State of the Environment reporting
New South Wales State of the Environment 2006 (SoE 2006) reports on the status of the main environmental issues in NSW. The report has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of section 10 of the Protection of the Environment Administration Act 1991.
SoE 2006 is the sixth SoE report prepared by the Department of Environment and Conservation NSW, with previous reports published in 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000 and 2003.
SoE 2006 aims to provide credible, scientifically based environmental information to assist those involved in environmental policy and decision-making and managing the State's natural resources.
SoE 2006 is structured around six major themes: Toward Environmental Sustainability, Human Settlement, Atmosphere, Land, Water and Biodiversity. Thirty-seven environmental issues are reported within these themes through environmental data for 71 environmental indicators. These indicators are consistent with those covered in previous reports, and align closely with the core environmental indicators approved by the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council in March 2000.
While the report is prepared by the Department of Environment and Conservation NSW, much of the material it contains involves extensive input by a wide range of government agencies, other organisations and individual specialists who provided data, analysis and interpretation, and reviewed the assembled content of the report. The specialist input includes the advice and support of six independent scientific experts well as members of the NSW State of the Environment Advisory Council.