This second SoE Report for Tasmania has been designed primarily for publication on the web. This provides a number of advantages, including a better and more efficient interaction with the increasing body of internet-based information at the local, state, national and international levels.

The role of most of the links from the home page should be clear, but in any event will soon be clear through trial (just click to discover). The chapter icons at the top of the page provide the key grouping of links. All content in the report, including recommendations, can be accessed through these chapters and, importantly, they provide context not provided through lists.

Nevertheless, lists provide another shorthand way of navigating around the site. These lists, together with other features, are provided in the left hand column on the home page. They take the reader to lists of items used in the report, similarly to tables of contents in a book. There are lists of items and their definitions (glossary), lists of sources (references), lists of legislation referred to in the report, and lists of indicators, case studies, maps and external links.

Glossary items (terms and their definitions) are displayed when the cursor is placed over a highlighted term, such as 'GIS'. Clicking on the term will bring the glossary item text box up on screen. Glossary items can be turned on/off using the 'glossary on/off' quick link located on the home page and the foot of each page. This may be useful if you find that the number of highlighted links becomes intrusive on the page.

Quicklinks to lists and other functions are also provided at the foot of each page on the web site.

In order to reduce download times for content on the web, thumbnail small images are generally used, allowing the reader to link to larger more detailed versions of the same image by clicking on the small image.

Structure of the Report

The SoE Report has been written to provide for a range of users in a logical and relevant manner. There are four types of headings: chapters, topics, issues and indicators. The heading structure applied across the report is as follows:

Chapters

The SoE Report comprises eight chapters: Atmosphere; Land; Inland Waters and Wetlands; Biodiversity; Settlements; Cultural Heritage; Coastal, Estuarine and Marine; and Toward Sustainability. The chapters are linked through the icons on the home page or via the quick links at the foot of each page. The overall structure of the report can also be viewed through the contents page.

Topics

Each chapter is divided into topics, which help to organise environmental information. These generic topic headings may include: Values; Condition; Threatening Processes; and Responses. Topic headings are displayed together with issue headings in the left-hand column at the chapter level.

Issues

Each topic is further divided into issues. The issue level is where most of the information in the report is presented. The first level within each issue report is the 'At a glance' information. This information represents a summary of the issue report, giving the reader an overview of the issue and its salient points.

Matters raised in the 'At a glance' sections represent issues the authors feel are the most important and relevant. Their selection is by no means definitive and others may have differing views. Those readers who wish to explore the information in more detail can go to the issue report through the highlighted 'Continued-in-depth' link from the 'At a glance' section.

The issue report details evidence about particular issues, descriptions of how the problem manifests itself, and provides information on the consequences for society, the economy, and the environment.

The issue report also describes what is known about assessing and measuring the current situation, management responses and suggests some future directions in responding to the issue.

The standard issue report headings are: Background; Implications; Regional Aspects; Assessing and Measuring the Current Situation; Management Responses; Discussion; Future Directions; Recommendations; Related Issues; and Related Case Studies.

Indicators

Indicators are one of a number of key information sources that help inform the report's issues.

The principal sources of the indicators, and their methodology and rationale, are the key indicator reports published by Environment Australia (now the Department of Environment and Heritage) and the report on 'Core Environmental Indicators for Reporting on the State of the Environment' (ANZECC 2000).

Additional software requirements

At various places within this report, there is the option of saving files onto your computer's hard drive. For ease of use, these items have been saved as portable document files (PDFs). It is necessary to have a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer to read these files. A copy of this program is available free of charge from Adobe's web site.