Creating a world class Marine Protected Area system - Getting New South Wales back on track

The NSW Government has an opportunity to better protect this biodiversity by correcting past One might say the history of the planning and establishment of a neglect of the NSW Marine Protected Area (MPA) system and returning NSW to its world class Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative (CAR) system of MPAs for NSW reserve system. [...] It encompasses the northern limits to the Great Southern Reef and the Shelf (near Eden in the far south of the state). [...] As they say — and as outlined in some detail in the following report — much of the rest is history, and it now becomes the task of the relatively new Labor Government in NSW to pick up the baton for MPAs. [...] 4 5 Threats to the NSW Marine bioregions, marine environment planning and MPAs Summary of threats in NSW and Australia Threats to the NSW marine environment can be natural and anthropogenic, and either local and global The Australian coastline has been divided into over 60 bioregions based on geographical features in nature. [...] Despite the social and economic value of MPAs, it is important to note the Marine Estate Management Act 2014 (MEM Act) states “The primary purpose of a marine park is to conserve the biological diversity, and maintain ecosystem integrity and ecosystem function, of bioregions in the marine estate.” In 2022, Australia ranked the 9th country globally for percentage levels of ocean area under high pro.