Freshwater ecosystems

1. Abstract

Policy and programs currently in place in Australia for the protection of freshwater biodiversity are discussed, primarily within the context of the frameworks provided by key international, national and State strategies. By way of comparison, reference is made in passing to biodiversity programs in terrestrial and marine environments. The context of current freshwater biodiversity conservation programs, particularly in relation to infrastructure development programs, is outlined on a State-by-State basis. Future conservation policy and program options are discussed, with attention focused on options involving the creation of freshwater reserves for the protection of representative ecosystems, and the management of cumulative effects.
The paper identifies three important gaps in existing programs at Commonwealth and State levels: (a) a failure by State governments to develop comprehensive and effective programs to manage the cumulative effects of incremental infrastructure development, (b) the completion of comprehensive State-wide freshwater ecosystem inventories, and (c) programs to develop representative freshwater ecosystem reserves. The paper also advocates increased levels of strategic planning (through existing Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) mechanisms) focused on controlling cumulative effects, and incorporating biodiversity conservation. Two other key recommendations relate to (a) the extension of water management regimes, including environmental flow programs, to cover both surface flows and groundwater in a fully integrated fashion, and (b) the full incorporation of quality assurance principles into water management programs, especially with regard to compliance enforcement and auditing.

2. Introduction

2.1 Australia’s track record

Australia does not have a good record in regard to the protection of the nation’s biodiversity². As documented in books such as They all ran wild, and The great extermination, the early settlement of Australia by Europeans was marked by a disregard of the value of native flora and fauna, indiscriminate and unsustainable harvesting, massive habitat destruction, and the introduction of exotic plants, animals and diseases which caused havoc amongst native populations.
The eminent biologist, John Gould, warned that the Thylacine faced the prospect of extinction 90 years before the last specimen died in lonely captivity. The extinct Thylacine is now Tasmania’s fauna emblem, a sad indictment of the inability of politicians and the community to act in the face of incremental pressures for “development”.
I argue in this paper that, in spite of significant gains, the mistakes of the past are being repeated today, in more subtle forms. I refer particularly to (a) the general absence of comprehensive systems of representative freshwater reserves, and (b) the lack of management frameworks capable of controlling the cumulative effects of incremental water infrastructure development, particularly with respect to biodiversity values.

2.2 Scope and terminology

"Freshwater" in this paper is used as a shorthand term for inland waters (as distinct from marine waters). The central arguments of the paper apply equally to inland saline ecosystems, or coastal brackish systems heavily dependent on river or groundwater flow. The term "freshwater" has currency as a keyword for searching subjects covered in this paper, so has been chosen as the most appropriate title word.
This is not a background paper, and it assumes that the reader has some knowledge of freshwater biodiversity issues. The paper does NOT define biodiversity, discuss the values of biodiversity, discuss the need to protect freshwater biodiversity, nor does it attempt to establish the gravity of the Australian situation regarding the conservation of freshwater ecosystems. These issues are discussed elsewhere³. Additionally, the paper does not attempt to provide a comprehensive examination of the freshwater reserve⁴ concept, or examine the role, importance or function of representative reserves⁵. For a more comprehensive consideration of representative freshwater reserves, refer to the work by the Australian Society for Limnology working group on representative reserves: http://www.onlyoneplanet.com/ASL_reserves_working_group.htm. (don’t forget to include the underscores).
The paper does, however, examine:

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  key government commitments (at State and Commonwealth levels) regarding the protection of freshwater biodiversity, and
  
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  the degree to which these commitments are being met by existing programs related to the management of freshwater resources. These programs include both programs focused on the conservation of freshwater biodiversity, as well as those focused on controlling the impacts of water use and catchment water-based infrastructure.
  

The paper concludes by examining gaps in current policies and programs, and finishes with a number of recommendations. The management of cumulative effects, and the development of representative reserves form the focus of the paper's recommendations. Integrated management of groundwater, and effective compliance enforcement programs, are issues considered in less detail.

While the paper focuses on four key issues, there are two key issues which the paper does not discuss. The first is fish passage. Many native fish undertake life-cycle journeys taking them from the estuaries at river mouths to the headwaters of these rivers. The construction of dams and weirs, generally speaking, makes these journeys difficult or impossible. Considerable advances have been made in the development of fishways in recent years⁶; however this knowledge is generally not being widely applied. And fishways currently don't help fish travelling downstream over dam spillways - a dangerous exercise⁷. Freshwater turtles and crayfish may also be adversely affected by dams and weirs. Some turtle and crayfish species are also highly restricted - appearing only in one or two river systems. Many aspects of turtle and crayfish ecology are in urgent need of research. We risk loosing species that are undescribed, without knowing their distribution or ecology.
The second issue relates to environmental assessment processes applicable to large dams. Environmental impact assessments are traditionally confined to the direct effects of the dams themselves. There is an urgent need to extend assessments of large agricultural dams to encompass the long-term direct and indirect effects of both the dams and the irrigation proposals which the dams depend on for their financial viability.
The term “reserve” used here means tracts of land and/or water, over which particular management regimes are applied⁸. “Protected areas”, as defined by the World Conservation Union (IUCN 1994) are areas of land and/or water “especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means”. The term “reserve” is used here in the sense of IUCN classes I-IV in which direct human intervention and modification are limited⁹.
Where 'representative freshwater reserves' are discussed, these include all inland aquatic ecosystems: lakes, wetlands, karst and other underground ecosystems, springs, rivers and their associated channels, billabongs, and immediate surrounds (including sub-surface ecosystems). Where the ecologies of estuaries are dominated by inland water flows rather than marine influences, these too may be included. The term 'representative' can be taken as shorthand for 'comprehensive, adequate and representative' within the meaning attributed to that phrase in the Convention on Biological Diversity 1992, and the National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity 1996.
Where the term 'groundwater' is used, this refers to all subsurface water. While I favour the use of the Ramsar definition of 'wetlands' (which includes both still waters and flowing waters (eg: rivers), where the term 'wetlands' is used in this paper it is used in the sense more common in Australia: ie: excluding flowing waters such as the main channels of rivers and streams. Where the term 'intrinsic value' is used, this refers to strictly non-human values. 'Infrastructure' includes dams, weirs, river off-takes, bores, agricultural drains, levee banks, evaporative basins, and irrigation schemes.
'Catchment management' in this paper means natural resource management within catchment boundaries, and covers the integrated management of land, water and biological resources. However, this paper does not concern itself with terrestrial issues in this context, simply to avoid diluting the focus of the paper on water-related issues.
Australia has six States and two Territories. The word 'State' is used as shorthand to encompass all these jurisdictions.