Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L00326:front:0:p15
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L00326
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 40252–43280

Abrolhos Marine Park. The property was inscribed on the World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee in 1991 on the basis of its outstanding universal value. It includes large and diverse seagrass beds, stromatolites and populations of dugong and threatened species.
Social and economic values
The South-west Network supports a range of important social and economic uses that underpin the prosperity and wellbeing of regional communities (Figure 2.3).
Shipping, port-related activities and commercial fishing are industries of national economic significance. Commercial fishing is an important contributor to regional and local economies, with local ocean produce a drawcard for food tourism in the South-west. The Network also provides some opportunity for offshore mining operations.
Marine tourism activities such as charter fishing, snorkelling, diving and wildlife watching are also important commercial activities that offer unique visitor experiences in places like Geographe and Bremer Bay. The Network also supports recreational activities including fishing.

Pressures in the South-west Network
Pressures are human-driven processes, events and activities that if left unchecked, may impact on marine park values. Contemporary drivers of environmental change in the marine environment include population growth and economic activity, and related pressures such as increased vessel activity, marine debris, climate extremes and ocean warming. Figure 2.3 shows the types of uses occurring across the South-west Network. These present challenges for biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of our marine resources.
Australia's 2016 State of the environment report reviewed pressures on Australia's marine environment and determined that they were low by global standards. However, given that more than 85 per cent of Australians live within 50 km of the sea, and with Australia's population of approximately 24.4 million projected to grow to 39.7 million by 2055, pressures on the marine environment are likely to increase.
Although pressures on marine ecosystems and biodiversity in the South-west Network may change over time, examples of pressures in the Network are outlined in Table 2.2. Research in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and elsewhere in the world has demonstrated that effective management of marine parks, helps to maintain the resilience of marine ecosystems and their ability to withstand and recover from such pressures.
In determining the management actions to be taken in the South-west Network and in making decisions about the activities that will be allowed to occur within marine parks, the Director will carefully consider how the values outlined in Section 2.3 and in Schedule 2 will be impacted by these pressures now and in the future.
Pressures such the extraction of living resources by fishing, and habitat modification through installation of infrastructure and anchoring will be managed in part through the zones and rules set out in Parts 3 and 4 of this plan.