Project summary: national marine ecological indicators

摘要: In 2006 the Department of Environment and Heritage-now the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPaC)-prepared an information paper for the Australian State of the Environment Committee, noting the lack of any systematic long-term national programs for monitoring and reporting on key features of Australia’s oceans and coasts (DEH 2 006). The information paper was supplemented by a national audit of indicators of marine health conducted by the Department, which concluded that while there was substantial literature available on theoretical frameworks and categories of indicators that could be monitored, there were no specific recommendations on which indicators should be used to best assess the health of marine ecosystems, and very little information on what quantitative data were available to support indicators. Fortunately, the amount and availability of …