Eurobodalla
Indicator: Land Use
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What the results tell us for Eurobodalla
Maps of land use in | 1997 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 (see below)
There have been no major landuse changes reported in the Eurobodalla Shire the current reporting period. As in 2004, the main landuses in the Shire were conservation and timber production, which comprised 42% and 30% of the Shire respectively. Agriculture and bushland were the other major landuses, each comprising some 12% of the Shire.
During the 2004 reporting period, the main landuse change was the conversion of about 56,000 hectares of timber production forest to conservation management under the Southern Regional Forest Agreement. Management of urban and rural residential development in the Council area is a major issue for the Shire Council.
How is the land being used now?
As in 2004, of Eurobodalla’s total area (342,220 hectares), the dominant landuses at the end of the current reporting period were conservation (42%), timber production (30%), agriculture (12%) and bushland (12%) (see Figure 1). Batemans Bay, Narooma, Moruya, Tuross Head and Broulee townships, which covered about 2% of the Shire, comprised the majority of the urban land.
Figure 1. Major landuse in Eurobodalla Shire
Source: Eurobodalla State of the Environment Report 2004
What has changed and why?
There have been no major changes in landuse in the Eurobodalla Shire during the current reporting period (see Table 1).
| Landuse Category | 1997 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 12% | 12% | 12% | 12% |
| Bushland | 13% | 13% | 12% | 12% |
| Conservation | 23% | 23% | 42% | 42% |
| Quarries | 0.01% | 0.01% | -% | -% |
| Timber production | 49% | 48% | 30% | 30% |
| Urban | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Waterbodies | 3% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
Note: The Quarry landuse category may have increased between 2004-2008 but remains between 0 to 0.01% of the total area.
Waterbodies were identified using the former Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources Waterbody layer, supplemented with Landsat and SPOT satellite imagery. The inclusion of waterbody areas identified from Landsat could account for differences in area calculations between years due largely to changing climatic conditions.
Source: Eurobodalla State of the Environment Report 2004 and Eurobodalla Shire Council
Agriculture
As outlined above, the total amount of land under agricultural production in the Shire remained constant in the current reporting period (see Table 1). Eurobodalla Shire Council has reported that there has been no significant change in the use of land under agricultural production in the current reporting cycle.
Timber production
The total amount of land under timber production in the Shire remained constant in the current reporting period. Eurobodalla Shire Council has also reported that there has been no significant change in the use of land under timber production in the current reporting cycle.
However, it should be noted that in the 2004 reporting cycle, land under timber production in the Shire decreased by about 64,000 hectares (or 18%), primarily due to the reduction of state-owned timber production forests. These areas would generally have comprised the least productive forest.
About 56,000 hectares of native hardwood forests were transferred from Forests NSW to the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC), as part of the Southern Regional Forest Agreement (Southern RFA), to be managed for conservation. In addition, some 7,600 hectares of native hardwood forest was partially rezoned to Forest Management Zone 1 (56 hectares dedicated as Silvestris Flora Reserve) and Forest Management Zone 2 (informal reserves). These two forest management zones are still managed by Forests NSW but for the protection of their high or significant conservation values instead of for timber production. For more information about the Southern RFA process, which was part of comprehensive regional assessments undertaken in New South Wales (NSW) between 1997 and 2000, see www.racac.nsw.gov.au/overview/cras.shtml.
No private timber plantations have been identified within the Shire in the current or previous three SoE reporting periods.
Bushland
The area of land in the Shire categorised as bushland has remained unchanged from the previous reporting cycle, and has remained relatively stable since 1997.
The relatively minor decrease (approximately 1,400 hectares) recorded in the 2004 reporting cycle was partially due to bushland on Crown and freehold lands being dedicated within national parks and nature reserves (and thus being categorised as 'conservation' in 2004).
Conservation
The area of land under conservation also remained unchanged in the current reporting period, after increased by approximately 65,000 hectares in the 2004 reporting period (see Figure 2), partly due to land being transferred from timber production and other Crown lands under the Southern RFA to help develop a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system to protect forest ecosystems and conserve biodiversity. The transferred land became national parks, nature reserves and 'other conservation' areas. New reserves created during the reporting period included Clyde River, Gulaga, Kooraban and Monga National Parks. Additions to existing reserves included Cullendulla Creek Nature Reserve and Deua, Eurobodalla, Murramarang and Wadbilliga National Parks.
Figure 2. Major Conservation subcategories in Eurobodalla Shire*, in 1997, 2000 and 2004
*The areas of some subcategories are too low to appear in the figure
Source: Eurobodalla State of the Environment Report 2004 and Eurobodalla Shire Council
Urban
The total amount of urban land in the Shire has remained unchanged in the current reporting period.
Future planning
As reported in the 2004 SoER, there is a great demand for rural lifestyle properties within Eurobodalla Shire Council area due to its proximity to Canberra, Sydney and the coast (Eurobodalla Shire Council 2005). A Shire Council audit indicated that the supply of rural residential lots within the Shire would be exhausted within the next 17 year horizon. These calculations were based on minimum and maximum lot sizes for lands with varying development suitability.
To ensure that rural development occurs sustainably, the Shire Council has prepared a settlement strategy which outlines actions and directions taking into account environmental and economic constraints to such developments (Eurobodalla Shire Council 2005). Key directions of the draft strategy (Eurobodalla Shire Council 2005) are to:
- plan for natural hazards and climate change
- conserve biodiversity
- protect the coast, waterways and water quality
- protect bushland and farmlands
- make best use of rural residential land
- secure agricultural activities
- conserve cultural and natural heritage
- facilitate employment opportunities and provide efficient and affordable services to the community
- balance growth within ecological and social constraints
- strengthen the role of the major centres of Batemans Bay, Moruya and Narooma
- supply housing while preserving community and sense of place
- select areas suitable for urban renewal and
- make best use of any spare infrastructure capacity.
Together with other policy direction the strategy will inform a review of Shire Council's Local Environment Plan 2009 (LEP) and will provide a framework for measuring Council's progress towards sustainability; Eurobodalla Shire Council 2005). The key directions of the strategy are supported by actions that will be incorporated within a new single LEP for the local government area and in revised development control plans for urban and rural development. The revised LEP is expected to go live in early 2009.
About the data
The landuse maps and statistics reported in this section are based on data from NSW State Government agencies, Shire Councils and satellite images. The primary purpose of the mapping was to assess trends in landuse change and not to provide an accurate account of the actual areas changed.
In general the data provided by Council and State Government departments showed a higher level of detail than satellite classifications. Therefore, these layers were usually used as the primary source of data and supplemented by satellite imagery (Landsat data and SPOT VI data) as needed (mostly for agricultural landuses and bushland).
All landuse maps for Eurobodalla Shire were provided to Council for checking and correction, particularly for 2004 and 2000.
All percentages shown in this indicator are a percentage of the Shire and not a percentage of the landuse type. The areal extents of the various landuse types (hectares) were calculated from data that had been adjusted (normalised) to take account of (usually minor) differences between the size of Eurobodalla Shire as gazetted by Shire Council, and the size calculated from spatial data.
References
Eurobodalla Shire Council (Strategic Unit), Department of Planning and Ruker and Associates Urban Design (2005) Draft Eurobodalla Urban Settlement Strategy, December 2005—for public comment, Eurobodalla Shire Council, Moruya, viewed 20 October 2008 http://www.esc.nsw.gov.au/publications/dcp/index.html
