Understanding and governing the social-ecological impacts of industrial development in the coastal zone: A transdisciplinary case study analysis of Liquefied Natural Gas development in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

Abstract

Coastal zones are complex and highly productive social-ecological systems (SES), but their resilience is increasingly threatened by a range of human activities including land use change and the expansion of port infrastructure associated with the global movement of minerals, petroleum products and other commodities. Over the last decade, the gas industry has emerged as a key driver of port development as it seeks to rapidly develop unconventional resources such as Coal Seam Gas (CSG). In many cases, unconventional gas developments are accompanied by the construction of coastal infrastructure including gas processing and liquefaction plants, pipelines and shipping facilities, used for export and import of refined gas products. This brings the gas industry into increasingly close contact with marine and coastal ecosystems.

Seagrasses (marine flowering plants) are among the habitats most at risk of disturbance associated with port development. Seagrass meadows are critical to the health of marine ecosystems, playing an important role as a coastal filter for sediment and nutrients, acting as foraging and nursery habitats for wildlife, and storing carbon and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the oceans. The loss of seagrass meadows can therefore have secondary impacts on the broader ecosystem, including on the wildlife that depend on them for habitat, including fish, benthic invertebrates, marine turtles and sirenians (dugongs and manatees). Many of these fauna species are facing localised declines across the world as a result of multiple pressures including loss of foraging and breeding habitat, an increase in marine pollutants and fishing pressure. Adding to this complexity, infrastructure developments along the coastline are embedded within complex networks of human-environment interactions and as such, their ecological and social impacts are intimately linked. Human communities are affected by the environmental, social and economic changes that are associated with large-scale industrial developments, including a deterioration in ecosystem services, higher living costs, increased burden on healthcare and other community services and public safety concerns, in addition to economic benefits. Because coastal counities are intimately connected to the environment through the exchange of material inputs and ecosystem services, degradation of the local environment also has ramifications for local livelihoods and quality of life.

Australia is currently the world’s leading exporter of coal, and is expected to become the largest global exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) by 2018-19. Six LNG facilities are currently in operation or development around the country, three of which are located inshore of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) on the north-eastern coast of Queensland. The GBR is perhaps best known for the natural values that make it one of the great wonders of the world, but it is also home to a number of large industrial ports and the subject of ongoing port development proposals. The proposed expansion of port development in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) to support growth in the LNG and coal sectors prompted the World Heritage Council to review Australia’s management of the GBRWHA in 2012, placing the World Heritage status of the GBR in question. The review expressed strong concerns about the capacity of current governance structures to protect the ecosystems of the GBR, given the unprecedented scale and speed of industrial development along its margins, and highlighted the need to better understand the impacts of such developments on the ecology of the GBR and the local communities whose wellbeing and livelihoods depend on its resources. Although there has been much research on the social, economic and environmental impacts of inland CSG infrastructure, this has not been the case for coastal LNG plants and associated port developments.

With this in mind, this thesis sought to understand how recent forms of industrial development affect complex SES in the GBRWHA through an in-depth case study of the Port of Gladstone, where recent LNG development has led to concerns over port impacts to the marine environment and social wellbeing among the local community. In so doing, I employed a trandisciplinary methodology comprising a suite of ecological and social research methods, which was subsequently developed into a broader framework for application to other contexts. The first phase of the research involved a survey of local residents in the Gladstone Region, which revealed that impacts of port development on water quality, fish health and seagrass meadows, and the socio-economic impacts associated with rapid LNG development, were of highest concern to local residents. Short-term declines in seagrass cover have been observed in a number of areas of the GBR since 2011, and these are attributed to the interaction of multiple processes including dredging, flooding and cyclones (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, 2014; McKenna et al., 2015). The research also included a component of ecological field- and laboratory-based research that examined the interactions between elevated event-based sedimentation rates and seagrasses in the Port of Gladstone. Lastly, the research drew together these two components through a critical assessement of the processes of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) for the Gladstone LNG projects. These twin processes are designed to predict and provide a framework for managing the impacts of developments at the local scale.

The findings of this research relate both to the ecology of seagrass meadows in the port of Gladstone and to the socio-economic changes that are intimately linked to environmental change. The research demonstrates that local attitudes towards LNG development in the GBR are closely linked to perceptions of environmental health before and after port development, as well as the values that local residents associate with the marine environment. The importance of coastal ecosystems to local livelihoods, lifestyles and sense of place, and their vulnerability to port-related disturbance emphasises the need to protect them into the future. Seagrasses in the Port of Gladstone demonstrate resistance to sedimentation, but growth declines significantly when these species are shaded or buried for prolonged periods, such as may occur after flood events or dredging. Additionally, the research found that the coastal setting and specific characteristics of the LNG industry – including the speed and unprecedented scale of development – have led to highly specific, and often cumulative, social and economic impacts that are difficult to predict and manage through current project-based impact assessment processes. Finally, although it is widely acknowledged that both scientific and local knowledges, including the knowledge of local indigenous peoples, play an important role in governance processes, current governance arrangements inhibit effective knowledge sharing and adaptive governance throughout the project lifecycle. This thesis provides evidence for the benefits of a more inclusive, adaptive approach to impact assessment, and also highlights the ways in which transdisciplinary research may be used to improve our understanding of complex social-ecological systems. Show more