Training Area Sustainability

Implementation & Operation - Environmental Management of Training Areas

Defence Training Areas are fundamental to supporting Australian Defence Force capability to protect Australia and its National Interests. Defence recognises that sustainable military use and land management practices are critical to maintaining the capability value of Defence Training Areas. The Training Area Sustainability Monitoring and Reporting Policy as part of the Defence EMS provides a framework for measuring and monitoring the condition of training areas with a view to ensuring that both environmental and military landscape values are protected. *The Sustainability Monitoring and Reporting Policy is currently under review. For more information contact Director Environment and Heritage Policy Development*

Detailed policy guidance on landscape management issues such as soil erosion, biodiversity protection, heritage management, fire and biosecurity is to be found on the DEQMS Governance Policy page. Threatening processes such as overabundant species, ferals and weed management are also covered in the specific program areas.

Defence through the development of the Training Area Sustainability, Monitoring and Reporting Policy has adopted a Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) approach to support the monitoring and management of its training ranges. The approach relies on the identification and monitoring of key sustainability indicators which allows Defence to measure the extent of change over time, identify the change agents, and to develop adaptive management responses to maintain land condition within specified limits. Typical indicators include ground cover, water quality, and status of heritage protected vegetation. Related threatening process indicators may also be identified and monitored, such as related to grazing impacts or weed invasion.

This Policy has been developed as part of the Defence EMS and is supported by Training Area Sustainability, Monitoring and Reporting Plans (SMRPs). SMRPs are required to be developed under the policy for category 1, category 2 and some category 3 Training Areas.

SMRPs include the following information.

• An overview of the TA – describing the site, location, history, size, use and climate.
• Key military landscape requirements and environmental values of the TA
• TA objectives to ensure protection of all the above values.
• Threatening processes impacting on the values of the TA (including indicators and thresholds where relevant).
• Sustainability indicators.
• Thresholds against indicators and, where known, management actions.
• Historical data analysis. Where possible this analysis will gather and plot past data that relate to indicators and establish baselines for comparison over time.
• A monitoring strategy covering detailed site specific methodologies to monitor the indicators.
• Data reporting requirements.

SMRPs have been developed for the following sites and are available to Defence Staff only:

• Bradshaw
• Bindoon Defence Training Area;
• Cultana Training Area;
• Canungra
• Greenbank
• Holsworthy Training Area;
• Kapooka
• Kangaroo Flats
• Majura Training Area;
• Mount Bundy Training Area;
• Puckapunyal Military Area;
• Singleton Training Area;
• Wide Bay;
• Shoalwater Bay Training Areas; and
• Stony Head

Contacts

To find out more, contact the Assistant Director Training Area Sustainability or Director Environmental and Heritage Policy Development (DEHPD). The Senior Environmental Officers and Regional Environmental Officer (REO) support this role in the Regions.