Enhancing whole-of-river conservation

Abstract

We argue for improved conservation of freshwater ecosystems at catchment or eco-regional scales by explicit assignment of values to all river sections and wetlands, recognising current disturbance, and aiming for ‘no further harm’ to the commons. The need is indicated by the global deterioration of biodiversity and ecosystem services of rivers and wetlands, increasing demands on water and land resources, and climate change. Regional pressures include multiple jurisdictions, competing demands, piecemeal management, pollution and habitat impacts. Effective resource and conservation management needs to integrate multiple uses via governance of activities of stakeholders, recognising hydrogeomorphic, water quality and ecological properties of ecosystems. Complete ecological protection is impractical amidst water-resource and land-use development, but we suggest that all river reaches and wetlands be given a conservation rating based on habitat, biodiversity and connectivity values. We present a straightforward approach to spatial conservation rating of freshwaters, using hydrogeomorphic typology and assignment of conservation values on the basis of available information and expert elicitation. We illustrate the approach by using the large Burdekin River catchment in north-eastern Australia. This approach is complementary to more spatially focused conservation prioritisation and could greatly improve management for sustainability, reduce further decline in conservation values, and facilitate rehabilitation.

Decision analysis for the planning and assessment of ex situ management: An application to the endangered mahogany glider

“…We used a Delphi expert elicitation process (Hemming et al, 2018) facilitated using the PACES tool to obtain estimates of the decision tree parameters. This approach is widely applied in conservation settings where data are sparse, including estimates of extinction risk among vertebrates (Garnett et al, 2022), prioritizing conservation management of freshwater systems (Pearson et al, 2022) and planning for marine protected areas (Sykora‐Bodie et al, 2021). Participants estimated the likelihood of chance events and predicted wild population outcomes (with credible intervals) for each branch of the decision tree (Figure 1).…”

Determination of Pollution and Environmental Risk Assessment of Stormwater and the Receiving River, Case Study of the Sudół River Catchment, Poland

“…Urban rivers have long been used at suitable sites to discharge sewage and stormwater, leading to severe damage to aquatic ecosystems, often to the point that they no longer provide ecosystem services to society [24,25]. The current approach is primarily to pay attention to and properly value ecosystem services and to implement the idea of sustainable development [26][27][28]. Among the many benefits of this approach are those that relate to the environmental and social impacts.…”