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Chapter 1 – Introduction to the Cleveland Bay Consortium and the Cleveland Bay Status ReportThe Cleveland Bay Consortium is an informal industry/research forum for the discussion of the sustainable use of the environments of Cleveland Bay. Industry and regulatory agencies in the Cleveland Bay region have identified a need for comprehensive information about water, sediment, flora and fauna of the Bay for environmental license applications and future planning for sustainable use of the region. Information from past research is often difficult to find, of variable quality, and is sometimes difficult to apply to current problems and applications. Business, industry, regulatory authorities, and research agencies identified a need for a focus or forum to exchange information, priorities, information needs, and expertise. The first Cleveland Bay Consortium workshop was held in January 1998. The founding members of the CBC included, BHP Cannington, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, MIM Copper Refineries, Northern Shipping and Stevedoring, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Sun Metals, Townsville Port Authority, James Cook University, QNI. All participants agreed that, it is often difficult to determine environmental monitoring requirements, licensing and discharge criteria when there appears to be a general lack of baseline data. The fact of the matter however, is that Cleveland Bay has been extensively studied and there is significant data available on the natural resources and processes of the region. The challenge however has been in identifying these research initiatives, where the data is held and coordinating these initiatives to ensure that the data is available in a single location, or at least to initiate this process. It was important from the outset to recognise the benefits to industry, research organisations and regulatory agencies a like ensuring data availability, efficiencies in research initiatives and improved environmental understanding. Figure 1. This Cleveland Bay Status Report is the first step in providing the information and understanding of all the stakeholders of Cleveland Bay. An exercise of this complexity requires the input from a range of groups and individuals. The commitment by the contributors demonstrates a desire to ensure the sustainable use of Cleveland Bay. This report is not intended to pass judgement on the quality of Cleveland Bay nor is it intended to comment on the quality of the available data. Rather, the Report is a compilation of all the available research data relevant to Cleveland Bay and the region. The report itself has been compiled through the voluntary contributions of individuals and organisations representing researchers, industry and regulatory authorities. To minimise the burden on participating agencies the forum has been established electronically, allowing anyone with a relevant interest to contribute and participate. The Cleveland Bay Sustainability CycleThe Cleveland Bay Sustainability Cycle, represented in figure 1, depicts the journey to the bsustainable use of Cleveland Bay. By sustainable use, we mean, that the things that we do in Cleveland Bay today will not have a detrimental impact on the Cleveland Bay such that futures generations will be unable to do the things in Cleveland Bay that they want to do. In 1996 a group of people representing industry, research and regulators got together to talk about our vision for Cleveland Bay. This group also discussed their interest and activity in the Bay. What was lacking previously in Cleveland Bay was a coherent vision and understanding of the links between the different values of Cleveland Bay. What are the links between the air, the water, the sediment, the plants and the animals of Cleveland Bay? And what are the relationships between these internal contributors (ie nature) to Cleveland Bay and the external factors eg people and their activities? The group then formed the Cleveland Bay Consortium and set out to answer some of these questions. The journey of understanding has only just begun and this status report is a tangible contributor to the Cleveland Bay Sustainability Cycle . The symbolism of the circle sizes in figure 1, at the entry point of the Cleveland Bay Consortium into the Cleveland Bay Sustainability Cycle reflects the ‘steps’ that are needed for our journey. They represent the incremental increase in knowledge, understanding, acceptance, contribution, commitment, honesty and integrity as we journey to our next milestone of the “Gap analysis”. All the journeys in the Cleveland Bay Sustainability Cycle reflect the same stepping-stones. On completion of the Gap analysis, further research or understanding will need to be conducted to increase our knowledge of the environmental, social and economic vales of Cleveland Bay. This is often referred to as the triple bottom line of sustainable development – of people, planet and profit or earth, earthlings and earnings. As we increase our knowledge we move on to the next stage of the journey. That is to adopt principle, practices and standards (or if necessary, regulation/legislation) that reflect our new knowledge. That is not the end of the journey – the Cleveland Bay Sustainability Cycle is an endless cycle. Sustainable development, we believe, means different things to different people, in different times. The vision of sustainable use however, should not change – it just gets its values redefined. Hence the next step in this never-ending journey is to conduct another status report and start the cycle again. The level to which we can manage Cleveland Bay is directly proportional to our understanding of Cleveland Bay. The more we know, the better we can manage. The better we can manage, the more sustainable is our use. Figure 1.2 Flow chart demonstrating how the Cleveland Bay Consortium and Cleveland Bay Status Report, interact with environmental pressures and the objective of sustainable use of Cleveland Bay. 
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Location plan of Cleveland Bay showing the Cities of Townsville and Thuringowa
located on the western shores, and the boundaries of the World Heritage Area. |  |
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This page was last updated on Monday 20 May 2002 |
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