The objects of this Act, consisting of 233 sections divided into twelve Chapters and completed by four Schedules, include assisting in the achievement of ecologically sustainable development in the State by establishing an integrated scheme to promote the use and management of natural resources in a manner that recognises and protects the intrinsic values of natural resources; seeks to protect biological diversity and, insofar as is reasonably practicable, to support and encourage the restoration or rehabilitation of ecological systems and processes that have been lost or degraded; provides for the protection and management of catchments and the sustainable use of land and water resources and, insofar as is reasonably practicable, seeks to enhance and restore or rehabilitate land and water resources that have been degraded; seeks to support sustainable primary and other economic production systems with particular reference to the value of agriculture and mining activities to the economy of the State; provides for the prevention or control of impacts caused by pest species of animals and plants that may have an adverse effect on the environment, primary production or the community; and promotes educational initiatives and provides support mechanisms to increase the capacity of people to be involved in the management of natural resources.
Australia · 2004-09-02