NSW Government

NSW Marine Estate Community Wellbeing Surveys

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The NSW Marine Estate Community Wellbeing Surveys are part of a project under Initiative 8 of the Marine Estate Management Strategy, aiming to monitor benefits and threats to the NSW marine estate. These surveys target coastal residents, youth, and visitors to gather data on their connection to the coastline, quality of life, and perceived threats such as litter and overcrowding. The surveys are expected to be conducted every three years and are divided into 7 distinct coastal regions along the NSW Coast.

The survey results from 2024 have recently been released and had surveyed over 2,100 coastal residents, 850 youths (aged 14-17), and over 1,100 coastal visitors. The community shared valuable insights into the way they engage with the coast and what’s important to them with respect to the distinct region.

Key findings from the Greater Sydney region reveal that 52% of residents and 63% of youth visit the marine estate at least once per week emphasising that engagement with the NSW coast enhances their wellbeing such as physical and mental health benefits and quality of life. The results also found that the Greater Sydney community considers ‘protecting nature’ and ‘ensuring that a healthy marine estate can be enjoyed by future generations’ as important reasons for managing the marine estate. Threats that have the greatest current impact on community experiences within the Greater Sydney region include litter, overcrowding, illegal behaviour or activities, loss of natural habitat, and climate change in that order; the Greater Sydney region was noted to have the highest impact scores for all threats compared with other NSW Coastal regions.

More information on the Community Wellbeing Surveys can be found here along with detailed summaries of the survey findings for each NSW Coastal region.

Summary of the Greater Sydney region survey findings can be found here.

2024 NSW Coastal Conference

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SCCG recently attended the 2024 NSW Coastal Conference, held on 6-8 November in Batemans Bay, bringing together coastal experts, practitioners, policymakers, and community leaders to share knowledge, discuss coastal issues, and inspire meaningful action. This annual event remains one of the most notable platforms for coastal management dialogue, and this year’s program was brimming with engaging presentations and learning opportunities.

The conference featured numerous sessions that resonated deeply with SCCG’s key priorities, including climate change adaptation, coastal erosion management, waterway health, and the integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) into sustainable practices. Our team benefited from insightful discussions and field trips that explored innovative research and management approaches, and collaborative solutions to challenges facing our coastal communities. These learning experiences will undoubtedly inform and enrich SCCG’s ongoing advocacy and project work.

A highlight of the conference was the celebratory awards dinner, where SCCG was honoured with two awards: the Innovation Award and the Public Good Award. These accolades recognise our commitment to developing innovative strategies that enhance coastal resilience and deliver lasting benefits to the community. We are thrilled to see our collaborative initiatives acknowledged on this platform.

We extend our gratitude to the conference organisers, speakers, and fellow attendees for a stimulating and rewarding event. The learnings and connections made at the 2024 NSW Coastal Conference will drive SCCG’s continued efforts to safeguard and enhance the resilience of our coastal regions.

For more information about the conference, visit NSW Coastal Conference website.

Stay tuned as we implement and share more insights gained from this experience!