Document Index 1999-2000 Ministerial Statements Investing in our Natural and Cultural Heritage Chapter 3

INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES

• International Organisations
• International Treaties and Educational Programmes
• International Forest Conservation
• Australia's Oceans Policy: International Component
• Whales
• Albatross
• Asia and the Pacific
• International Development Corporation

Australia continues to seek to influence environment outcomes at the multilateral and regional levels in line with Australia's international economic and environmental interests. Australia is placing a priority on establishing and reinvigorating existing regional and bilateral relationships, and ensuring consistency of approach by the Commonwealth.

Australia has much to offer and much to gain from international relationships. Australian capabilities in environmental management are well recognised overseas but need to be converted to productive commercial relationships that will benefit the environment.

Substantial national gains can be made from cooperative efforts for nature conservation and environment protection. For example, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species controls international trade in wildlife, protects endangered species from extinction and prevents other wildlife species from being threatened with extinction. Cooperation through the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) provides data on chemicals that Australia and many other smaller nations could not afford to develop by themselves. It also enables safe management of both domestic and international trade in existing and new chemicals that are potentially dangerous to humans and the environment.

International Organisations

In the United Nations system, the Commonwealth is actively seeking to reinvigorate the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), based in Nairobi, Kenya. Australia supports UNEP activity on environmental aspects of freshwater and the International Coral Reef Initiative, encouraging UNEP to draw on the expertise and experience of member governments to identify best-practice management and to seek government endorsement of its policy conclusions. Australia emphasises the importance of UNEP developing and debating environmental policy related to new and emerging issues.

Australia will continue to contribute to the work of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD). This body oversees integration of the economic, social and environmental elements of development in the UN system, following up the 1992 Rio Declaration and Agenda 21. Australia will be working through the CSD to ensure that an integrated system of ocean protection and management is developed and implemented.

International Treaties and Educational Programmes

In 1999-2000, the Commonwealth Government will consider signing of the newly finalised global treaty on `prior informed consent,' which aims to protect human health and the environment against potentially harmful impacts from certain hazardous chemicals in international trade. The Commonwealth Government is consulting affected stakeholders with a view to considering ratification of the Convention to Combat Desertification Convention. Australia will continue to assist in development of an international treaty on the management of persistent organic pollutants and the development of a protocol on biosafety under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Australia is a signatory to the International Convention of Legal Metrology, which has adopted international requirements for a range of environmental measuring instruments. The Convention's recommendations will support confidence in measurements carried out to show compliance with international treaty obligations. Furthermore, the recommendations will support the integrity of greenhouse gas emission trading schemes.

Contact: Environment Australia, Portfolio Strategies Group -- 02 6274 1388

Table 3.2: Environment Australia's Proposed Contributions to International Conventions and Organisations with Environmental Objectives for 1999-2000

1. Figures rounded to the nearest thousand.
2. The objectives of WMO are primarily meteorological rather than environmental.

International Forest Conservation

In 1999-2000, the Government will continue to work cooperatively to encourage sustainable forest management particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Australia will continue its commitment to the United Nation's Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF), an international body established to continue the intergovernmental dialogue on sustainable use and management of forests commenced by its predecessor, the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests. The Forum is set to have its final meeting early in 2000. Australia's priorities under the IFF will continue to include: implementing agreed actions; future international arrangements for forests; forest conservation and protected areas; and plantations.

Contact: Environment Australia, Portfolio Strategies Group -- 02 6274 1319

Australia's Oceans Policy: International Component

In December 1998, Australia's Oceans Policy was released as a major contribution to the United Nations International Year of the Ocean. The Oceans Policy provides integrated and multi-sectoral approaches to the management of ocean areas and includes actions at both the national and international level. Priority international activity areas in 1999-2000 include:

• follow-up to the deliberations of the Seventh Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (April 1999) on oceans and seas;
• tackling marine pollution and promoting sustainable management of fisheries;
• implementation of the marine and coastal programme of work of the Convention on Biological Diversity; and
• encouraging effective marine conservation programmes within regional fora such as Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia and the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme.

Australia will continue to participate in the APEC Marine Resources Conservation Working Group (MRCWG). This is an important forum for facilitating regional cooperation on sustainable management of the marine environment.

Whales

Australia will continue to push for a truly global whale sanctuary through the International Whaling Commission and other fora. Australia's objective is to ensure a permanent international ban on commercial whaling. As a step towards that goal, Australia and New Zealand are jointly developing, in consultation with other nations, a proposal for a South Pacific Whale Sanctuary.

Albatross

Albatross are currently the most threatened group of marine birds and the best available evidence indicates that long-line fishing is the most serious threat facing albatross today. Seventeen species of albatross are currently listed under the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992. The listing obliges Environment Australia to prepare a Recovery Plan for these species in cooperation with the States in which the species occurs. A Recovery Plan is currently being prepared in consultation with scientific specialists, conservation Non-Government Organisations, and the States and Territories, which manage albatross populations in Australia. This Plan will detail research and management actions necessary to stop the decline and support the recovery of the listed species. Actions are funded by both Environment Australia and the Tasmanian Government.

Also listed under the Act is the key threatening process of the `incidental catch (or by-catch) of seabirds during oceanic long-line fishing operations'. This listing led to the preparation of a Threat Abatement Plan (TAP) for this threatening process. TAP aims to significantly reduce the by-catch of seabirds during oceanic long-line operations in the Australian Fishing Zone within five years. (For further details see Chapter 4.)

To initiate the preparation of the TAP, Environment Australia convened a series of focus-group workshops with the fishing industry, non-government groups, research organisations and State and Commonwealth Government agencies. The workshops were run to maximise the opportunity for all parties to identify the issues to be addressed in the TAP and possible mechanisms for addressing them. Development of such a complex document would not have been possible without the cooperation and good will of such a diverse range of stakeholders.

Australia also is continuing to push for a global approach to conservation of albatross through the development of a Regional Agreement with southern hemisphere range States to ensure cooperation to achieve effective conservation of albatross globally. The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS or Bonn Convention) provides a possible framework for developing such an agreement and thus enhancing the conservation status of migratory albatross through the cooperative efforts of the countries along the migratory path of those species. As a step toward that goal, Australia is developing and consulting with other nations on the development of a Regional Agreement, which will ensure that conservation measures of the type that Australia is pursuing within the Australian exclusive economic zone (EEZ) are applied to other countries EEZ's and the high seas. If conservation measures are not applied to areas outside the Australian EEZ then the status of Australian albatross populations cannot be secured.

Contact: Environment Australia, Biodiversity Group -- 02 6274 2317

Asia and the Pacific

The Government will be looking to build on Australian relationships in Asia and the Pacific. The Government will be seeking to consolidate close cooperation with Indonesia and to maintain progress on the environment following the regional financial crises. The Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) is providing funding to Papua New Guinea to encourage full participation.

The international programme structure, comprising the International Conservation Programme (ICP) and the International Environment Protection Programme (IEPP), supports initiatives and undertake activities relating to international nature conservation and international environmental protection issues, particularly in Asia and the Pacific.

In 1999, these programmes will support conservation of habitat in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Indonesia. Furthermore, the programmes will provide for training courses on protecting migratory shore birds in China, the distribution of a CD ROM on environmental enforcement in the South Pacific region and the development of biodiversity assessment and land-use planning software manuals and training for the Asia-Pacific region.

Funding under the International Conservation Programme will be increased from $140,000 to $270,000 to allow an increased focus on regional environment and conservation protection.

Australia will continue to use the Australia-Indonesia Government Sector Linkages Programme (GSLP, a component of the Australian Aid Programme) to undertake bilateral activities with Indonesia. The Environment Portfolio received funding of nearly $500,000 under the first two rounds of the GSLP to undertake activities consistent with Australia's MOUs and the Australia Indonesia Ministerial Forum objectives.

Funding has been granted for assistance under the APEC Support Programme for the adaptation and implementation of the Asia-Pacific Code of Forest Harvesting in selected Asia Pacific Countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines, China and Vietnam.

Australia is supportive of a new round of trade liberalisation in 2000. In particular, Australia will support early voluntary liberalisation of trade and investment in the environmental goods and services sector and seek to consolidate existing initiatives in the areas of the marine environment, cleaner production and urban management, both in APEC and more broadly.

Contact: Environment Australia, Portfolio Strategies Group -- 02 6274 1713

International Development Corporation

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) is responsible for administering Australia's overseas aid programme. The programme focuses on bilateral and regional activities in the Asia-Pacific. It also funds activities in Africa and South Asia as well as global and regional development institutions.

Promoting environmental sustainability is a key objective of Australia's overseas aid programme. Because the environment is a global resource, assisting with international environmental protection supports Australia's domestic environmental interests. Environmental management is also crucial for sustainable development. Air and water pollution, poor sanitation and mismanagement of natural resources are all common problems in developing countries. Developing countries are especially vulnerable to environmental disasters such as droughts, floods and tidal waves.

Australia is actively helping developing countries to improve their environments. The aid programme supports a portfolio of activities that directly target environmental issues. These projects focus on environmental policy and management, water supply and sanitation, natural resource management, sustainable agriculture, rural and urban development, climate change and renewable energy.

In addition, Australia ensures that environmental sustainability is maximised in all its aid activities by integrating environmental monitoring and assessment mechanisms into their design and implementation. Australian domestic environmental protection legislation applies to all overseas aid activities through the application of the Commonwealth Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974 and AusAID's Environmental Assessment Guidelines. The Australian aid programme also draws upon the sector guidelines in the World Bank's Environmental Assessment Sourcebook, and conducts evaluations and reviews of its environmental projects.

In 1998-99, $51 million was spent on bilateral and regional activities directly addressing environmental issues. A further $88 million was spent on activities with a significant environmental component. Australia also supported international institutions, such as the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, United Nations Development Programme and the Global Environment Facility, which funded a significant number of environmental activities.

Contact: AusAID -- 02 6206 4566