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The Feasibility and Practicalities of Establishing a System of Freshwater Protected Areas in the Murray-Darling Basin - a Hypothetical Case Study

Jim Barrett

Murray-Darling Basin Commission, CANBERRA CITY, AUSTRALIA

Theme: TH5

The Murray-Darling Basin Commission is an intergovernmental commission that provides advice on the planning, development and management of the Basin's resources. As one of its primary responsibilities, the Commission has prepared the Native Fish Management Strategy (NFMS). One of the aims of the strategy is to redress the imbalance between the needs of native fish and other legitimate demands on water resources. Two pervasive themes of the NFMS are the need to establish demonstration reaches that convey to communities the positive benefits of rehabilitation efforts, and a comprehensive and adequate system of freshwater protected areas. Demonstration 'rehabilitation' sites on priority river reaches are important tools to engage community support, ownership and involvement. Currently, there is a degree of public scepticism towards 'locking up' parts of inland river systems as reserves. However, could a demonstration area that still provides for 'wise use' as defined under both IUCN categories for protected areas, and RAMSAR criteria, be the driver for declaration as a protected area? If the community can see the cumulative benefits of a number of concurrent rehabilitation efforts, such as the provision of fish ladders, re-snagging, alien species management and environmental flows, then it is more likely to embrace the notion of a riverine 'protected area' that is better equipped to cope with the inevitable demands of upstream and downstream use? The above hypothesis is applied to two case studies, a wetland along the River Murray system and a river reach. Community attitudes, legislative requirements, political realities and resources are considered in discussing the feasibility and practicality of using demonstration reaches to promote the declaration of a protected area.