The Coast Protection Board acknowledges Aboriginal people as the First Peoples and Nations of the lands and waters we live and work upon and we pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge and respect the deep spiritual connection and the relationship that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have to Country.

In this Edition

• A Note from the Presiding Member
• First Nations Engagement & Reconciliation 
• Monitoring Our Coast - Oblique Photography Program
• Planning & Development Update
• SA's Blue Carbon Policy & Research

Aldinga Washpool (Image Credit: DEW)

'Summer' versus 'Winter' beach profiles, Sultana Point, Yorke Peninsula (Image Credit: DEW)

The vision outlined in the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) 'Stretch' Reconciliation Action Plan 2021-2024 is:

'for our work to be founded upon a deep understanding of First Nation cultures, respect for contemporary interests, productive partnerships and First Nations taking a leading role in conserving and sustaining Country'.  

In October last year, the Coast Protection Board was privileged to have Bill Wilson spend half a day sharing his experiences as a proud Ngarrindjeri and Kaurna man.  

This month, Board members were fortunate to spend half a day with Anthony Wilson from Kuma Kaaru Cultural Services. Anthony provided invaluable insight into First Nations culture and protocols, sharing his knowledge on lore, spirituality, kinship, Country and diversity.

With the South Australian Government's recent announcement of the First Nations Voice to Parliament, the Board looks forward to continuing it's Reconciliation journey.

Oblique Photograph of Cape Elizabeth, Yorke Peninsula, May 1976 (Image Credit: CPB)

The Coast Protection Board has been undertaking aerial oblique photography of the state's coastline since the 1970s. The oblique photos complement the Board’s long-running regional beach profile monitoring program and the Department for Environment and Water's historical vertical aerial photographic program, creating one of the longest-term coastal monitoring datasets in Australia.

The oblique photo program is designed to capture the diversity of the South Australian coastal landscape, and every region of the state is flown at 5 to 7 year intervals.

Images are used by departmental staff and the Board to support coastal management decision-making in a variety of contexts. The photos can also be of assistance to natural resource managers, coastal researchers and community groups involved in coastal management, with recent data accessible as a layer on NatureMaps.

In accord with the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016, planning authorities must refer certain development applications on coastal land to the Coast Protection Board. Most responses are issued under delegation by DEW staff.

DEW provides a report on development application responses at every Board meeting to monitor how Board policies have been applied and delegations exercised. The Board will consider and adjudicate on responses to proposals that are significant, controversial and/or where the applicability of Board policy is uncertain.

Last Financial Year (1 Jul 2021- 30 June 2022)
Responses to Development Applications: 177
- No Objection: 168 (95%)
- Advised Refusal*: 8 (4.5%)
- Directed Refusal: 1 (0.5%) (at variance with coastal flood hazard risk policy)

*The Board is now referred applications for direction only - future refusals will therefore be directed.

Year to Date (1 Jul – 31 Mar 2023)
Responses to Development Applications: 113
- No Objection: 105 (93%)
- Directed Refusal: 8 (7 %) (four at variance with coastal hazard risk policy; four at variance with coastal biodiversity & orderly development policies).

Oblique photograph of Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary (Image Credit: CPB)

Did you know that carbon can be captured above ground in plant biomass and below ground in sediments?

'Blue carbon' refers to the carbon stored in three coastal ecosystems: mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrasses. These ecosystems store more carbon per unit area, and sequester carbon at faster rates, than most terrestrial ecosystems. 

Blue carbon ecosystems can be a useful tool in offsetting carbon emissions. The Blue Carbon Strategy for South Australia seeks to accelerate action to protect and restore these valuable coastal ecosystems. 

In January 2022, a new method was approved under the Australian Government's Emissions Reduction Fund where carbon credits can be earned for registered projects that reintroduce tidal flows to aid the establishment or rehabilitation of coastal wetland ecosystems.  The establishment of a carbon market for blue carbon ecosystems has increased interest in the capacity of these ecosystems to contribute to carbon sequestration and, ultimately, climate change mitigation.

Besides their potential for carbon abatement, blue carbon ecosystems provide broader benefits to society as feeding, breeding and nursery habitat for endangered and economically-important fish and invertebrate stocks; nutrient recycling fundamental to productive food webs and water quality; stabilisation of shorelines through sediment trapping; and physical protection from coastal processes and hazards. 

To support the consideration of blue carbon ecosystems through the planning process, the Coast Protection Board recently added policy regarding Blue Carbon to their Policy Document:

Policy 1.4(c) Ensure development avoids or minimises the impact on areas that may be required for climate change adaptation, including blue carbon ecosystems.

Policy 4.2(b) Conserve and protect blue carbon ecosystems and support the enhancement, restoration and creation of blue carbon ecosystems.

The Board also supports research and development in the blue carbon space. For example, the Board contributed $50,000 to The Nature Conservancy to undertake an assessment of potential saltmarsh and mangrove blue carbon sites across South Australia.  Mapping coastal blue carbon is critical to enabling conservation of the social, ecological, climatological and economic values they provide.

In partnership with the Eyre Peninsula Landscape Board and the University of Adelaide, the Board contributed funding to the re-survey of saltmarsh vegetation profiles across Eyre Peninsula as part of the Saltmarsh Threat Abatement and Recovery Project, to enable the analysis of change since the last survey 20 years ago. The Board also funded the collection and analysis of soil samples to determine the carbon stocks in these saltmarshes.

For more information on blue carbon research and current projects, see:

Blue Carbon Ecosystem Restoration Grants

Green Adelaide Blue Carbon Futures

Goyder Institute Research

Tecticornia flabelliformis, Seagull Lake, Eyre Peninsula (Image Credit: DEW)

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This newsletter was produced on Kaurna Land