Lake Eyre Basin Rivers Assessment Implementation Plan Project: Milestone 3 Report Governance arrangements for the lebra

LEB policy framework and LEBRA implications

The LEB Ministerial Forum (LEBMF) in 2002 adopted five policies to guide the strategies and activities required to achieve the LEBIA’s purpose. A sixth policy, making explicit a whole-of-Basin ethos, was adopted in 2004. These policies are listed together with key implementation strategies in Appendix B, however Table 1 provides a summary of these six policies and their implications for the LEBRA Implementation Plan.

The policies outlined in Table 1 are underpinned by 29 strategies (see Appendix B), which can be broadly categorised into 6 themes: invasive species, water flow and quality, natural resource management planning, infrastructure, data and communication. In 2007, a review of the LEBIA (URS 2007) noted widespread community feedback that the arrangements appeared to rely on goodwill more so than formalised lines of delegation and accountability. The review also drew attention to the responsibility of the States and NT partners to implement many of the policies and strategies through their own jurisdictional powers as assigned under the Constitution, and recommended that this approach not be changed.

The challenge for the LEBRA of Constitutionally-based NRM arrangements is not so much that resource assessment and ongoing monitoring cannot be undertaken as independent, specifically designated and discrete activities, but rather that the responses to findings about pressures and resource states is more difficult to coordinate. This has implications for building governance arrangements around a LEBRA based on the Pressure-State-Response model as well as on adaptive management principles.

Table 1: LEB policies and LEBRA implications
LEB Policy	Implications for the LEBRA Implementation Plan
One: Flow regimes of river systems within the Agreement Area will be managed to protect and maintain the ecological integrity and natural function of in-stream and floodplain ecosystems, and the viability of economic, social, cultural and other activities which do not threaten these environmental values.	‘Manage to protect’ is the pivotal concept, suggesting the imperative that assessment activities inform management responses. Understanding condition is not enough. While the emphasis is placed on water (flow regimes and quality), a holistic approach is envisaged, reflected in the triple bottom line aspiration articulated in the policy. The Implementation Plan must deal explicitly with linkages between pressure, state and responses within a systems context. A key concept for the LEBRA Plan that must be recognised is that the assessment of PSR linkages must be undertaken at the whole of basin scale
Two: Water quality in the river systems within the Agreement Area will be managed to protect and maintain the ecological integrity and natural function of in-stream and floodplain ecosystems and the viability of economic, social, cultural and other activities which do not threaten these environmental values.
Three: Water and related natural resources associated with the river systems within the Agreement Area will be managed to protect and maintain the ecological integrity and natural function of in-stream and floodplain ecosystems and the viability of economic, social, cultural and other activities which do not threaten these environmental values.	This policy makes the LEBIA’s wider NRM and system responsibilities more explicit.; It reinforces the need for assessing indicators across a range of aquatic, terrestrial and biological indicators as well as social, cultural productive and economic indicators. Recognising the importance of maintaining the natural variability of water and its related natural resources is seen as imperative for managing the biodiversity of the LEB.

LEB Policy	Implications for the LEBRA Implementation Plan
Four: Water resource planning, allocation and management arrangements, including the management of water entitlements, will be compatible with the LEB Agreement. Efficient use of water will be a fundamental principle of water entitlements and utilisation. Water resource development proposals will be assessed to determine their potential impact on river flows and water quality, and compatibility with the Agreement and relevant water resource plans. These assessments will be based on the best available scientific information and local knowledge (including information from other regions in Australia and overseas).	This policy suggests some of the management responses that need to be underpinned by resource assessment data. It introduces the concept and acceptability of local knowledge as a legitimate data source side by side with technical data. Resource assessment methods will need to not only include both scientific and local data, but also detail the means by which distinctly different data sets can be integrated for management purposes, taking into account issues of scale, consistency and reliability, utility and ownership.The policy implies that the consideration of development proposals needs to be cognizant of cross-border implications. Given the inherent variability of natural resources across the LEB at different time scales the incorporation of adaptive management strategies is essential for the any policy development for the basin
Five: Management of water and related natural resources associated with the river systems in the Agreement Area will be guided by the best available scientific information and local knowledge, and by the results of ongoing monitoring and periodic assessment of the condition of these river systems. Targeted research may also be undertaken to address identified knowledge gaps.	This policy complements all other policies by making explicit the need for periodic resource assessment and ongoing monitoring activities to underpin other policy objectives, including management responses to declining resource condition (policies 1-3 and 5) and consideration of new development proposals (policy 3).
Six: Water and related natural resources in the lake Eyre Basin Agreement Area will be managed through a whole-of-basin approach so as to achieve complementary outcomes, through the implementation of state/territory legislation and the plans and associated investment strategies of relevant regional bodies in Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory.	This policy reinforces and makes explicit the whole-of-basin approach implied in the previous five policies. It also makes more explicit how management responses are to be implemented (i.e. through partner legislation, planning and investment strategies).