Adaptive management

The Queensland Government has an adaptive environmental management system in place for the regulation of activities such as petroleum, geothermal and greenhouse gas storage.

This system not only allows the government to monitor the industry and instigate change where required, it allows for best practice environmental management to be implemented as technologies develop over time.

In practice, environmental licences issued to operators can be changed to take into account new research, monitoring or modelling which suggests the potential for unintended or unexpected impacts on the environment.

The adaptive management framework process applies to both current and future projects and will ensure the government is able to respond to what happens on the ground and protect the environment.

This framework is in addition to the environmental assessments that are undertaken before high risk activities are approved under Queensland environmental law.