reservation of important wetlands james fitzsimons 1,2 & hugh robertson 1,3 1 school of life...
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Reservation of important wetlandsReservation of important wetlands
James Fitzsimons1,2 & Hugh Robertson1,3
1 School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University2 The Nature Conservancy
3 NZ Department of Conservation
Recent experiences in conservation Recent experiences in conservation planning and practical implementation planning and practical implementation
in Victoriain Victoria
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OverviewOverview
• Process for assessing conservation status, reserve design and Process for assessing conservation status, reserve design and level of protection of wetlandslevel of protection of wetlands
• Changes in wetland reservation in northern VictoriaChanges in wetland reservation in northern Victoria
• Challenges to establishing freshwater protected areasChallenges to establishing freshwater protected areas
• Policy dilemmas, decisions and debatesPolicy dilemmas, decisions and debates
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Freshwater Reserves
• National and State commitments to the ‘Establishment of a Comprehensive, Adequate & Representative (CAR) reserve system’
• Recent reviews suggest Australia lacks an representative freshwater reserve system
• Little quantitative analysis on the reservation of freshwater ecosystems
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Objectives
• Investigate whether there are biases in the reservation of different types of wetlands
• Investigate whether there are biases in the types of reserves applied to wetlands
• Evaluate the influence of wetland reserve design on the conservation of freshwater ecosystems
• Compare these reservation variables, before and after a strategic public land use assessment
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VEAC River Red Gum study area
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VEAC River Red Gum study area
Melbourne.
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River Red Gum Forests Investigation
• Area of River Red Gum Forests investigation = 1,220,000 ha
• Wetland area prior to European settlement = 145,000 ha
• Extant wetland area = 99,700 ha
• Current wetland area in Reserves = 27,300 ha
• Recommended area in Reserves = 47,000 ha
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0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
Freshw ater meadow Shallow freshw atermarsh
Deep freshw atermarsh
Permanent openfreshw ater
Semi-permanent saline Permanent saline
Wetland type
Are
a (
ha
)
Pre-1750 wetland
Extant wetland
Wetlands in current reserves
Wetlands in recommended reserves
Depletion and reservation of different wetland types in northern Victoria
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0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
Freshw ater meadow Shallow freshw atermarsh
Deep freshw atermarsh
Permanent openfreshw ater
Semi-permanent saline Permanent saline
Wetland type
Are
a (
ha
)
Pre-1750 wetland
Extant wetland
Wetlands in current reserves
Wetlands in recommended reserves
Depletion and reservation of different wetland types in northern Victoria
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0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
Freshw ater meadow Shallow freshw atermarsh
Deep freshw atermarsh
Permanent openfreshw ater
Semi-permanent saline Permanent saline
Wetland type
Are
a (
ha
)
Pre-1750 wetland
Extant wetland
Wetlands in current reserves
Wetlands in recommended reserves
Depletion and reservation of different wetland types in northern Victoria
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Reservation of Important Wetlands- Ramsar and Directory
• DIWA and Ramsar
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
Ramsar Directory Impt Wetlands Aust
Are
a (
ha
)
Current
Proposed
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0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
National Park &State Park
Other 'ParksAct' Park
NatureConservation
Reserve
NaturalFeaturesReserve
Murray RiverReserve
Wildlife Reserve(Hunting)
Lake Reserve Regional Park State ForestSPZ
Reserve type
Are
a (h
a)
Existing
Recommended
Protected area Other reserve
Area of wetlands occurring in various reserve categories in northern Victoria
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0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
National Park &State Park
Other 'ParksAct' Park
NatureConservation
Reserve
NaturalFeaturesReserve
Murray RiverReserve
Wildlife Reserve(Hunting)
Lake Reserve Regional Park State ForestSPZ
Reserve type
Are
a (h
a)
Existing
Recommended
Protected area Other reserve
Area of wetlands occurring in various reserve categories in northern Victoria
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Lake Muirhead
Mount William Swamp
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Lake Muirhead
Mount William Swamp
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Lake Muirhead
Mount William Swamp
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Wetland reserve design in northern Victoria
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1-19% 20-39% 40-59% 60-79% 80-99% 100%
Percent of individual wetland reserved
% o
f to
tal
wet
lan
ds
rese
rved
current
recommended
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• Achieving a balance between conservation, recreation and resource use
• Anticipating impacts of climate change
• Anticipating future water availability and infrastructure to deliver environmental water to wetlands
• Recommendations for public land only
• Considered Victoria only
• Only recommendations! - VEAC has had a high success rate in the past (~95% recommendations accepted) but nothing guaranteed
• Government response may offer clues on current thinking – publicly available soon
Challenges for freshwater reservation Challenges for freshwater reservation in northern Victoriain northern Victoria
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Policy debates required
What activities or levels of consumptive use are acceptable in freshwater protected areas?
• Duck hunting?• Fishing?• Water extraction?
• Or are these debates irrelevant without water?