AUSTRALIA’S AQUATIC AND WETLAND RESOURCES: THE CRITICAL CHALLENGES

Prepared by the Australian Society for Limnology (ASL)
February 2000

Priority Challenges

Australia has a poor record of managing and using aquatic and wetland resources. Throughout the country, aquatic habitats such as rivers, swamps and lakes have been degraded and destroyed for short-term unsustainable gain. This short-sighted behaviour has placed the well-being of future generations of Australians in jeopardy.

Maintaining Australia’s aquatic habitats and their associated biodiversity in a healthy state is fundamental to their existence and our well-being. In a healthy state, aquatic and wetland resources can also provide many goods and services of great benefit to society that have often gone unheralded (apart from a water supply). These goods and services include:

  • Products –fisheries, agricultural; foraging and forest; and wildlife resources; recreation, ecotourism.
  • Functions – flood control; nutrient, sediment and contaminant retention; shoreline stabilisation and erosion mitigation; stabilisation of local climatic conditions; and food web support.
  • Attributes –unique biodiversity, cultural and historical features.

To stop and even reverse the destruction of our natural heritage is the responsibility of all sectors of society. Policy makers, scientists, and the managers and users of wetlands, lakes, streams and other aquatic habitats have a particular obligation to find appropriate solutions that balance the provision of goods and services with ecosystem protection.

This document lists nine critical challenges that require urgent action to stop and reverse the loss and degradation of Australia’s aquatic resources and habitats. Local or regional priorities may differ, but at a national level the challenges are clear. The nine challenges are presented as being of equal urgency and importance. We urge you to consider this list and take effective actions, coordinated management and research to ensure that our legacy is not one of further loss and degradation of these habitats.

The Australian Society for Limnology

The Australian Society for Limnology (ASL) is an Australian-based scientific society whose focus is the study and management of inland waters. Established in 1961, it has a current membership of over 500 researchers, managers, engineers, teachers and tertiary level students from all states and territories. The charter of the ASL is to further our understanding of Australia’s inland waters and to promote their wise use and sustainable management. From this, the society contributes to the continued existence of this valued resource and the maintenance and enhancement of the quality of life for all Australians.

The Critical Challenges

The Challenge - Provision of surface and groundwater for environmental benefits

The Problem – Excessive quantities of water have been diverted from aquatic habitats by dam building, irrigation and urban water wastage without regard to the maintenance of the biological features that provide many goods and services to society. Altered flooding and drainage patterns have led to the significant loss of habitats and species.

Key Needs – Knowledge of the ecological responses to variations in flow regimes; Knowledge of the water requirements for aquatic species; Techniques for determining appropriate water allocations; Systems for the inclusion of environmental factors in water allocation decisions.

The Challenge – Prevention of pollution and contamination of aquatic habitats

The Problem – Aquatic habitats are still receiving excessive amounts of nutrients, toxic chemicals and other pollutants from direct and indirect sources in urban, industrial and rural settings.

Key Needs – Knowledge of ecological responses to nutrients and pollutants; Knowledge of pollution pathways in aquatic systems; Techniques for rapid and early warning systems; Techniques for rehabilitation of polluted habitats; Techniques for low-cost treatment methods for waste.

The Challenge – Prevention and reduction of salinisation of wetlands

The Problem – Excessive land clearance and irrigation have led to raised watertables, increasing the amount of salt entering wetlands and their associated floodplains. Saline disposal schemes directly or indirectly can add salty water to wetlands, or can otherwise alter wetland function through hydrological change.

Key Needs –Knowledge of ecological responses to salt; Techniques to lower watertables; Techniques for the sustainable disposal of salt groundwater; Techniques for rehabilitation of polluted habitats.

The Challenge – Prevention of further drainage and in-filling of wetlands

The Problem – Drainage and in-filling still continues at an unacceptable rate, and directly leads to the loss of habitats and biodiversity. The disruption of flows and increased flooding leads to lower retention rates of sediments and nutrients.

Key Needs – Techniques for the rehabilitation of degraded habitats; Systems for inclusion of environmental factors in wetland management decisions.

The Challenge – Management of grazing in wetlands

The Problem – Many of our coastal and inland wetlands and their associated floodplains continue to be overgrazed by introduced stock, leading to the loss of native species and their habitats through the loss of native vegetation, pugging, erosion and slumping of levees and banks, and localised pollution.

Key Needs –Techniques for the rehabilitation of degraded habitats; Systems for the analysis and management of grazing pressures (including wetland protection from grazing at times of vulnerability).

The Challenge – Restoration and protection of Riparian (waterside) vegetation

The Problems – Grazing and agricultural practices have degraded the protective strip of vegetation around wetlands that is essential for healthy ecosystem functioning. This has led to a reduction of carbon inputs into wetlands, increased nutrient loads, bank compaction and slumping and increased sediment loads.

Key Needs – Knowledge of nutrient and energy budgets; Techniques for the rehabilitation of degraded habitats.

The Challenge – Prevention and control of invasive species

The Problem – The uncontrolled spread of invasive species has led to the loss and degradation of habitats and species, the disruption of nutrient and energy pathways, altered fire regimes and increased erosion

Key Needs – Knowledge of the ecological impacts and information on the biology of invasive species; Techniques for cost effective control; Techniques for rapid assessment; Systems for early warning and prevention of invasions.

The Challenge – Mitigation of climate change and sea level rise

The Problem – Predicted climate changes are likely to lead to significant loss and degradation of habitats and species through rapid changes in water regime.

Key Needs – Knowledge of climate modelling and prediction; Techniques for holistic vulnerability assessments; Techniques for mitigation measures; Systems for improved data holdings; Systems for legislation and incentives.
The Challenge – Development of rigorous inventory, assessment and monitoring protocols

The Problem – The inventory base for many aquatic habitats is poor, and assessment and monitoring programs, data management and dissemination, have often been inadequate to supply sufficient information or make useful predictions.

Key Needs – Knowledge of priority assessments of floodplain and coastal habitats; Techniques for rigorous monitoring designs; Techniques and Systems for standardised procedures for collecting, holding and disseminating information; Systems for assessing ecological health and sustainability.