After just over two years of very intensive activity, the Hawkesbury-Nepean River Recovery Program (HNRRP) is coming to an end, having successfully delivered its intended outcomes on time and under budget. The final edition of HNRRP e-news reflects on some of the major achievements from the seven HNRRP projects and celebrates the great work that has been done to improve the health of the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment. The Hawkesbury-Nepean river system frames the western edge of the Sydney Basin and is one of New South Wales’ most important natural assets.
Invitation : The National Water Commission would be delighted if you are able to attend the managing wetlands workshop they are organising to assist wetland and environmental water management practitioners. To find out more, register and view the invitation, program and other relevant information visit:
Wetlands Workshop
If you know others who may be interested in this workshop, please circulate this invitation across your networks. Please register by 23 August 2011.
This workshop is a unique opportunity to learn about the new products and tools for wetland managers and the science underpinning them. The event is a chance for environmental water and wetland managers to engage with experts and scientists in the fields of wetland and environmental water management, explore topics of interest and gain hands-on experience of the tools. The opportunity to meet with peers and develop professional networks is also a primary goal for the workshop. This is an event not to be missed.
The new knowledge being shared at the workshop relates directly to the five priority knowledge issues identified by members of the Environmental Water Managers Community of Practice.
1. Managing environmental water allocations (Sulfidic Sediments in Inland Waterways – Baldwin and Nias)
2. Understanding and identifying flow/ecology relationships (Water regime of wetland and floodplain plants: a new source book – Roberts and Marston and Watering Floodplain Wetlands in the Murray-Darling Basin for Native Fish – Gawne and Beesley)
3. Using monitoring to improve flow/allocation regimes (Adaptive management of wetlands and rivers – the role of waterbirds as indicators – Kingsford and Framework and Assessment of Wetland and Riverine Health – An Australian Perspective – Taylor)
4. Managing water on a whole-of-catchment basis (Australian Environmental Water Management – highlights from the 2010 report)
5. Explaining outcomes and benefits of environmental water to the community (Cultural Flows: a Practitioners Perspective, Aboriginal Engagement in Water Planning and Recognising Ecosystem Service Benefits and Values in Water Planning)
This workshop is a free event, and numbers are limited so register early. If you would like more information email wetlands@nwc.gov.au.
The NSW Government has announced the start of new environmental flows for the Hawkesbury-Nepean River following the completion of a $39 million upgrade to dams and weirs across the system.
NSW Minister for Water, Phil Costa said the new environmental flows were a major investment in one of Sydney’s most important river systems and a key part of the NSW Government’s Metropolitan Water Plan to secure water for people and the environment.
“Overall the new environmental flow rules will see a tenfold increase in the amount of water released to restore the health of one of Sydney’s most iconic waterways,“ Minister Costa said.
To find out more read the NSW Government media release.
A new CSIRO report has been released that will help ensure the delivery of maximum ecological benefits from water allocations in the Murray-Darling Basin. Funded by the National Water Commission, the report; Ecological Outcomes of Flow Regimes in the Murray-Darling Basin, provides information that will assist water managers to improve and justify delivery of environmental water to ‘icon sites’, including wetlands of international significance such as the Macquarie Marshes, Gwydir Wetlands and Narran Lakes. To find out more click here.
Tags: CSIRO, Ecological, Environmental flows, Environmental water, Flow Inundation Model, Flow regimes, Gwydir, Macquarie Marshes, Murray-Darling Basin, Research, Science
News | Siwan Lovett | 
21 June 2010 12:05 pm | 
Comments (1)
One researcher argues that in order to turn around environmental degradation in the Murray-Darling basin, we need to change how we think about the fundamental relationships between people and planet.
We just don’t all come from Adam and Eve. We come from the simple dirt that we walk upon. And out spirits, and our Baiame, our makers, it’s all interconnected there. And people don’t even show respect, you know, for that. If our river and environment is dying, then I believe that we as a people are also dying.
These are the words of Lee Joachim, an Indigenous man of the Yorta Yorta people from Barmah, Victoria. His is one of many voices telling a similar story – the Murray River is dying. It is this all too common and tragic imagery that Dr Jessica Weir came across time and again while researching for her PhD in the Fenner School of Environment and Society at ANU.
Read more about Dr Jessica Weir’s research in James Giggacher’s article in ANU News.
