South Australian Numbered Acts South Australian Numbered Acts (1) The objects of
this Act are—
(a) to
protect and conserve marine biological diversity and marine habitats by
declaring and providing for the management of a comprehensive, adequate and
representative system of marine parks; and
(b) to
assist in—
(i)
the maintenance of ecological processes in the marine
environment; and
(ii)
the adaptation to the impacts of climate change in the
marine environment; and
(iii)
protecting and conserving features of natural or cultural
heritage significance; and
(iv)
allowing ecologically sustainable development and use of
marine environments; and
(v)
providing opportunities for public appreciation,
education, understanding and enjoyment of marine environments.
(2) For the purposes
of this Act, ecologically sustainable development comprises the use,
protection, conservation, development and enhancement of the marine
environment in a way, and at a rate, that will enable people and communities
to provide for their economic, social and physical well-being and for their
health and safety while—
(a)
sustaining the potential of the marine environment to meet the reasonably
foreseeable needs of future generations; and
(b)
safeguarding the life-supporting capacities and processes of the marine
environment; and
(c)
avoiding, remedying or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the
marine environment.
(3) The following
principles should be taken into account in connection with achieving
ecologically sustainable development for the purposes of this Act:
(a)
decision-making processes should effectively integrate both long term and
short term economic, environmental, social and equity considerations;
(b) if
there are threats of serious or irreversible harm to the marine environment,
lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for
postponing measures to prevent harm;
(c)
decision-making processes should be guided by the need to evaluate carefully
the risks of any situation or proposal that may adversely affect the marine
environment and to avoid, wherever practicable, causing any serious or
irreversible harm to the marine environment;
(d) the
present generation should ensure that the health, diversity and productivity
of the marine environment is maintained or enhanced for the benefit of future
generations;
(e) a
fundamental consideration should be the conservation of biological diversity
and ecological integrity;
(f)
environmental factors should be taken into account when valuing or assessing
assets or services, costs associated with protecting or restoring the marine
environment should be allocated or shared equitably and in a manner that
encourages the responsible use of the marine environment, and people who
obtain benefits from the marine environment, or who adversely affect or
consume natural resources, should bear an appropriate share of the costs that
flow from their activities;
(g) if
the management of the marine environment requires the taking of remedial
action, the first step should, insofar as is reasonably practicable and
appropriate, be to encourage those responsible to take such action before
resorting to more formal processes and procedures;
(h)
consideration should be given to Aboriginal heritage, and to the interests of
the traditional owners of any land or other natural resources;
(i)
consideration should be given to other heritage issues,
and to the interests of the community in relation to conserving heritage items
and places;
(j) the
involvement of the public in providing information and contributing to
processes that improve decision-making should be encouraged;
(k) the
responsibility to achieve ecologically sustainable development should be seen
as a shared responsibility between the State government, the local government
sector, the private sector, and the community more generally.