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For the first time, the State of the Environment report includes a strong Indigenous narrative across all 12 thematic chapters, a narrative crafted through recognising the leadership, collaboration and authorship of Indigenous Australians who continue their connection as Traditional Owners to their lands, waters and skies.

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Figure 11 Sooty shearwater (Ardenna grisea), one of the species identified by DNA metabarcoding

Photo: Julie McInnes

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Figure 12 Emperor penguins on top of the West Antarctic Ice Shelf, December 2009

Photos: Barbara Wienecke

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Figure 13 Emperor penguin colony at Cape Crozier, southern Ross Sea

(a) 24 November 2018; the edge of the fast ice is about 2 km from the colony (yellow marker). (b) 5 December 2018; a severe storm on 4 December blew out the fast ice. Many chicks were caught out on 2 large ice floes that subsequently disappeared.

Images: Sentinel2, European Space Agency. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2021), processed by Sentinel Hub.

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Figure 14 Australia’s new icebreaker RSV Nuyina during sea trials

Photo: © Commonwealth of Australia 2020

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FIgure 15 CCAMLR statistical reporting area and subarea boundaries, and FAO fishing area boundaries

CCAMLR = Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources; FAO = Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; km = kilometre

Source: Australian Antarctic Data Centre

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Table 1 Antarctic mass change estimates

Region	2016 SoE report: annual average loss 1992–2011 (20 years) (Gt/yr)	Annual average loss 1992–2017 (25 years) (Gt/yr)	Annual average loss 2012–17 (5 years) (Gt/yr)	Total sea level contribution 1992–2017 (25 years) (mm)
West Antarctica	−65 ± 26	−94 ± 27	−159 ± 26	6.5 ± 1.9
Antarctic Peninsula	−20 ± 14	−20 ± 15	−33 ± 16	1.4 ± 1.0
East Antarctica	14 ± 43	5 ± 46	−28 ± 30	−0.3 ± 3.2
All Antarctica	−71 ± 53	−109 ± 56	−219 ± 43	7.6 ± 3.9

Gt/yr = gigatonnes per year; mm = millimetre; SoE = state of the environment

Note: Estimates of mass loss (negative values) and mass gain (positive values) in billions of tonnes (Gt) of ice differ between regions and time periods.

Sources: 2016 SoE report data from Klekociuk & Wienecke (2016); all other data from IMBIE team (2018), which provides a collation of 24 independently derived estimates of ice-sheet mass balance, derived from the 3 main methods for determining ice loss changes described in the text.

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Table 2 National (EPBC Act) and international (IUCN) status of threatened flying seabirds and penguins breeding in Australia’s jurisdiction

Order	Species	EPBC Act	IUCN (global population assessment)
Procellariiformes	Macronectes giganteus – southern giant petrel	Endangered	Least Concern Increasing
	Macronectes halli – northern giant petrel	Vulnerable	Least Concern Increasing
	Diomedea exulans – wandering albatross	Vulnerable	Vulnerable Decreasing
	Phoebetria palpebrata – light-mantled sooty albatross	Not listed	Near Threatened Decreasing
	Thalassarche cauta – shy albatross	Endangered	Near Threatened Unknown
	Thalassarche chrysostoma – grey-headed albatross	Endangered	Endangered Decreasing
	Thalassarche melanophris – black-browed albatross	Vulnerable	Least Concern Increasing
Sphenisciformes	Aptenodytes forsteri – emperor penguin	Not listed	Near Threatened Decreasing
	Aptenodytes patagonicus – king penguin	Not listed	Least Concern Increasing
	Eudyptes chrysocome – southern rockhopper penguin	Not listed	Vulnerable Decreasing
	Eudyptes chrysolophus – macaroni penguin	Not listed	Vulnerable Decreasing
	Eudyptes schlegeli – royal penguin	Not listed	Near Threatened Stable
	Pygoscelis adeliae – Adélie penguin	Not listed	Least Concern Increasing
	Pygoscelis papua – gentoo penguin	Not listed	Least Concern Stable

EPBC Act = Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999; IUCN = International Union for Conservation of Nature

Source: IUCN (2021)

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Table 3 National (EPBC Act) and international (IUCN) status of seals in Australia’s jurisdiction

Family	Species	EPBC Act	IUCN – global population trend
Phocidae (true seals)	Hydrurga leptonyx – leopard seal	Marine	Least Concern Unknown
	Mirounga leonina – southern elephant seal	Vulnerable	Least Concern Stable
	Leptonychotes weddellii – Weddell seal	Marine	Least Concern Unknown
	Lobodon carcinophaga – crabeater seal	Marine	Least Concern Unknown
	Ommatophoca rossii – Ross seal	Marine	Least Concern Unknown
Otariidae (eared seals)	Arctocephalus gazella – Antarctic fur seal	Marine	Least Concern Decreasing
Otariidae (eared seals)	Arctocephalus tropicalis – subantarctic fur seal	Vulnerable	Least Concern Stable

EPBC Act = Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999; IUCN = International Union for Conservation of Nature

Source: IUCN (2021)

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Table 4 National (EPBC Act) and international (IUCN) status of baleen whales (Mysticeti) in Australia’s jurisdiction

Species	EPBC Act	IUCN – global population trend
Balaenoptera acutorostrata – dwarf minke whale (subspecies)	(Listed at species level)	(Listed at species level)
Balaenoptera bonaerensis – Antarctic minke whale	Migratory	Least Concern Unknown
Balaenoptera borealis – sei whale	Vulnerable	Endangered Increasing
Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda – pygmy blue whale (subspecies)	(Listed at species level)	(Listed at species level)
Balaenoptera musculus intermedia – Antarctic blue whale	Endangered	Critically Endangered Increasing
Balaenoptera physalus – fin whale	Vulnerable	Vulnerable Increasing

EPBC Act = Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999; IUCN = International Union for Conservation of Nature

Source: IUCN (2021)

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Table 5 Summary of environmental performance of Antarctic station operations by season

Variable	2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19	2019–20
Total waste (t)	304	177	263	252	201
Waste to landfill (t)	169	147	164	191	90
Waste recycled (t)	135	30	78	61	111
Liquid waste treated and disposed of (t)	17	43	10	22	54
Water use (ML)	6.27	6.79	6.68	6.83	6.15
Electricity generated by diesel (TJ)	18.5	19.7	20.6	21.0	21.5
Electricity generated by renewables (TJ)	5.4	5.9	4.0	2.4	1.7
Operational diesel fuel (ML)	2.27	2.09	2.25	2.39	2.46

ML = megalitre; t = tonne; TJ = terajoule

Comprises diesel used for electricity generation, vehicles, plant, incinerators and boilers.

Sources: DAWE (2020a); DAWE (2020b) for 2019–20 operational diesel fuel data

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