Tasmania's first State of the Environment report in 15 years warns of 'escalating' challenges

Tasmania's renowned for its stunning environment. The state is famed for its rugged wilderness, pristine marine areas and unique wildlife. But a report card into Tasmania’s environment has delivered a reality check the state's falling short The state of the environment report found 16 of the 29 areas it looked at are getting worse, including declining kelp forests, increasing invasive pests and sea surface temperatures that have increased by up to 3 point 8 degrees in 80 years. It found just two areas are getting better "the report card is concerning. Things are getting worse, and they were already at a bad place." 11 categories were found to be in poor condition, with seven fair, and three good. While eight including water quality and wetlands, couldn't be assessed because not enough data was available. "the report reveals serious deficiencies in monitoring programs, and where those programs do exist data is not being aggrogated or publicly available." This is the first state of the environment report in 15 years. It was supposed to be released in 2014. Its 16 recommendations include establishing more marine protected areas, and action to end illegal vegetation clearing. It also calls for a long-term strategy to deal with threats to the environment... With updates every two years about its progress "Of course we'll support all those things and of course we'll support the calls for more funding to protect native vegetation and animals" The government says it wants to balance sustainable environmental management with the pursuit of economic development opportunities. And is currently reviewing the report's findings and recommendations