Freshwater Ecosystem Conservation: Principles versus policy

Pittock, Jamie; Finlayson, Max

doi:10.22459/bf.05.2011.02

Cited by 8 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The MDB has diverse species and ecosystems, nearly 57 000 sq. km of wetlands, and 16 wetlands listed as internationally important under Ramsar [12]. The decline in health of its riverine ecosystems has occurred gradually over more than 50-100 years with dams which can store 103% of annual runoff and 87% of divertible water extracted (1983-84 data; [13]).…”

Section: Trends In Australia Water Resource Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…How effective these steps will be in restoring river health remains a crucial question. Critics have argued that 3000 GL will restore river health only from poor to moderate [12].…”

Section: Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Water Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, the approach adopted by the MDB Authority to determining environmental water requirements applies five criteria: the presence of listed migratory species; natural, rare or unique ecosystems; 'vital' habitat; habitat of listed threatened species or ecosystems; and supporting 'significant' biodiversity [12].…”

Section: Maybe the Paradigm Needs To Be Changed A Little So That Relmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The cultural politics of environmental water management in Australia

Jackson¹

2015

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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Australian water policy is a world leader in the area of environmental water management, having established a legal requirement to provide environmental flows in all jurisdictions. Indigenous advocates are closely examining the various policy options developed to acquire water for the environment for their social justice potential. In the pursuit of opportunities to secure water for Indigenous use, they argue that instruments that deliver water to the environment could serve as model institutions through which to redress the historical neglect of Indigenous water rights and the transparently inequitable distribution of water. Deploying a political strategy that is seen by some Indigenous groups as analogous to the struggle for recognition of the rights of aquatic ecosystems to water, considerable effort is going to the development of water entitlements to protect 'culture' (termed 'cultural flows') and tradeable entitlements under the control of Indigenous communities. In water scarce and over-allocated regions, market-based water buy-back programs are perhaps more politically feasible than claims to water based on human-rights norms. This paper will describe the Indigenous water rights strategies developing in Australia under neoliberal environmental governance regimes, showing how influential the discourse of environmental flows and marketization have been on attitudes to water, water distribution, definitions of water rights and notions of justice in water governance. Grounded in political ecology, the analysis will reveal cultural biases in the environmental water management sector and the consequences for minority groups seeking to have their water needs met and their distinct ontological perspectives on water recognised.

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Section: Trends In Australia Water Resource Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…How effective these steps will be in restoring river health remains a crucial question. Critics have argued that 3000 GL will restore river health only from poor to moderate [12].…”

Section: Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Water Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Maybe the Paradigm Needs To Be Changed A Little So That Relmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The cultural politics of environmental water management in Australia

Jackson¹

2015

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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“…This suggests that adaptation measures need to be based on no regrets and robust adaptation measures that may offer benefits under a range of climatic outcomes rather than expecting the further climatic modeling will provide precise answers. Standard risk management practice would advise adoption of affordable measures that can reduce the risks arising from less likely but more catastrophic conditions, such as extreme drought . In preparing the Basin Plan, the Authority commented in 2010 that: ‘While there is uncertainty associated with different predictions of the magnitude of climate change effects by 2030, there is general agreement that surface‐water availability across the entire Basin is more likely to decline, with Basin‐wide change of 10% less water predicted’ (Ref , p. 33).…”

Section: Basin Climate Change and Water Projectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Authority proposed to reallocate 3% of this consumptive water to offset climate change impacts in the life of the Plan. The amount was based on CSIRO's ‘median’ projection and assumed that water availability would fall by 12% from 1990–2030, and that this could be halved to reflect the remaining years of this period, then halved again to reflect the intended life of the first Plan from 2012 to 2021 …”

Section: Mechanisms For Adapting To Change In Water Availabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons from adaptation to sustain freshwater environments in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia

Pittock

2013

WIREs Climate Change

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Governance of Australia's Murray-Darling Basin (the Basin) is frequently lauded as an example to other river managers globally. Freshwater environments in the Basin are particularly vulnerable to water scarcity and change. In this paper, governmental responses are assessed to draw global lessons on climate change adaptation for rivers. A range of climate change adaptation measures for freshwater ecosystem conservation in the Basin are outlined namely: higher, long-term allocations of water to the environment; reviewing water allocation on a cyclical basis; allocating an equal or greater share of available water to the environment in dry years; and environmental works and measures to use less water to conserve wetlands. Examples of poor translation of science into policy that do not adequately consider the risks, costs, and benefits of adaptation interventions are explored. Adaptation policy in the Basin illustrates the risks of heavy reliance on infrastructure, of the high costs of trade-offs between environmental measures versus socio-economic and political concerns, and of dependence on too few measures. Lessons include the need for rigorous evaluation of risks, costs, and benefits to minimize perverse outcomes, and for adequate incentives and penalties for implementation of adaptation policies across governance scales. It is concluded that rather than a focus on only a few interventions, such as environmental flows, better adaptation practice requires deployment of a suite of different but complementary measures that spreads risk and maximizes resilience to climate variability and change.

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Opportunities and challenges for water‐dependent protected area management arising from water management reform in the Murray–Darling Basin: a case study from the Macquarie Marshes in Australia

Berney

Hosking²

2016

Aquatic Conservation

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1. In dryland environments, freshwater ecosystems often suffer extensive degradation through habitat modification and water regime changes. The Macquarie Marshes are located in the Murray-Darling Basin in south-eastern Australia. They are an example of an ecosystem that has experienced significant degradation in recent decades owing to upstream water diversions. Recent reforms of water management in the Murray-Darling Basin have attempted to balance environmental needs against consumptive uses of water.2. This paper examines the role a protected area has played in conserving the Macquarie Marshes freshwater ecosystem and discusses how Murray-Darling Basin water reform, together with social expectations of public land managers, have had impacts on the management of the Macquarie Marshes Nature Reserve.3. Protected areas may limit adverse impacts on habitat associated with local-scale agricultural production but struggle without formal water management arrangements to protect water-dependent ecosystems from threats operating at a catchment scale. Protected area managers balance demands from stakeholders to address local issues, such as fire management and geomorphic changes, against contributing to the achievement of environmental goals in a water planning system that operates at the catchment scale.4. European settlement and water resource development has marginalized local Aboriginal people from any role in land and water management activities. The water reforms have given them more opportunities for involvement in decision-making processes, but opportunities for increased access to water for cultural and spiritual purposes remain limited. Protected areas offer a means of providing greater access for Aboriginal people to their ancestral lands.5. The strategies and processes developed to maintain and enhance the Macquarie Marshes exemplify the evolution in understanding of freshwater ecosystem protection in Australia, and are relevant globally to water resource management in complex social-ecological systems.

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Freshwater Ecosystem Conservation: Principles versus policy

Cited by 8 publications

References 11 publications

The cultural politics of environmental water management in Australia

The cultural politics of environmental water management in Australia

Lessons from adaptation to sustain freshwater environments in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia

Opportunities and challenges for water‐dependent protected area management arising from water management reform in the Murray–Darling Basin: a case study from the Macquarie Marshes in Australia

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