach which suggests that the
definition of the coastal zone should vary according to the nature of the problem being examined and the objectives of management (Commonwealth of Australia 1993a).
The national inquiry took the marine boundary to be the Australian Fishing Zone
200 nautical miles seaward oflow water mark. This area (n.l million km 2 ) is about two
and a half times larger than the entire Australian land mass. The inquiry then used
two operational definitions of the coastal zone for identifying and describing the extent of resources and human activities in the coastal zone. It used an administrative
definition when describing the extent of human uses and activities (1.318 million km 2 )
but a definition based on recognisable drainage basins (1.327 million km 2 ) when describing the extent of physical and biological resources. Both of these definitions account for an area equivalent to about 17% of the Australian land mass (Commonwealth
of Australia 1993a).
Before discussing Australian coastal management it is important to note that there
is a three tier system of government involving the Commonwealth (national) government, state and territory governments, and local government. The head powers for most
coastal management rest with various pieces of legislation at the state and territory
level of government, and these reflect a variety of approaches from specific coastal legislation through to a lack oflegislation. Much of the coastal legislation is linked to other
legislation such as planning or pollution control. However, much of the day to day
coastal management and development control is carried out by local government authorities.
Coastal management in Australia has undergone a period of extensive review in the
'90S at both the Commonwealth and the State level. At the national level, this culmi-
Australian Integrated Coastal Management:
A Case Study of the Great Barrier Reef
N. Harvey
15.1
Introduction
The Aus;tralian coast is 69630 km in length with the adjacent continental shelf covering an area of 2.5 million km 2 and varying in width from 15 km to 400 km (State of the
Environment Advisory Council 1996). However, definitions of the coastal zone vary
between the different governments. The Commonwealth (of Australia) government, for
example, has a very broad definition of the coastal zone based on policy rather than
any biophysical or cadastral criteria: "The boundaries of the coastal zone extend as far
inland and as far seaward as necessary to achieve the policy objectives, with a primary
focus on the land/sea interface" (Commonwealth of Australia 1992a).
This reflects the dilemma of trying to come up with a workable definition. A major
Commonwealth coastal inquiry, conducted by the Resource Assessment Commission
(RAC), into the coastal zone adopted the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Environment Directorate approach which suggests that the
definition of the coastal zone should vary according to the nature of the problem being examined and the objectives of management (Commonwealth of Australia 1993a).
The national inquiry took the marine boundary to be the Australian Fishing Zone
200 nautical miles seaward oflow water mark. This area (n.l million km 2 ) is about two
and a half times larger than the entire Australian land mass. The inquiry then used
two operational definitions of the coastal zone for identifying and describing the extent of resources and human activities in the coastal zone. It used an administrative
definition when describing the extent of human uses and activities (1.318 million km 2 )
but a definition based on recognisable drainage basins (1.327 million km 2 ) when describing the extent of physical and biological resources. Both of these definitions account for an area equivalent to about 17% of the Australian land mass (Commonwealth
of Australia 1993a).
Before discussing Australian coastal management it is important to note that there
is a three tier system of government involving the Commonwealth (national) government, state and territory governments, and local government. The head powers for most
coastal management rest with various pieces of legislation at the state and territory
level of government, and these reflect a variety of approaches from specific coastal legislation through to a lack oflegislation. Much of the coastal legislation is linked to other
legislation such as planning or pollution control. However, much of the day to day
coastal management and development control is carried out by local government authorities.
Coastal management in Australia has undergone a period of extensive review in the
'90S at both the Commonwealth and the State level. At the national level, this culmi-