Environmental Policy for Coastal Management in New South Wales

Environmental Policy briefing 1
Briefing report on an environmental policy
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Environmental Policy briefing 2
Executive Summery
The need and demand for Coastal features for both recreational and residential purposes have
created pressure on the limited recourses along the coastline. The New South Wales
government through the NSW Environmental Protection Authority has come up with a
strategic plan and program that aim at protecting and enhancing the Coastal region. The
operations of the authority are described in the newly updated Environmental Management
Act 2016. The Act, which is an updated format of the Environmental Management Act 1979,
provides the framework on the strategies followed when managing the coastal region. The
local and field operations of the authority are coordinated by the local councils whose
operations are supported by the Office of Environment, both technically and financially. The
briefing indicates the possible impacts on the lives of the local inhabitants of the countries
coast. The funding of the operations comes from the government under the budget of coastal
management program. There are local programs and trainings that help educate the residents
and visitors at the coast concerning the need to protect the environment.

Environmental Policy briefing 3
Introduction
Recent studies show that the Coastline attracts interests from various sectors due to its nature
for enjoyment and residential purposes as well as the wild life. Sherval, M & Hardiman,
(2014) denote that people love setting homes along the coastline due to the cool weather
associated with the region, travelers throng coastal and beach hotels to enjoy their holidays.
This scramble for what the coast offers puts the region under intense pressure that in turn
endangers the existence of the inhabitant wildlife (Hatfield-Dodds & Wonhas 2015, p. 67).
This therefore means the management of the coastline must be a well thought approach to
provide a balancing point for the various needs of the region and still maintain the coastal
beauty and uniqueness that hosts wildlife. Lumumba (2016) denotes that the coast offers job
creation opportunities in the beach hotels, residential houses, community facilities as well as
infrastructure that service the occupants of the area.
The New South Wales government, through NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA)
works to improve the development plans taking place in the coastal region (Babb, McBurnie,
& Miller 2018, p. 78). Various departments like the Department of Planning and in
conjunction with the Office of Environment and Heritage have come up with policies that
define the coastal management framework backed with a budget of $83.6 million to give
guidelines on the developments at the coast.
Coastal Management Act 2016
The NSW EPA operates under the Coastal Management Act 2016 which replaced the initial
act, The Coastal Protection Act 1979 (Keele 2018, p. 290). The new Act provides the
guidelines, framework, and the objectives for managing issues related with the NSW coastal
regions. Based on the new act, the authority focuses on the developments that can be

Environmental Policy briefing 4
sustained ecologically. Under the new environmental act, the authority’s development
strategies meet the following standards;
The protection and improvement of vulnerable habitats, environments, and natural processes
at the coast
Maintains and improve accessibility of the coastal scenic areas at the coast
Management of consequences resulting from coastal risks (Bines 2013, p. 6)
The developments done by the authority should support the Marine Estate Management Act
2014
The authority works to secure and improve the exemplary character, culture and enhance the
heritage of the coastal region.
Management Areas
In order to achieve smooth operations, the authority has marked four management areas as
provided in the Coastal Management Act 2016. These management areas possess different
qualities but the characteristics may overlap and they include;
 The regions that exhibit the qualities of coastal wetland that were managed under the
State Environmental Policies 14 and 26. These areas include the littoral rainforest.
 Areas along the coast those are vulnerable to the natural processes at the coast such as
tidal inundation and erosion.
 The areas along the coast that contain the coastal features- These areas are referred to
as Coastal environment areas and include beaches, estuarine waters, lagoons, coastal
lakes, and undeveloped headlands.
 Coastal use areas- These are lands bordering the coastal waters.