Avoid irretrievable Ensure Maintain ecological Improve the health loss of or damage environmental health and and resilience of to, environmental assets maintain resilience: water-dependent assets: their basic ecosystems: Enable growth, functions and − Avoid critical loss of reproduction and Enable growth, resilience: − − species, communities, small-scale reproduction and and ecosystems. Support the recruitment for a scale recruitment for a − survival and viability diverse range of flora diverse range of flora Maintain critical − of threatened and fauna. and fauna. refuges. species and Promote low-lying Promote higher communities. − − outcomes irretrievable floodplain-river floodplain-river − Avoid damage or Maintain connectivity. connectivity. − catastrophic events. environmental assets Support Support high-flow and ecosystem − − Management Allow drying to − river and river and floodplain functions, including occur, where floodplain functions. functions. by allowing drying to appropriate, but occur consistent with relieve severe natural unnaturally prolonged cycles. dry periods. Maintain refuges. − Rationale and process In putting together the Priorities for 2013-14, the Authority has taken a Basin-scale approach which adds value to current environmental watering activities without duplicating them. This philosophy encompasses moving the concept of environmental watering, from just the delivery of a volume of water at specific sites towards the preferred concept of a flow regime as near natural as possible within river systems. The Priorities have been developed using both the conventional triage approach to environmental watering, whereby assets and functions are prioritised by their urgency of watering, as well as drawing on a restoration ecology approach. Restoration ecology emphasises providing environmental water to those assets and functions already in good condition where a significant positive response to environmental water is most likely.
Management outcomes Avoid irretrievable loss of or damage to, environmental assets: − Avoid critical loss of species, communities, and ecosystems. − Maintain critical refuges. − Avoid irretrievable damage or catastrophic events. − Allow drying to occur, where appropriate, but relieve severe unnaturally prolonged dry periods. Ensure environmental assets maintain their basic functions and resilience: − Support the survival and viability of threatened species and communities. − Maintain environmental assets and ecosystem functions, including by allowing drying to occur consistent with natural cycles. − Maintain refuges. Maintain ecological health and resilience: − Enable growth, reproduction and small-scale recruitment for a diverse range of flora and fauna. − Promote low-lying floodplain-river connectivity. − Support river and floodplain functions. Improve the health and resilience of water-dependent ecosystems: − Enable growth, reproduction and recruitment for a diverse range of flora and fauna. − Promote higher floodplain-river connectivity. − Support high-flow river and floodplain functions. Rationale and process In putting together the Priorities for 2013-14, the Authority has taken a Basin-scale approach which adds value to current environmental watering activities without duplicating them. This philosophy encompasses moving the concept of environmental watering, from just the delivery of a volume of water at specific sites towards the preferred concept of a flow regime as near natural as possible within river systems. The Priorities have been developed using both the conventional triage approach to environmental watering, whereby assets and functions are prioritised by their urgency of watering, as well as drawing on a restoration ecology approach. Restoration ecology emphasises providing environmental water to those assets and functions already in good condition where a significant positive response to environmental water is most likely. scale
EWP-Basin-Annual-Environmental-Watering-Priorities.docx