Like many urban areas, Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria, Australia, faces environmental issues, many related to the city's large urban footprint, urban sprawl and the demand for infrastructure and services.
Like many urban areas, Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria, Australia, faces environmental issues, many related to the city's large urban footprint, urban sprawl and the demand for infrastructure and services.
One such issue is the impact of drought on water supply. Periodic droughts and consistently high summer temperatures deplete Melbourne's water supplies, and climate change may exacerbate the long-term impact of these factors. [1]
During the Millennium drought, the Bracks Government implemented water restrictions and a range of other options including water recycling, incentives for household water tanks, greywater systems, water consumption awareness initiatives, and other water-saving and reuse initiatives. But as water storages continued to fall further measures were required. In June 2007 the Bracks Government announced the construction of the $3.1 billion Wonthaggi desalination plant, [2] and the so-called North-South Pipeline from the Goulburn Valley in Victoria's north to Melbourne. Neither project was used extensively before the drought broke during 2010, and therefore both have been criticised as 'white elephants'. [3]
In response to attribution of recent climate change, in 2002 the City of Melbourne set a target to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2020 [4] and Moreland City Council established the Zero Moreland program. Not all metropolitan municipalities have followed suit, with the City of Glen Eira notably deciding in 2009 not to become carbon-neutral. [5]
Melbourne has one of the largest urban footprints in the world due to its low-density housing, resulting in a vast suburban sprawl, with a high level of car dependence and minimal public transport outside of inner areas. [6]
Much of the vegetation within the city is non-native species, most of European origin, including many invasive species and noxious weeds. [7] Significant introduced urban pests include the common myna, [8] feral pigeon, [9] brown rat, [10] [11] European wasp, [12] common starling and red fox. [13] Many outlying suburbs, particularly towards the Yarra Valley and the hills to the northeast and east, have gone for extended periods without regenerative fires leading to a lack of saplings and undergrowth in urbanised native bushland. The Department of Sustainability and Environment partially addresses this problem by regularly burning off. [14] [15] Responsibility for regulating pollution falls under the jurisdiction of the EPA Victoria and several local councils.
Air quality, by world standards, is classified as good. [16] Summer and autumn are the worst times of year for atmospheric haze in the urban area. [17] [18]
The Yarra city council adopted a climate action plan including using traditional knowledge, increasing active transport and public transport use, more plant based diet, divestment from fossil fuels, responsible resources consumption. The plan faced some criticism. [19] [20]
An environmental issue that was raised in Melbourne in 2008 was the Victorian government project of channel deepening Melbourne Ports by dredging Port Phillip Bay—the Port Phillip Channel Deepening Project. It was subject to controversy and strict regulations among fears that beaches and marine wildlife could be affected by the disturbance of heavy metals and other industrial sediments. [21] [22]
Other major pollution problems in Melbourne include levels of bacteria including E. coli in the Yarra River and its tributaries caused by septic systems, [23] as well as litter. Up to 350,000 cigarette butts enter the storm water runoff every day. [24] Several programs are being implemented to minimise beach and river pollution. [21] [25] In February 2010, The Transition Decade , an initiative to transition human society, economics and environment toward sustainability, was launched in Melbourne. [26]
Yarra Ranges National Park is located in the Central Highlands of Australia's southeastern state, Victoria, roughly 107 km northeast of Melbourne. Established in 1995, and managed by the statutory authority Parks Victoria, the park features a carbon-rich, temperate rainforest as well as a subalpine, eucalypt-dominant forest on its northern plateau. The park is home to large groves of mountain ash, the tallest species of tree in Australia, and among the tallest in the world, with specimens reaching 80 metres in height. A wide diversity of flora, fauna and fungi make their home across the park's 76,003 hectares, including iconic Australian species such as bandicoots, echidnas, kangaroos, koalas, platypuses, possums, sugar and greater gliders, wallabies and wombats. There are nearly 200 documented species of birds in the area, with at least 60 herpetofaunal species, thousands of invertebrates and worms, over 900 types of fungi and mushrooms, and over 1,000 plant species. Among the conservation challenges facing Yarra Ranges National Park are climate change and invasive species of weeds, as well as the interaction of native species with non-native, introduced invasive animals, such as European hares and rabbits, domestic sheep, feral cats and dogs, red foxes, South Asian sambar deer, and European red and fallow deer.
The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia.
The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to Australia.
Docklands, is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on the western end of the central business district. Docklands had a population of 15,495 at the 2021 census.
The City of Melbourne is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. In 2021, the city has an area of 37.7 square kilometres (14.6 sq mi) and had a population of 149,615. The city's motto is "vires acquirit eundo" which means "we gather strength as we go".
Melbourne Water is an Australian statutory authority owned by the Victorian State Government, which controls and manages much of the water bodies and supplies in metropolitan Melbourne, the capital of Victoria. Its jurisdiction includes all the reservoirs, lakes, wetlands, canals and urban creeks, and the sewerage and drainage systems that services the city.
Environmental issues in Australia describes a number of environmental issues which affect the environment of Australia and are the primary concern of the environmental movement in Australia.
Bentleigh East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 14 km (8.7 mi) south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Bentleigh East recorded a population of 30,159 at the 2021 census.
The Thomson Dam is a major Clay core and rockfill embankment dam with a Uncontrolled, Ogee-shaped overflow weir and chute spillway across the Thomson River, located about 130 kilometres (81 mi) east of Melbourne in the West Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. The reservoir created by the dam is officially called Thomson Reservoir, sometimes called Lake Thomson.
The Australian environment ranges from virtually pristine Antarctic territory and rainforests to degraded industrial areas of major cities. Forty distinct ecoregions have been identified across the Australian mainland and islands. Central Australia has a very dry climate. The interior has a number of deserts while most of the coastal areas are populated. Northern Australia experiences tropical cyclones while much of the country is prone to periodic drought. This dry and warm environment and exposure to cyclones, makes Australia particularly vulnerable to climate change -- with some areas already experiencing increases in wildfires and fragile ecosystems.
The Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) is the principal government agency in charge of managing the Murray–Darling Basin in an integrated and sustainable manner. The MDBA is an independent statutory agency that manages, in conjunction with the Basin states, the Murray–Darling basin's water resources in the national interest. The MDBA reports to the Australian Government Minister for the Environment and Water, held since June 2022 by the Hon Tanya Plibersek.
Climate change has been a critical issue in Australia since the beginning of the 21st century. Australia is becoming hotter and more prone to extreme heat, bushfires, droughts, floods, and longer fire seasons because of climate change. Climate issues include wildfires, heatwaves, cyclones, rising sea levels, and erosion.
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in Australia, after Sydney. Its name generally refers to a 9,993 km2 (3,858 sq mi) metropolitan area also known as Greater Melbourne, comprising an urban agglomeration of 31 local municipalities, although the name is also used specifically for the local municipality of City of Melbourne based around its central business area. The metropolis occupies much of the northern and eastern coastlines of Port Phillip Bay and spreads into the Mornington Peninsula, part of West Gippsland, as well as the hinterlands towards the Yarra Valley, the Dandenong Ranges, and the Macedon Ranges. As of 2023, the population of the metropolitan area was 5.2 million ; inhabitants are referred to as "Melburnians".
As Australia's supply of freshwater is increasingly vulnerable to droughts, possibly as a result of climate change, there is an emphasis on water conservation and various regions have imposed restrictions on the use of water.
Water security in Australia became a major concern in Australia in the late 20th and early 21st century as a result of population growth, recurring severe droughts, effects of climate change on Australia, environmental degradation from reduced environmental flows, competition between competing interests such as grazing, irrigation and urban water supplies, and competition between upstream and downstream users. For example, there is competition for the resources of the Darling River system between Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. Water reform was first placed on the national agenda at the 1994 Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting when a strategic framework was devised. As the knowledge of surface and groundwater systems grew and the awareness of the significance of sustainable water markets increased, further water reform was agreed to at the 2004 COAG meeting, under a national blueprint known as the National Water Initiative (NWI).
The 2000s drought in Australia, also known as the millennium drought, is said by some to be the worst drought recorded since European settlement.
Water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) is a land planning and engineering design approach which integrates the urban water cycle, including stormwater, groundwater, and wastewater management and water supply, into urban design to minimise environmental degradation and improve aesthetic and recreational appeal. WSUD is a term used in the Middle East and Australia and is similar to low-impact development (LID), a term used in the United States; and Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS), a term used in the United Kingdom.
Distinguished Professor David Lindenmayer,, is an Australian scientist and academic. His research focuses on the adoption of nature conservation practices in agricultural production areas, developing ways to improve integration of native forest harvesting and biodiversity conservation, new approaches to enhance biodiversity conservation in plantations, and improved fire management practices in Australia. He specialises in large-scale, long-term research monitoring programs in south-eastern Australia, primarily in forests, reserves, national parks, plantations, and on farm land.
Water management in Victoria deals with the management of water resources in and by the Australian State of Victoria.
The ecology of Melbourne, Victoria, is a complex and dynamic system influenced by the city's geographical location, climate, and human activities. Melbourne's natural environment includes diverse ecosystems ranging from coastal heathlands to grassy woodlands, riparian forests, and wetlands. These ecosystems support a rich array of flora and fauna, many of which are unique to the region. However, urbanisation, habitat fragmentation, and the introduction of invasive species have significantly altered the city's ecological balance, leading to various conservation and restoration initiatives.