Northern Australia aquatic ecological assets
Project details
| Objective: | To map, classify, assess and prioritise aquatic ecological assets across northern Australia including a trial of the High Conservation Value Aquatic Ecosystems framework |
| Funding: | $1.175 million plus applicable GST |
| Jurisdiction: | Northern Australia |
| Commencing: | July 2009 |
| Completion: | August 2010 |
Map courtesy of DEWHA
The Northern Australia Water Futures Assessment (NAWFA) is a multidisciplinary program being delivered jointly by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts and the National Water Commission. The objective is to provide an enduring knowledge base to inform decisions about development and protection of northern Australia's water resources, so that any development proceeds in an ecologically, culturally and economically sustainable manner.
Development schemes must also be consistent with the principles of the National Water Initiative (NWI).
The aim is to understand the key water-dependent ecological assets across northern Australia and gain an understanding of the risks to those assets arising from hydrologic changes due to water resource development or climate change.
An important element of the program is to trial the draft national High Conservation Value Aquatic Ecosystems (HCVAE) framework across northern Australia.
About the project
The project has been incorporated into the Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge (TRaCK) research program and will:
- map all the aquatic ecosystems across Northern Australia
- establish an expert scientific panel to oversee the project
- assess the aquatic ecosystems by trialling draft High Conservation Value Aquatic Ecosystems (HCVAE) criteria and other factors
- develop a final assessment table/matrix and identify specific knowledge/information needs for each asset
- assess the effectiveness and applicability of the draft HCVAE criteria and the processes/tools used during the research project and make recommendations regarding improvements
- prioritise a subset of nationally significant HCVAE to target for future investment
- produce multiple reporting products for a range of target audiences.
Project benefits
The project will provide an understanding of the risks to key water dependent ecological assets across northern Australia arising from changes in the hydrological regime.