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What are our Options for the Protection of Freshwater Ecosystems and the Services on which we Rely for Sustaining Human Life?

Michelle Handley and Denis Landenbergue

World Wide Fund for Nature Australia, WEMBLEY, AUSTRALIA

Theme: TH5

Freshwater ecosystems comprise an extraordinary proportion of the world's biodiversity and are vital for the sustenance of human life. Yet freshwater ecosystems remain one of the most threatened habitats in the world. Half of the world's wetlands have been destroyed in the last 100 years; in some regions of Australia this figure is as high as 85%. Despite this clear conservation imperative, the use of protected areas to conserve biodiversity is further advanced in terrestrial and marine environments than in freshwater. The size of many freshwater ecosystems, and of their catchments, means that they commonly cross a number of ownership and jurisdictional boundaries. This in itself creates complexities in achieving their protection, which is exacerbated by their occurrence across the transition from inland to coastal and marine waters. As such, it is often difficult to classify and delineate freshwater ecosystems for their protection and to deliver conservation at a level that matches the scale of the issues faced. This contribution points to a number of policy tools that are currently available globally, and in Australia, for the protection of freshwater ecosystems and asserts that the Ramsar Convention offers a most effective tool with which to build and maintain a network of freshwater ecosystems. While some seek new legislative options to protect Australian freshwater ecosystems, particularly rivers, we contend that a framework already exists under the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act. Now is not the time to look to the creation of new tools but how to apply those that exist. The case studies presented demonstrate the use of Ramsar Protected Areas as a catalyst for sustainable management at a catchment scale.