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Policy failurethe protection of representative
wetlands in Australia .

• Jon Nevill, B.E.Mech B.A. M.Env.Sc.
• Only One Planet Consulting

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The discussion

• the strategic and systematic development of
  networks of freshwater protected areas
• .
• international commitments
• national commitments
  important commitments not met
• State and Territory commitments
• the Victorian example case study
• un-used policy tools
  good ideas not put into practice
• strategic having clear national
  goalssystematic making the best use of a small
  reserve systemfreshwater inland aquatic.

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Success stories of the last three decades

• Control of point-source pollution affecting
  inland waters
• National river health monitoring and reporting
  programs
• Environmental flow delivery
• ICM / NRM regional management frameworks
• Expansion of the Ramsar network of reserves

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Supporting material
Australian freshwater protected area
resourcebook 2004 www.onlyoneplanet.com.au
Australian Journal of Environmental Management
(in press)
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Australias international commitments
representative FW protected area systems
Ramsar Wetlands Convention 1971 - applies to wet
lands wise use inventories outstanding
examples World Charter for Nature 1982 (res
UNGA) - protect representative terrestrial,
marine and freshwater ecosystems Convention on
Biological Diversity 1992- the development of
protected area networks including representative
terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems
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Australias international commitments
representative FW protected area systems
Ramsar Wetlands Convention 1971 -Wetlands are
areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether
natural or artificial, permanent or temporary,
with water that is static or flowing, fresh,
brackish or salt, including areas of marine water
the depth of which at low tide does not exceed
six metres.
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Australias national commitments representative
FW protected area systems

• 1992 InterGovernmental Agreement on the
  Environment
• 1992 National Strategy for Ecologically
  Sustainable Development, and
• 1996 National Strategy for the Conservation of
  Australia's Biological Diversity.

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State and territory commitments to representative
freshwater protected areas

• Victoria 1987
• New South Wales 1993
• Western Australia 1997
• Queensland 1999

• ACT 1998
• Tasmania 2000
• Northern Territory 2000
• South Australia 2003

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State commitmentsVictorian freshwater protected
areas
18 Heritage Rivers, 25 Natural Catchments,
Heritage Rivers Act 1992 15 Representative
Rivers (management plans) 11 Ramsar sites
159 sites listed in the Aust. Directory of
Important Wetlands. Wetland inventory
containing 13,114 sites river inventory exists.
Victoria is thought to contain around 17,000
wetlands over 1 ha. State Environment
Protection Policy (Waters of Victoria) 2003
provides additional protection to high
conservation value waters the only State
water quality policy to do this. Retention of
native vegetation (incl riparian and aquatic)
-- the only State no net loss has moved to an
offset net gain.
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State commitmentsVictorian freshwater protected
areas
18 Heritage Rivers, 25 Natural Catchments
The Heritage Rivers Act rests upon
Minister-endorsed management plans 18 draft
management plans published for comment in 1997
never finalised and endorsed 15
Representative Rivers (protection through
endorsed management plans) 11 draft management
plans published for comment in 1997 never
completed Representative rivers and wetlands
in protected area networks
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Australias national /State protected area
systems representative freshwater ecosystems
The existing reserve system includes some
important freshwater ecosystems, notably Ramsar
wetland sites, and freshwater ecosystems
contained within large terrestrial reserves.
However, no information (at a national scale)
is available on the extent to which
representative freshwater ecosystems are
protected. (way forward IFBRA ?) interim
freshwater bioregionalisation of Aust. The most
significant gaps probably relate to river and
aquifer ecosystems.
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Legislation to create aquatic protected areas
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Legislation to create aquatic protected areas
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Legislation to create aquatic protected areas
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Legislation to create aquatic protected areas
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Legislation to create aquatic protected areas
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Legislation to create aquatic protected areas
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Legislation to create aquatic protected areas
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Legislation to create aquatic protected areas
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Legislation to create aquatic protected areas
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Legislation to create aquatic protected areas
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Legislative tools developed in Qld, SA, NSW, Vic
and Tasmania NOT USED Why?

• Lack of broad community concern and support
• Farmers
• Indigenous groups
• Fishers
• Conservationists
• Lack of political will
• Bureaucratic inertia and poor strategic
  management.

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Meanwhile

• The 2002 National Audit of stream condition
  showed extensive and continuing degradation
  of Australian rivers, streams, lakes and
  wetlands
• Condition of subterranean waterways was not
  reported.
• There is an urgent need for a systematic
  expansion of Australian networks of inland
  aquatic protected areas - rivers
  - subterranean ecosystems.

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Comprehensive inventories of freshwater
ecosystems

• Inventories should cover wetlands rivers est
  uaries subterranean freshwater ecosystems.
• Inventories should contain information
  on location value, and condition.
• Inventories should be readily accessible to
  decision-makers and to stakeholders.

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Canadas Heritage Rivers System

• the Canadian Heritage Rivers System was created
• in 1984 by an agreement between the Federal
  and
• Provincial Governments.
• Listing as a heritage river is achieved by a
  two-step process nomination and designation.
• Nomination submissions must demonstrate that
  the river in question meets criteria for
  'outstanding value and has integrity.

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Canadas Heritage Rivers System

• Nominations must demonstrate strong community
  support, and must have the support of the
  provincial government.
• A nominated river will not be designated until
  a management plan has been developed which
  seeks to protect the values for which the
  river has been nominated.

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Cumulative effects of incremental
development Principles of management

• the need to establish strategic development caps
  on a catchment basis must be formally recognised
  in water resource legislation, and appropriate
  procedures must be established to set and
  implement the caps in consultation with
  stakeholders
• caps must be comprehensive and inclusive,
  stakeholder consultation programs must establish
  caps covering water extraction from both surface
  and groundwaters the construction of farm dams
  (number and volume), agricultural drains,
  impediments to fish passage, and levee banks the
  development of irrigated pasture the clearance
  of deep-rooted vegetation, and activities (eg
  stock access) capable of degrading riparian
  vegetation
• adaptive management principles must be rigorously
  incorporated within catchment planning processes
• the caps on development must be set well ahead of
  the point where the catchment enters a stressed
  or crisis situation and
• last but not least, the caps must be set in a
  precautionary way.

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Recommendations

• Ecosystem inventories and representative
  protected areas
• National protocols be established for the
  collection and storage of freshwater ecosystem
  data to support the development of nationally
  compatible ecosystem classifications and
  inventories.

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Recommendations

• Ecosystem inventories and representative
  protected areas
• National protocols be established for the
  collection and storage of freshwater ecosystem
  attribute data to support the development of
  nationally compatible ecosystem classifications
  and inventories.
• A national approach be developed to enable the
  identification of gaps in the existing protected
  area system relating specifically to freshwater
  ecosystems.

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Recommendations

• Ecosystem inventories and representative
  protected areas
• National protocols be established for the
  collection and storage of freshwater ecosystem
  attribute data to support the development of
  nationally compatible ecosystem classifications
  and inventories.
• A national approach be developed to enable the
  identification of gaps in the existing protected
  area system relating specifically to freshwater
  ecosystems.
• Programs be funded to establish and manage a
  comprehensive, adequate and representative
  network of inland aquatic protected areas
  (which would be developed as an outcome of the
  implementation of the first two
  recommendations).

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Recommendations

• The Canadian Heritage Rivers model
• 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.

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Recommendations

• Ramsar and national wetlands 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) and

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Recommendations

• Ramsar and national wetlands 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) and
• 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.

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Recommendations (continued)
These recommendations, we believe, should be
initiated within the cooperative frameworks of
the NRS and NRMMC, assisted by agencies such as
DAFF, DEH (wetlands program), the National Audit,
and Land and Water Australia (including
involvement by the National Rivers Consortium).