Project: Human Impact on Australian Beaches

In November 2002, Surfrider Foundation (Australia) commenced a further stage of the HIAB Project with assistance from the Co-operative Research Centre for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management (Coastal CRC) and Coast Action / Coastcare (Victoria). This next stage will update data from the previous two reports and establish a new web-based database to present the data.

Key Outputs

The project has two unique components that promote actions for a sustainable coast.

The first major action is the involvement of coastal communities across Victoria to collect detailed information about the state of our beaches including the biophysical state of the area, human impacts, current management regimes and community values.

The second major action the project will deliver is a coastal 'roadshow' that will provide a range of marine science and coastal education and awareness activities for local schools and communities.

Further to this, there will also be:

• A major National Report summarising key findings and recommendations;
• A web based HIAB digital database presenting beach-by-beach data and associated documentation;
• Media conferences and community events to present the key findings and recommendations.

The final project report will be released on this website (www.surfrider.org.au) and published in summary form. It will serve as an up to date educational resource and library of information for coastal planning and management in Victoria.

Importantly, the project will help to enhance an ethic of stewardship amongst local coastal communities, stakeholders and beach users.

Queries

If you have any queries concerning the HIAB Project please contact:

Project Manager
Human Impact on Australian Beaches
Surfrider Foundation Australia
Email: humanimpacts@surfrider.org.au