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CRC PUBLICATIONS |
Proceedings of First National Conference on Stream Management in Australia - Merrijig
Edited by
Ian Rutherfurd
Mark Walker
Publication Type:
Other
This is a publication of the initial CRC for Catchment Hydrology
CRC Program:
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Publication Keywords:
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Abstract / Summary:
Preface
River management is the art of human interference in streams systems to achieve some end. That end may be reduced flood frequency, improved habitat, improved fishing, reduced instability, or any number of other goals. The theme of
this inaugural stream management conference is the management of change in stream morphology. Although this is only one element in river and catchment management, it is a good place to start what we hope will be a regular
conference series.
In the past, in Australia, stream management has been very much a State responsibility, with little interaction between the States. This isolation is declining. There are papers in this volume dealing with stream management in every State and Territory, and this conference marks what is hoped will be increasing national cooperation in stream and catchment management. Furthermore, all of the authors in this volume would agree that these are exciting times for river managers in Australia. They are exciting because we have the convergence of four trends: first the waning of many forms of human impact on stream systems; second, an increasing understanding of stream processes; third, the rise of an holistic view of catchment management; and fourth, the decline of public involvement in the water industry,
coupled with a rise in local control of management priorities.
The 52 papers collected in these proceedings are loosely grouped into five themes that reflect these trends in stream management. Our understanding of stream erosion and sedimentation is improving. This is reflected in better understanding of the sources of sediment in a catchment, and the movement of sediment through various stores. Conceptual and numerical models are increasingly able to predict changes in these sources and sinks given a change of inputs (eg. a dam, gravel extraction, greenhouse effect, etc.).
We have a growing appreciation of the relative role of human impact (eg. clearing vegetation and channelisation) against the natural variation in the rates of erosion and sedimentation (eg. catastrophic floods).
Revegetation, particularly riparian vegetation, is becoming the primary tool in stream management, and research in this area is growing.
Restructuring of the water industry in Australia, and a redirection of public resources, has seen an increasing role for catchment-based community groups in stream management, and new roles for State government authorities.
Catchment-based management has also led to broader definitions of stream management. We have several ,: papers that discuss the resolution of conflicts around the use of land in catchments, and the allocation of
water in regulated systems.
It is also import& to consider the themes in stream management that are not well represented in this suite of conference papers. Of course, these absences may reflect the people attracted to the conference, but they are worth
noting. First, there is only one paper that considers the design of engineering structures for stream management. We suspect that if we had had this conference twenty years ago, it would have been dominated by such papers. Second,
apart from vegetation issues, there are few papers that consider the links between stream management and stream ecology. Again, we predict that if we had this conference in ten years time, such papers would be common, as stream
'restoration' becomes our management goal.
We would like to thank Michael O'Brien and Maureen Kemp of the Office of Continuing Education at Monash University who have tirelessly managed much of the conference administration, and assisted in the printing of these
proceedings.
Ian Rutherfurd
Mark Walker
Cooperative Research Centre for Catchment Hydrology
Monash University
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Centre Office:
CRC for Catchment Hydrology
Dept of Civil Engineering
Building 60
Monash University Vic 3800
Tel: +61 3 9905 2704
Fax: +61 3 9905 5033
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