South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts (1) The objects of
this Act include to assist in the achievement of ecologically sustainable
development in the State by establishing an integrated scheme to promote the
use and management of natural resources in a manner that—
(a)
recognises and protects the intrinsic values of natural resources; and
(b)
seeks to protect biological diversity and, insofar as is reasonably
practicable, to support and encourage the restoration or rehabilitation of
ecological systems and processes that have been lost or degraded; and
(c)
provides for the protection and management of catchments and the sustainable
use of land and water resources and, insofar as is reasonably practicable,
seeks to enhance and restore or rehabilitate land and water resources that
have been degraded; and
(d)
seeks to support sustainable primary and other economic production systems
with particular reference to the value of agriculture and mining activities to
the economy of the State; and
(e)
provides for the prevention or control of impacts caused by pest species of
animals and plants that may have an adverse effect on the environment, primary
production or the community; and
(f)
promotes educational initiatives and provides support mechanisms to increase
the capacity of people to be involved in the management of natural resources.
(2) For the purposes
of subsection (1), ecologically sustainable development comprises the
use, conservation, development and enhancement of natural resources in a way,
and at a rate, that will enable people and communities to provide for their
economic, social and physical well-being while—
(a)
sustaining the potential of natural resources to meet the reasonably
foreseeable needs of future generations; and
(b)
safeguarding the life-supporting capacities of natural resources; and
(c)
avoiding, remedying or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on
natural resources.
(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 damage to natural resources, lack
of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing
measures to prevent environmental degradation;
(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
environment and to avoid, wherever practicable, causing any serious or
irreversible damage to the environment;
(d) the
present generation should ensure that the health, diversity and productivity
of the natural environment is maintained or enhanced for the benefit of future
generations;
(e) a
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 natural
environment should be allocated or shared equitably and in a manner that
encourages the responsible use of natural resources, and people who obtain
benefits from the natural 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 natural resources 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 public sector, the private sector, and
the community more generally;
(l) the
local government sector is to be recognised as a key participant in natural
resource management, especially on account of its close connections to the
community and its role in regional and local planning.