Goals

Objectives

Plan

Policy

Implementation

Enforcement

Management

Programmes

Strategies

Legislation

Management Plans

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

Proponent

Consent Authority

Things we've decided or agreed we would like. A goal is usually considered the endpoint of some endeavour.

A list of things we would like to happen, or that need to happen to achieve a goal.

A list of things to do to achieve the goal(s). A plan sets out intended activities over a specific period of time.

A set of guidelines or principles for decisions and actions that allow, encourage or cause the goal to be achieved.

Specific steps or actions to achieve the goal, or create conditions so that the goal can be achieved.

Monitoring the specific steps and actions to make sure the goal can be achieved and maintained.

A rather broadly used term in planning that means the execution of all the steps involved in coastal planning. Managing a coastal habitat or region involves all the steps defined above, but also specifically refers to the day-to-day implementation and enforcement of policies.

These are usually projects or a related group of activities such as research, monitoring, surveying, etc. that are targeted to one particular issue. In planning language, programmes and strategies may be interchangeable terms. A specific, targeted Commonwealth Programme is the Marine Protected Areas Programme, one part of the Marine Programme (formerly known as Ocean Rescue 2000), which is overseen by the Marine Portfolio Group of Environment Australia. This programme aims to establish a system of marine protected areas that are representative of all marine habitats Australia-wide.

These are usually sets of principles and programmes that steer the development of specific policies, and can be specific or broad in scope. An example of a broad strategy is the Commonwealth Coastal Action Programme which aims to improve the planning and management of Australia's coastal habitats through a number of measures, including better communication amongst government authorities and the improvement of professional education and training for those involved in coastal management. An example of a more specific strategy is the National Strategy on Aquaculture which aims to provide a framework for orderly development of the aquaculture industry to maximise efficiencies and competitive advantages.

The act of making laws on statutes; a document describing a law or statute. For example, all fisheries management plans, rules and regulations under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Government are legalised under the Fisheries Management Act 1991. Each State also has legislation that formalises the management of fisheries under their jurisdiction (eg. the NSW Fisheries Management Act (1994). Some State governments give the responsibility for everyday management of the coast to local councils. In NSW, the Local Government Act (1993) gives councils the power to set and enforce zoning regulations which constrain the types of development and activities that are allowed in council areas. Land Use Zoning, the regulations that set out the details of allowed developments, is a commonly used example of a planning tool or instrument.

These are documents that describe how the agreed goals will be achieved and set out a time table for their completion. They may be broad in scope, such as in a Strategic Plan, or a more specific management plan that applies to one habitat, such as an Estuary Management Plan.

The term for the process that evaluates the potential effects of a proposed development or activity on the environment. States are responsible for providing the structures, support and processes involved in EIA although Commonwealth activities are regulated by the Environment Protection Impact Proposals Act 1974. Ideally, an EIA process should examine the economic, social, cultural and environmental effects of a proposal within the framework of the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development. The process should involve managers, planners, policy makers, scientists, engineers and the public.

A sub-set of the EIA process - a report that summarises and evaluates the potential effects of a specific development on the environment. Not all developments must have an EIS prepared, but large projects usually require one. Each state determines which proposals require an EIS to be prepared. In all States and Territories, the public is given an opportunity to comment on the EIS in writing. EISs are paid for by the proponent of the development and usually involve a variety of specialists such as water quality experts, hydrologists, pollution specialists, planners, ecologists and engineers.

The 'body' that puts forward a proposal for a development or an activity. Proponents can be individuals, companies, groups of people or authorities from any of the three levels of government.

This refers to the authority or agency that has the power to decide on the fate of development proposals. For proposals that are assessed to be minor or limited in scope, a local council is usually the consent authority. In such cases the proposed project is planned to be built or carried out on land zoned under a Local Environment Plan (LEP) For larger, more significant proposals that potentially have a great impact, the State/Territory planning authority (usually the Minister for Planning or similar title) appoints the consent authority, based on the nature and scope of the proposal. For example, the consent authority for a major proposal for mining in the coastal zone would be the authority that regulates extractive industries in that state. In some cases the proponent and the consent authority could be the same body.