Sustainability Report 2005-2006
Department of the Environment and Water Resources, 2007
Parks Australia Environmental Performance
Emissions to Air, Land and Water
EN10, EN13, EN12, EN32: Emissions to air, land and water
Goals 2005-06
Continue investigations into appropriate fire regimes which are optimal for maintenance of biodiversity and carbon retention- All parks to have fire management plans in place by June 2006
Performance 2005-06 and trends
No spills of chemicals, oils or fuels occurred in the parks during 2005-06. No water sources or habitats were affected by discharges and runoff from Parks sites, and there were no discharges to water during the year.
Fire management plans are in place in Kakadu, Booderee, Uluru and the ANBG. In the island parks, fire is not a normal occurrence and emergency fire plans are in place for Norfolk and Christmas Island National Parks. At Uluru annual burn plans were implemented.
Studies on fire regimes have continued at Kakadu where 10 years of fire plot data have been concluded and a partnership established with the NT Bushfire Council to analyse these data.
Commentary
Of all the sources of emissions to air, land and water in the mainland terrestrial parks, fire presents the greatest challenge. Fire is fundamental to the ecological function of natural areas in mainland Australia. To help maintain biological diversity, and minimise the impacts of frequent large-scale fires, fire is used as a management tool in Kakadu, Uluru and Booderee. There are complex movements of carbon between the landscape and the atmosphere which can be affected by activities such as land clearing and fire. The parks are increasingly working with researchers to investigate these relationships and any new knowledge to the on-going improvement of our ecosystem management.
Goals 2006-07
- Continue investigations into appropriate fire regimes which are optimal for maintenance of biodiversity and carbon retention
- Continue to implement fire management plans at Kakadu, Booderee and Uluru.
Related Indicators
Parks Australia Indicators
Other Indicators
Contents
- Sustainability Report 05-06
- Executive summary
- Vision and strategy
- Our organisation
- Governance
- Policy and influence
- Environmental performance
- Social performance
- Economic performance
- Report assurance statement
- Case studies
- GRI index
Key
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