Freshwater Protected Area Resourcbook

1.7 Overview of recommendations:

The long-term benefits of creating freshwater protected areas should far outweigh short term costs. Many marine protected areas have been shown to enhance fisheries outside the protected zone (Gell and Roberts 2002). Some freshwater protected areas are almost certain to have similar effects, with consequent benefits for recreational fishers. Australian hunter’s organisations have, in previous years, helped fund the purchase of freshwater protected areas which provide breeding grounds for ducks and other waterbirds. Farmers will benefit from the protection of aquifer recharge areas. Indigenous groups supported the formation of the first listed Ramsar site in the world: Coburg Peninsula in the Northern Territory.
There are, however, a small number of urgent issues.
Firstly, although some representative examples of freshwater ecosystems are contained within existing protected areas, no systematic national review has been conducted to identify gaps in the reserve network. It is likely that many freshwater ecosystems are not adequately protected – particularly those of riverine or subterranean nature.
Secondly, although all jurisdictions are developing inventories of freshwater ecosystems, these remain incomplete. Nowhere are they comprehensive in the sense of containing up-to-date data on value, condition and threat over wetlands, rivers and subterranean ecosystems. The acceleration of work on inventories is urgent to underpin both protected area gap analysis studies, and developing regional NRM strategies.
Thirdly, river degradation is ubiquitous and increasing over much of temperate Australia; the identification and protection of remaining rivers of high conservation value is urgent. In all three areas, the Commonwealth needs to play a leading role, particularly with respect to promoting and funding inter-State working groups to address these issues in a coordinated way.
Fourthly, the sympathetic management of biodiversity outside protected area frameworks is essential, and urgent action needs to be taken to encourage and support biodiversity conservation measures on freehold and agricultural land. While current NRM regional planning frameworks do offer improved possibilities for effective management of the cumulative effects of incremental water-related development, this opportunity is likely to be lost unless (a) NRM frameworks embrace five key principles for cumulative effect management (see Appendix 15), and (b) comprehensive ecosystem inventories are developed to support biodiversity management within the regional planning framework (see Chapter 5).
Detailed recommendations are made in Chapter 10. These recommendations, in brief, seek to:

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  support accelerated development of comprehensive ecosystem inventories by the States, within a framework which would allow development of a national inventory;
  
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  use this inventory, supported by an ‘interim freshwater bioregionalisation of Australia’, to identify and seek to remedy gaps in the protected area network through the development of a comprehensive, adequate and representative national system of freshwater protected areas;
  
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  identify and protect rivers of outstanding conservation value, partly through existing mechanisms such as those associated with the Ramsar convention, as well as new mechanisms, perhaps modelled on the Canadian Heritage Rivers System; and
  
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  encourage and support owners of freehold land, as well as landholders of agricultural leasehold land, to undertake measures aimed at protecting freshwater biodiversity on land outside the protected area network. Effective management of cumulative effects, based on five key principles, needs to be explicitly incorporated within all NRM planning frameworks.
  

Urgent work is also needed to extend existing thinking on freshwater protected area management strategies, and to develop guidelines specific to different types of Australian freshwater ecosystems. The seminal work by Saunders et al. (2002) provides a starting point for such studies.

2. Introduction

2.1 Objectives of this book

The objectives of the resourcebook are:

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  to examine the role and importance of inland aquatic protected areas, particularly those created for the protection of representative examples of aquatic ecosystems;
  
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  to provide a source of important background information relating to the development of freshwater protected areas in Australia;
  
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  to make recommendations (where relevant) relating to government programs affecting inland aquatic ecosystems, and to encourage, where appropriate, the development of aquatic protected areas; and
  
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  to promote discussion of the issue as a basis for the possible preparation of an Australian Society for Limnology (ASL) policy on the development of systems of representative protected areas for the conservation and management of major inland aquatic ecosystems.
  

The ASL has published a number of policies on important issues related to inland aquatic ecosystems. Existing policies are available from the ASL's website. The purpose of these policies relates to the objectives of the ASL. The ASL seeks to provide expert information, support, and where relevant guidance, to Australia's managers of inland aquatic ecosystems (see discussion below).

In its current form, this paper’s intended audience is principally managers, policy-makers, scientists, tertiary students and academics working on issues related to the management of natural resources.

2.2 The Australian Society for Limnology

The Australian Society for Limnology (ASL) is an Australian-based scientific society whose focus is the study and management of inland waters. The ASL was established in 1961, and has a current membership of over 500 scientists, managers, engineers, teachers and tertiary-level students from all States and territories. Members have a strong professional interest in inland aquatic issues, in the maintenance of biodiversity, the maintenance and/or restoration of water quality, and the wise use of aquatic resources. The Society also has a strong interest in fostering the scientific and intellectual development of tertiary students.
The Society includes members working in most relevant government agencies, tertiary institutions and many industries related to aquatic resources. Through their daily activities, members have constant contact with local communities and are in a strong position to interpret and advise on inland water issues. The Society has a substantial knowledge base, and has assumed a responsibility to ensure that this is available to those who manage inland waters.
Accordingly, the charter of the ASL is to further our understanding of Australia's inland waters, and to promote the wise use and sustainable management of aquatic resources. In this manner, we will contribute to the continued existence of this valued resource, and the maintenance and enhancement of the quality of life for all Australians.
The roles of the ASL are to:

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  to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and research results amongst scientists;
  
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  to provide an interface between researchers and managers;
  
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  to provide a venue for student development; and
  
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  to report to State and Federal Governments on the state of inland waters.