| Indicator | Reasoning | Assessment grade | Confidence | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very poor |
Poor | Fair | Good | Very good |
In state grade | In trend grade | ||
| Land use | Approximately 57% of the ACT is nature reserves and other protected areas, and 816 ha has been added to the reserve network in the reporting period. The majority of native forests are zoned for conservation purposes under the Territory Plan, with a small percentage for multiple-use public land and private land. This indicates that a large proportion of the ACT is likely to be used and managed in a way that protects ecological values. Greenfield developments accounted for 1420 ha of all development during the reporting period. Greenfield developments place pressure on the environment. Confidence in the grade is good as the extent of conservation areas is well known and reported. Confidence in the trend is medium, because the amount of land likely to be added to the conservation estate is unknown and largely dependent on offset requirements for future development. |
Stable | Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus | Limited evidence or limited consensus | ||||
| Soil condition | Due to recent work on soils, baseline data are available for salinity across the ACT. However, there are little data available on other indicators of soil health such as carbon levels, erosion, acidity or sodicity in the ACT. Soil and hydrogeological landscape mapping are currently under way; this means that it is likely that information will be available in the next report. The lack of available data means that the state and trends in the condition of soils in the ACT are not able to be reported Confidence in state and trend is low due to a lack of available data. |
Evidence and consensus too low to make an assessment | Evidence and consensus too low to make an assessment | |||||
| Extent and condition of contaminated sites | The ACT has 1014 known contaminated sites, an increase of 115 since 2011. Numbers of contaminated sites identified are likely to continue to increase as more are discovered due to development. When sites are uncovered, the likelihood of remediation improves. Confidence in the current state is medium, because the extent of unidentified sites is unknown. Confidence in the trend is medium. Although the number of contaminated sites is likely to continue to increase, the rate of increase is largely linked to the discovery of contaminated sites on land that is to be developed. |
Improving | Limited evidence or limited consensus | Limited evidence or limited consensus | ||||
| Compliance with Assessment of Site Contamination NEPM | The ACT Government demonstrates compliance with the NEPM by reporting annually on the implementation and effectiveness of the NEPM in the ACT. Confidence in state and trend is high |
Stable | Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus | Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus | ||||
ha = hectare; NEPM = National Environment Protection Measure