State of the Environment Report 2007
Human Settlements are the places where people congregate to live, work and recreate. In WA, human settlements include metropolitan Perth, regional centres, mining and agricultural towns, a range of Aboriginal communities, and very small and remote settlements. Settlements are fundamental to human societies, contributing to the modern economy and providing a rich social and cultural environment.
Human settlements are connected to the natural environment in several ways. Firstly, settlements have direct and indirect impacts on the natural environment as a consequence of their design, construction and operation. Direct impacts include loss of biodiversity through land clearing during construction and expansion of settlements, air pollution from transport and industrial activities, and generation of large amounts of wastes that can potentially degrade land and water resources. Settlements indirectly impact the environment through their populations' consumption of natural resources, such as wood, water, energy and minerals.
Secondly, human settlements are significant environments in their own right and are affected by the surrounding natural environment. These relationships have implications for human health, as the condition of the environment is a major determinant of people's health and many health problems can be linked to particular environmental factors.
Reduce the environmental impacts of WA's settlements by:
There is currently no agreed indicator for measuring the overall condition of human settlements. The complexity of human settlements, including the processes that take place and the various impacts of those processes make it very difficult to assess overall condition of settlements based on a single indicator. The National State of the Environment Report uses the Extended Urban Metabolism Model as a conceptual basis for reporting on human settlements. Other States and Territories report on human settlements at the issue level only.
Western Australia's pattern of settlement has influenced the type and scale of environmental impacts, as the characteristics of WA's settlements vary greatly in terms of size, remoteness, geography, climate and economic profile. The environmental impacts of human settlements are of concern, but the complex relationships between settlement types and environmental impacts make it difficult to determine their overall condition.
The capacity to manage environmental impacts in many of WA's settlements is constrained by the small size and geographic spread of many settlements. Large settlements like the Perth metropolitan area provide the opportunity for more efficient centralised services. The provision of some services such as waste recycling and local public transport is not viable in many rural and remote settlements. However, large settlements use large amounts of energy and other natural resources and many of WA's smaller settlements perform better than Perth in terms of resource conservation, such as water recycling. The growth and character of the State's settlements are strongly guided by planning frameworks and strategies. To date they have had limited success in achieving improved environmental outcomes, partly because the environmental impacts of urban development have not received adequate consideration in the State's planning system.
A significant problem for determining the condition of WA human settlements is that data are not collected across all settlements, or in a manner that can be used to assess their environmental impacts. For example, it is not possible to distinguish all energy and water used in the construction, maintenance and operation of settlements from that used to produce or manufacture exports. Information on waste generation is not collected outside the Perth metropolitan area.
There is a need to better manage the environmental impacts of settlements. This requires a clear understanding of the key environmental issues associated with settlements and greater consideration of environmental factors in urban and regional planning policy. Until adequate monitoring systems are in place, it will not be possible to fully understand the impacts of the State's settlements on the environment, nor to accurately assess the effectiveness of strategies implemented to address them.
Human Settlements was not covered in the 1998 State of the Environment Report and therefore no assessment of effectiveness can be undertaken.
7.1 Implement Network City: Community Planning Strategy for Perth and Peel . This strategy outlines a framework for guiding the future development and for managing associated environmental impacts of settlements. However, it is yet to be adopted in planning.
7.2 Undertake comprehensive environmental planning and assessment at all levels in the planning process, ensuring the environmental factors considered are appropriate to each level.
7.3 Establish environmental performance indicators, benchmarks and targets for the State Planning Strategy, Network City, regional plans and local planning strategies, which are regularly reviewed.
7.4 Review the State Planning Strategy to take into account management of environmental impacts from growth of regional centres, the impacts of climate change and future energy scenarios (i.e. transition from oil to alternative fuels).
7.5 Ensure all new subdivisions and redevelopment areas are designed and developed according to sustainability principles for resource efficiency and minimal environmental impact according to best practice.
