Freshwater Protected Area Resourcbook

10.2 Protection of rivers of high conservation value:

Given the development of national databases containing information on freshwater ecosystems, it is now feasible to develop a national framework for the protection of high conservation value (HCV) rivers.

Four measures are recommended for immediate action:

4. 
   the Commonwealth should fund, under a inter-State steering committee, the identification of where the highest river values exist, where they are most at threat, and where such values might be most effectively and efficiently protected. Refer to the discussion of values in Appendix 7.
   
5. 
   the Commonwealth should initiate, fund and convene an inter-State working group to discuss and develop mechanisms to protect high conservation value rivers, with particular focus on the possibility of adapting the Canadian Heritage Rivers System to the Australian situation. Refer to Chapter 7 discussing mechanisms, and Appendix 14 on the Canadian system.
   
6. 
   bearing in mind the wide definition of ‘wet land’ contained within the Ramsar Convention and national directory frameworks, immediate steps (coordinated and partly funded by the Commonwealth) should be taken to accelerate the use the existing Ramsar framework to identify, select and protect rivers of high conservation value (rivers of international importance). Until more rigorous quantitative criteria are developed for identifying and selecting rivers of HCV than are provided for by the Ramsar criteria and the Ramsar strategic framework guidelines²⁷², these criteria provide a useful interim approach;
   
7. 
   Commonwealth funds should be provided to the States to accelerate the assessment of rivers against the importance criteria which underpin listing in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (rivers of national importance), and States should be encouraged to add important rivers to the Directory;
   

Additional information on the protection of high conservation value rivers is provided in Chapter 7, which outlines a variety of measures which might be taken in the medium or long term. These need to be considered by all three levels of government, as well as by regional natural resource management agencies.

10.3 Sympathetic management of utilised ecosystems:

Australian governments, at all three levels, need to do much more to encourage the sympathetic management of land outside networks of protected areas (see s.6.1.5.2). Key strategies which need urgent attention, especially by Commonwealth and State governments, relate to:

8. 
   developing effective strategic approaches within regional NRM planning frameworks to address the impacts of cumulative water-related development within individual catchments. Comprehensive inventories of freshwater ecosystems are essential to support NRM planning processes (see above); in addition, the precautionary principle (see Appendix 15) needs much stronger emphasis;
   
9. 
   adequate financial compensation to landholders for the provision of ecosystem services; (refer to Whitten et al. 2002 on incentive programs) and
   
10. 
    together with the above, a gradual phasing in of natural resource accounting requirements targeted at large corporate landholders (see section 7.13.4).
    

Bearing in mind the importance of the CoAG water reform framework in encouraging more effective management of the water resource by State governments (Appendix 3 and 4), and bearing in mind the recommendations of the Wentworth Group (Appendix 12) it is essential that the 2004 revision of the CoAG framework incorporate:

11. 
    mechanisms to encourage States to identify and protect rivers of special importance (see discussion above and Chapter 7); and
    
12. 
    mechanisms to encourage the States to implement effective procedures for the strategic management of the cumulative effects of incremental water developments (referred to in the Wentworth report as the need for ‘comprehensive water accounts’). Refer to Appendix 15 for additional information on the management of cumulative effects.
    

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.

11. Bibliography

In order to shorten the length of this document please access the bibliography at http://www.onlyoneplanet.com/ASL_bibliography.htm .

12. Abbreviations

ACT The Australian Capital Territory.

AFFA (Commonwealth Department of) Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Australia.

AGPS Australian Government Publishing Service.

AHC Australian Heritage Commission.

ANZECC Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council.

ARMCANZ Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand.

ASL Australian Society for Limnology.

Audit (the) The National Land and Water Resources Audit.

AWRC Australian Water Resource Council.

CALM WA Department of Conservation and Land Management.

CAMBA China – Australia Migratory birds Agreement.

CAR Comprehensive, adequate and representative.

CEs Cumulative effects of incremental water infrastructure development.

CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (of Wild Fauna and Flora).

CFEV Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystem Values (CFEV) Project, Tasmania.

CoAG Council of Australian Governments.

CRCCZEWM Cooperative Research Centre for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management (

CSIFE Comprehensive State Inventory of Freshwater Ecosystems.

CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.

Cumulative effects: short for: “cumulative effects of incremental water infrastructure development”.

DEH Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australia (Commonwealth Department)

DIPNR Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (NSW).

DLWC Department of Land and Water Conservation (NSW) now called DIPNR

DNR Department of Natural Resources (Qld).

DSR Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment

ECC Environment Conservation Council (Victoria).

EIA Environmental impact assessment.

EPP Environment Protection Policy (statutory policy under Qld’s Environment Protection Act).

ERIN Environmental Resource Information Network (EA)

ERISS Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist

ESD Ecologically sustainable development.

EWP Environmental water provision (used by the WRC in WA)

EWR Ecological water requirement (used by the WRC in WA)

FHA Fish habitat area (Qld Fisheries Act 1994).

GDE Groundwater-dependent ecosystem.

GL Gigalitre.

GSL Great Southern Land: see the section titled: "Hypothetical case study".

HCV High conservation value.

IBRA Interim Bioregionalisation of Australia.

ICM Integrated Catchment Management (equivalent to TCM).

IGAE InterGovernmental Agreement on the Environment.

IMCRA Interim Marine and Coastal Regionalisation for Australia.

IPA Indigenous Protected Area.

JAMBA Japan – Australia Migratory birds Agreement.

LCC Land Conservation Council, Victoria.

LUP Land use planning.

LWRRDC Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation, now Land and Water Australia.

LWA Land and Water Australia.

MDBC Murray-Darling Basin Commission.

ML Megalitre.

National biodiversity strategy: National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia’s Biological Diversity 1996.

NCC National Competition Council.

NCS Nature Conservation Strategy (ACT)

NGO Non-Government Organisation.

NHT Natural Heritage Trust.

NLWRA National Land and Water Resources Audit.

NPWS Natonal Parks and Wildlife Service

NRC National Rivers Consortium

NRHP National River Health Program

NRM Natural Resource Management (a framework similar to the ICM concept).

NRS National Reserves System.

NRSMPA National Reserve Program for Marine Protected Areas

NRSP National Reserves System Program

NSW New South Wales.

NSWF New South Wales Department of Fisheries

NT The Northern Territory.

NWQMS National Water Quality Management Strategy.

NZ New Zealand.

QFS Queensland Fisheries Service (part of Dept Primary Industries).

Qld Queensland.

RFA Regional Forest Agreement(s).

RRs Representative Reserves.

SA South Australia.

SPP Statement of Planning Policy (WA).

State used here to include all Australian States and Territories.

Tas Tasmania.

TCM Total Catchment Management (equivalent to ICM).

UNESCO United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Organisation.

VCA Voluntary Conservation Agreement (under the NSW NPW Act 1974).

Vic Victoria.

WA Western Australia.

WCP Wetlands conservation policy.

wetlands Used in two meanings in this paper, depending on context. The Ramsar definition of wetlands ('wet lands') includes rivers and streams; while the more common understanding of the term in Australia excludes rivers and streams. See discussion at section 2.4 and Appendix 8.

WISE Water Information System for the Environment (NSW).

WRC Water and Rivers Commission, WA.

WRMC Water resources management committee (WA)

WWF Worldwide Fund for Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund).