Defence

Corporate Services and Infrastructure

Protecting the environment for future generations

By Susan Elekessy

Cowley Beach, northern Queensland. The only minor disturbance to this stunning beach by a recent naval exercise is washed away the next time the tide comes in.
Photo supplied by Public Affairs

Tully training area in northern Queensland, where pristine environment and jungle warfare training are so compatible that previously scarce native fauna levels have actually increased.
Photo supplied by Public Affairs

Southern Queensland's Shoalwater Bay is now in better condition than when Defence acquired it. In many places Defence ownership protects and conserves the environment for future generations.
Photo supplied by Public Affairs

The way in which Defence manages the environment continues to evolve. Environmental management has come a long way since it started with five people in an outposted section of the former Defence Estate Organisation around 10 years ago. Back then, the greatest challenge was finding out exactly how enormous Defence's environmental challenges were. It was a crisis management organisation, and every day the team faced a new issue or a big surprise.

Environment, heritage and risk management in Defence

Today, Corporate Services and Infrastructure Group's (CSIG) Environment Heritage and Risk (EH&R) Branch is committed to continuous improvement in Defence environmental management in such diverse areas as:

• environmental impact assessments of major military exercises;
• green (environmentally sustainable) office procurement;
• water conservation;
• contamination management;
• pollution prevention;
• training-area sustainability; and
• management of Defence's considerable collection of heritage assets.

The branch also manages:

• engineering and safety issues such as airfield lighting, fuel farms, security compliance and fire protection engineering; and
• CSIG's Infrastructure Manual, a web-based quality management system that provides the framework and policies within which all Defence and contracted property managers must work.

The Infrastructure Manual recently gained International Standards Organisation (ISO) 14001 certification.

How we directly support the Australian Defence Force

The EH&R team works at the 'sharp end' of operations to assist the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in planning deployments, along with environmental rehabilitation during and after exercises and operations around the globe. Defence's objective is to ensure that, through EH&R Branch involvement in planning activities, and clean-ups and audits following withdrawal, the ADF makes as little impact on the environment as possible. In fulfilling such work, CSIG staff have recently assisted ADF members in Pakistan and Bougainville.

Collaborative arrangements with universities

The work of the branch is not confined to managing and minimising environmental impacts of the ADF. The EH&R team is always looking for opportunities to work cooperatively with universities on diverse, often groundbreaking projects such as recent collaborations involving research on whales, contaminants, weed control and kangaroo fertility control.

Drawing on their varied backgrounds, qualifications and Defence experiences, members of the EH&R team work together to ensure that the best science is supported by a genuine understanding of Defence activities and needs.

Working in the regions

Around Australia, CSIG senior environmental advisers and their environmental teams are the expert 'eyes and ears' on the ground, and are literally the 'thin blue line' between Defence activities and possible breaches of legislation, which can curtail or even halt Defence activities. They also forge links with the ADF, contractors and civilian agencies that support Defence operations.

The Australian Defence Force Warfare Centre, located at the Royal Australian Air Force Base at Williamtown, also has a resident environmental officer outposted from CSIG. The centre's role is to enhance ADF joint and combined operational capability and, as part of this role, ensure that Defence investigates all environmental issues relating to major exercises and operations.

CSIG also leads the way with its regional energy and sustainability managers, who ensure that Defence's energy, waste and water policies are adhered to at all Defence bases and sites.

The continued work of CSIG's EH&R Branch ensures that Defence is developing and implementing innovative environmental management practices that will minimise our footprint on the environment.

For more information on Defence's approach to sustainable environmental management, contact the Regional Environmental Officer in your region, or visit our Internet or Intranet websites at: http://www.defence.gov.au/environment or http://intranet.defence.gov.au/environment.

Alternatively, you can email: environmentandheritage@defence.gov.au.

Susan Elekessy works in the Environment, Heritage and Risk Branch, Corporate Services and Infrastructure Group.

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