SECURING THE NORTH: Australia's Tropical Rivers - wwf - Australia

SECURING THE NORTH: Australia’s Tropical Rivers© Commonwealth of Australia — ACRES, Geoscience AustraliaA Statement by The Australian Tropical Rivers GroupThe views expressed in this statement are solely thoseof the Australian Tropical Rivers Group, an independentgroup of Australian researchers. The statement reflectsthe collective views of the members of the group basedupon their extensive research experience and knowledgeof river ecology and northern Australia. The statementdoes not necessarily reflect the views or policies ofWWF Australia. WWF Australia’s role is to convenethe group and publish the statement.Dr Stuart Blanch is Convenor of the AustralianTropical Rivers Group. He is a Freshwater Managerwith WWF Australia.The members of the Australian Tropical Rivers Group are:Professor Angela Arthington, Centre for RiverineLandscapes, Griffith University, BrisbaneProfessor Stuart Bunn, Director, Centre for RiverineLandscapes, Griffith University, BrisbaneDr Max Finlayson, National Centre for TropicalWetlands Research, DarwinProfessor Stephen Garnett, Professor of TropicalKnowledge, Charles Darwin University, DarwinProfessor Arthur Georges, Director, Applied EcologyResearch Group, University of CanberraDr Richard Kingsford, Principal Research Scientist,NSW Department of Environment and Conservation,SydneyProfessor Richard Pearson, School of TropicalBiology, James Cook University, TownsvilleProfessor Robert Wasson, Deputy Vice-ChancellorResearch, Charles Darwin University, DarwinDr John Williams, Former Chief, CSIRO Land andWater, and Member of The Wentworth Group ofConcerned ScientistsThe Australian Tropical Rivers Group welcomesdiscussion regarding Australia’s tropical rivers, andseeks to work in partnership with all stakeholders tosecure the future of these nationally and internationallyimportant assets. If you would like to discuss Australia’stropical rivers with the group, please contact StuartBlanch on (02) 9281 5515 or sblanch@wwf.org.au.The statement was launched at the InternationalRiversymposium 2004, Brisbane, 1 September 2004.Reference to the statement should be in the form:Australian Tropical Rivers Group (2004). Securing theNorth: Australia’s Tropical Rivers. A Statement by theAustralian Tropical Rivers Group. Published by WWFAustralia, Sydney, 4pp.Securing the North: Australia’s Tropical Rivers 1

SECURING THE NORTH: Australia’s Tropical RiversDarwinArnhem LandGulf ofCarpentariaCapeYorkThe KimberleyCairnsBroomeRockhamptonFigure 1: Location of Australia’s tropical rivers.© Commonwealth of Australia — ACRES, Geoscience AustraliaPreambleAustralia’s tropical rivers are unique and form one ofthe last great river networks in less-impacted conditionin the world today. Together, they are an internationallysignificant asset. They form a complex matrix acrossa comparatively ecologically healthy area of the continent— up the Great Barrier Reef coast, Cape York, aroundthe Gulf of Carpentaria, across rugged Arnhem Landin the Top End, to the ancient Kimberley (see Figure 1).Australia’s tropical rivers and their wetlands, floodplainsand estuaries are the most biologically diverse andhealthy aquatic ecosystems in Australia today. Riversystems winding across the north of Australia, roughlybetween Rockhampton and Broome, span over eightymajor river basins covering approximately 150 millionhectares. Rivers in approximately 80 per cent of thesecatchments flow freely without dams or significantwater resource development, and drain mainly unclearedcatchments that largely retain their ecological integrityand species diversity.These northern Australian river systems stand in starkcontrast to many of those in the south, particularly theMurray–Darling Basin, where river health, native fishstocks and floodplains have deteriorated to a muchgreater extent. Only two of twenty-two large riversystems in the Murray–Darling Basin flow freely.Land clearing there and in southwest Western Australiahas removed billions of trees, causing millions ofhectares of dryland salinity and poor water quality.Australia’s tropical rivers form part of a larger networkof river systems across Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste(or East Timor) and Indonesia that discharge freshwater,nutrients, pollutants and sediments into the sharedmarine ecosystems of the Arafura and Timor Seas(see Figure 2). Maintaining the ecological integrity andfisheries productivity of these partially-enclosed seasrequires coordinated management of contributing riversand catchments across the four littoral States.The opportunity now exists to get the knowledge andmanagement right to avoid repeating the mistakes of theMurray–Darling Basin across Australia’s north. Australialiterally can not afford to repeat the mistakes of theMurray–Darling Basin in northern Australia, which maycost current and future generations tens of billions ofdollars to repair, if at all possible.With tropical rivers holding 70 per cent of Australia’savailable fresh water, and increasing restrictions onirrigation water use and land clearing in the south, theyface significant pressures for extraction and agriculturaldevelopment. Their natural flows are already used tomaintain the habitats, biodiversity and productivity ofriver and marine ecosystems — flows to the sea are not‘wasted’ as sometimes asserted.The monsoonal weather patterns of northern Australiacreate one of the most seasonal climates in the world.These climatic extremes produce torrential rain and floodsin the wet, but parch the land during the long dry.Reduced availability of freshwater during the dry has thepotential to affect the life cycles of many aquatic andterrestrial species. Accordingly, sustaining monsoonallyproducedflow patterns is crucial to the survival of speciesand the ecological integrity of Australia’s tropical rivers.Fish, freshwater turtles, waterbirds and water plantsare just several of many sources of food and items ofcultural significance provided by Australia’s tropicalrivers that are important to Indigenous communities.Aboriginal communities own and manage much of theland in the catchments of these rivers, and as TraditionalOwners are culturally responsible for their care.Australia’s tropical rivers support over 100 species offreshwater fish and millions of waterbirds that feed inwetlands and estuaries during their southward migrationfrom the northern hemisphere. Significant recreationaland commercial fisheries depend on rivers, such as thosefor barramundi and prawns; they are worth tens ofSecuring the North: Australia’s Tropical Rivers 2

IndonesiaPapuaNew GuineaTimor LesteArafura SeaTimor SeaCoral SeaAustraliaFigure 2. Location of Australia’s tropical rivers in a regional context, showing littoral States of the shared marine ecosystems of the Arafuraand Timor Seas. Littoral States whose rivers contribute water, nutrients, pollutants and sediments to the partially-enclosed Arafura andTimor Seas are shown. Terrestrial inputs and freshwater flows from the land-masses bordering the two seas potentially affect the ecologyand productivity of these shared marine environments.millions of dollars annually. Tourism based on riversand the goods and services they provide earns hundredsof millions of dollars each year. Notable examples arethe World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park andits internationally important wetlands, the Wet Tropics,and the gorges and estuaries of the Kimberley.nationally and internationally important assets aspressure mounts for inappropriate development acrossnorthern Australia. The challenge exists to generateand apply the knowledge needed to ensure that riverand catchment management sustains the ecologicalvalues of these assets for current and future generations.Policy makers, Indigenous communities, landholders,and others face significant challenges to secure theseTowards a Vision for Australia’s Tropical RiversThe Australian Tropical Rivers Group believes the following statements to be true.Ecological values of Australia’s tropical rivers1. All Australian tropical rivers are ecologicallysignificant and provide habitat for significant numbersof native plant and animal species, many of which donot live in the south. Tropical rivers deliver a wide rangeof ecosystem services such as clean water, regulationof the global hydrological cycle, production of food(e.g. fish, prawns, floodplain vegetation for stock grazing,waterbirds), recreation and tourism opportunities.Geographical and ecological context2. Australia shares responsibility for the management ofthe partially enclosed Arafura and Timor Seas with PapuaNew Guinea, Timor Leste and Indonesia. The role offreshwater flows and catchment inputs from tropical riversacross the four littoral States in sustaining the biodiversityand productivity of these marine environments is not fullyknown, but may be critical. By way of example, theeffects of unsustainable catchment use on the GreatBarrier Reef in the Coral Sea are well documented andsubstantial, and already entail massive repair costs.Science, knowledge, traditional knowledgesystems and decision-making3. Science can inform and support the continuingmanagement and development of policy for Australia’stropical rivers. Science of the highest quality needs tobe a fundamental basis for decision making. Knowledgegathered regarding Australia’s tropical rivers is revealingextraordinary species diversity and abundance, yetrigorous scientific knowledge is lacking for most rivers.Lessons learned in the Murray–Darling Basin, southwestWestern Australia, Queensland’s tropical rivers and theOrd River, clearly demonstrate the principle thatunsustainable catchment management can lead toirreversible and expensive river degradation.Coordinated investment in research and management ofAustralia’s tropical rivers is imperative if sound decisionsare to be made about their use. Knowledge generatedfrom Australian and international research needs to beapplied to Australia’s tropical rivers where appropriate.Aboriginal people have lived along Australia’s tropicalrivers for thousands of years and continue to care forthem as they develop their own aspirations for landSecuring the North: Australia’s Tropical Rivers 3

SECURING THE NORTH: Australia’s Tropical Riversmanagement. Management decisions need to take intoaccount Traditional Knowledge Systems in culturallyappropriate ways. Managers, policy-makers, scientistsand the rest of the Australian community need to formpartnerships with Aboriginal communities to understandtheir vast knowledge of Australia’s tropical rivers.Knowledge needs to be communicated to the broadercommunity to assist them in shaping the managementof Australia’s tropical rivers.Our way forwardThe Australian Tropical Rivers Group will work inpartnership with all stakeholders as it contributes todiscussion and planning regarding the managementof tropical rivers. The group believes that a visionfor Australia’s tropical rivers must be knowledgebasedif it is to secure the future of these nationallyand internationally important assets.Management4. Australia’s tropical rivers need to be understood andmanaged at appropriate scales, recognising the criticalrole that longitudinal and lateral connectivity playswithin catchments. This includes freshwater and nutrientflows from upper catchments to estuaries and the marineenvironment, from rivers to floodplains and wetlands,and between groundwater and surface water. Biologicalconnectivity must also be understood at the appropriatespatial and temporal scales, such as the reliance ofwildlife on tropical rivers during their migration acrossAustralia’s northern savannas and their strict dependenceon available freshwater during the dry.The ecological integrity of Australia’s tropical riversis threatened by a range of factors, including climatechange, invasive species, excessive stock grazing, alteredfire regimes, mining, broad scale land clearing and waterresources development. Knowledge must underpin themanagement of these threats to ensure ecologicalprocesses are sustained, and recovered where feasible.All of Australia’s tropical rivers require activemanagement to sustain or recover their ecologicalvalues. Targeted protective management is required forrivers, river reaches, floodplains, wetlands and estuariesthat are particularly valuable assets. Various proposalsand programs exist to implement such an approach,including the Council of Australian Government’sNational Water Initiative and the Queensland WildRivers policy. These programs should be knowledgebasedand be developed through close consultation andpartnership with communities and landholders,particularly Traditional Owners.First published in September 2004 by WWF Australia©WWF Australia 2004. All Rights Reserved.Authors: Angela Arthington, Stuart Bunn, Max Finlayson,Stephen Garnett, Arthur Georges, Richard Kingsford,Richard Pearson, Robert Wasson and John Williams.WWF AustraliaGPO Box 528Sydney NSW AustraliaTel: +612 9281 5515Fax: +612 9281 1060www.wwf.org.auenquiries@wwf.org.auFor copies of this report or a full list of WWF Australiapublications on a wide range of conservation issues,please contact us on publications@wwf.org.au orcall 1800 032 551.Securing the North: Australia’s Tropical Rivers 4