About the Bays
	Edition 64 – March 2012
The Newsletter of the Central Coastal Board	ISSN: 1447-7270
	Coastal Issues in Port Phillip and Western Port

From the Chair

I welcome you to the Central Coastal Board's first E-newsletter. The newsletter follows the same approach as About the Bays but offers readers a range of information on a subject pending their interest.

In this edition we provide an update on the two key projects currently being undertaken by the Central Coastal Board: the development of a new Boating Coastal Action Plan and the Port Phillip Bay Coastal Adaptation Decision Pathways Project. Also included is information on Coastal Action Plans, upcoming coastal /marine events, and updates from other projects around the coast.

Liz Johnstone
Chair

Current Projects

Development of Boating Coastal Action Plan 2013 for the central region

The Central Region Boating Coastal Action Plan released in 2007 provides strategic guidance across Government for the planning, management and investment in a recreational boating facility network.

The CAP spans across 13 local government areas and three DSE Regions, from Breamlea in the west to Inverloch in the east and includes both Port Phillip and Western Port. It covers over 175 recreational boating facilities, their services and role within the boating network.

The current project will review the existing CAP and revise it to ensure the plan's relevance and currency for another five years i.e. until 2018. The project outline can be found here.

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Coastal Action Plans - What are they?

The Central Coastal Board has prepared a brief information flyer on Coastal Action Plans after requests from various stakeholders. The summary addresses such questions as:
-     What is a Coastal Action Plan?
-     The coastal planning context
-     When is a CAP useful?
-     How is a CAP developed?

The CAP information flyer is available here.

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Port Phillip Bay Coastal Adaptation Decision Pathways Project

The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), Association of Bayside Municipalities (ABM) and Central Coastal Board (CCB) have secured funding from the Australian Government to develop leading practice approaches to better manage future climate change risk to coastal assets and communities. Additional funding has been provided by DPCD as well as in-kind support from councils and partners.

The partners include Melbourne Water, Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD) and ABM member councils.

An information flyer is provided here.

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Central Coastal Board's 100th Meeting

On Thursday 16 February 2012, the CCB had its centennial meeting. The milestone presented an opportunity to re-engage with a small group of long-standing stakeholders and key partners and explore opportunities for the CCB looking into the future.

The CCB will gain new Board members in the next financial year (1 July 2012) as the current Board comes to the end of its three-year term. The outcomes from the 100th Board meeting discussion will provide useful insight for new members.

Around the Coast

Coastal Weeds Project

A joint project is about to commence which will investigate the little known impacts of exotic plants on coastal environments. The project will be unique in assembling and quantifying the network of interactions between weeds, people and our coastlines, and how these may be affected by climate change (i.e. rising sea levels). The project will collate existing information on the impacts of invasive coastal plants in Australasia and undertake formal research on impacts that have received the least attention.

The research will be conducted by a multi-disciplinary team, including ecology, economics, psychology, sociology and geomorphology, interacting with State Government, Catchment Management Authorities, Shires and local communities.

For more information please contact Charlotte Catmur, Department of Resource Management and Geography, catmurc@unimelb.edu.au. Get a copy of Coastal Weed identification here.

Upcoming Events

Victorian Coastal Awards for Excellence 2012

The Victorian Coastal Council is hosting its annual Awards for Excellence which celebrates and recognises the great work people, groups, businesses, schools and governments do to protect Victoria's coastal and marine environments.

Nominations have drawn to a close and the challenging task of selecting a winner for each of the six categories has begun. The recipients of awards will be announced on the night of Thursday 26 April 2012.

For further information and contact details, please visit www.vcc.vic.gov.au and follow the links to Coastal Awards 2012.

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National Sea Change Taskforce

The National Sea Change Taskforce will be hosting the 2012 Australian Coastal Councils Conference in Hobart from 5 to 7 March 2012.

The annual Australian Coastal Councils Conference is an important national event that brings together representatives of local government, researchers, policy makers and others with a stake in the future of the Australian coast and its communities.

Major topics to be addressed include:
•How to stimulate economic activity and innovation in regional areas
•Australia's mobile populations and their impact on coastal regions
•The progress of the Federal Government's implementation of its coastal agenda
•The economic value of coastal tourism and recreation.

For further information please visit http://www.seachangetaskforce.org.au/Conference.html

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