Lake Eyre Basin 2013 Ministers' Report to the Community

Australia’s unique, natural, desert river system – healthy environments, sustainable industries, vibrant communities, adaptive cultures

This page left blank in Word version

Contents

Message from the Ministerial Forum 6

From the Chairs 8

Boom and Bust: understanding what’s ‘normal’ in LEB river systems 9

Strategic Adaptive Management 11

2013 Biennial Conference 12

LEB Aboriginal Map and Booklet 13

New LEB website 13

Research links 14

People of the Basin 15

NRM around the regions 18

LEB Agreement enters the teenage years… 22

LEB issues making the news 23

Common abbreviations in this report

CAC / Community Advisory Committee
CMA / Catchment Management Authority
CSIRO / Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
DCQ / Desert Channels Queensland
LEB / Lake Eyre Basin
LEBRA / Lake Eyre Basin Rivers Assessment
NRM / Natural Resource Management
NSW / New South Wales
NT / Northern Territory
Qld / Queensland
SA / South Australia
SAM / Strategic Adaptive Management
SAP / Scientific Advisory Panel
the Agreement / Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement
TPC / Threshold of Potential Concern

www.lakeeyrebasin.gov.au

This page left blank in Word version

Message from the Ministerial Forum

Under the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) Intergovernmental Agreement, the Australian, Queensland, South Australian and Northern Territory governments are working together to protect and manage the Lake Eyre Basin’s water and related natural resources.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment,

Senator the Hon. Simon Birmingham (Chair)

Queensland Minister for Natural Resources and Mines,

the Hon. Andrew Cripps MP

South Australian Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation,

the Hon. Ian Hunter MLC

Northern Territory Minister for Land Resource Management,

the Hon. Willem Westra van Holthe MLA

The Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) Ministerial Forum is pleased to provide the fifth annual Ministers’ Report to the Community - an update of programs and collaborations in the Basin as part of the LEB Intergovernmental Agreement.

The primary purpose of the Agreement is to implement policies and strategies “to avoid or eliminate so far as reasonably practicable adverse cross-border impacts”.

To this end, one important objective of the Agreement is “to jointly promote and support the management of water and related natural resources through a cooperative approach between community, industry and other stakeholders, and all levels of government”.

A driving force in developing that cooperative approach has been the Five-Year Action Plan. As the Plan notes, it is a ‘living’ document that is reassessed annually by Ministers.

This year, priority activities have centred on three key Actions:

· improving governance outcomes to assist better decision making and implementation of priority Actions;

· monitoring the health of our wetlands and rivers through the LEB Rivers Assessment (LEBRA); and

· improving information sharing and staying connected within and beyond the Basin.

The preceding twelve months has been one of steady progress in these areas of the LEB Intergovernmental Agreement, thanks to the cooperative approach shown by a range of people and organisations, within and outside of government.

Another successful LEB Biennial Conference in September 2013 brought together stakeholders from many sectors and regions to share views and information about the natural, cultural and economic values of the Basin. The event celebrated the stories, experience and knowledge of the broad LEB community and culminated in a strong, mutual commitment to continue all possible efforts to protect the Basin’s values into the future.

LEBRA has continued this year to collect important data which will contribute toward our on-going condition assessment and adaptive management of the Basin. Regional natural resource management groups across the Basin have also made important contributions through on-ground management and community engagement programs.

In 2012, the traditional name of Lake Eyre, Kati Thanda, was recognised and is an important step in building awareness and acknowledgement of the region’s Aboriginal heritage and traditional owners, the Arabana people.

The development of alternative strategies to protect Queensland’s western rivers within the Lake Eyre Basin started in late 2012 with the formation of the Western Rivers Advisory Panel, which includes representatives of the LEB Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP).

In November 2013, the Ministerial Forum was briefed by the Queensland Minister on his Government’s proposed changes for management of Queensland’s LEB rivers, including the core principles of the management framework entailing the establishment of a Channel Country Protection Area and the prohibition of open cut mining in that Area. Queensland is sharing its data, modelling and proposed flow and trade conditions with Forum members and with the CAC and SAP, in order to better inform the continuing discussion towards successful, cooperative management of the water and related natural resources of the Basin.

All stakeholders need to remain alert to emerging issues that could adversely impact on the LEB and potentially threaten policies of the Ministerial Forum, adopted “to protect and maintain the ecological integrity and natural function of in-stream and floodplain ecosystems, and the viability of economic, social, cultural and other activities which do not threaten these environmental values.”

For our part, we are committed to working through these issues collaboratively with the clear purpose of maintaining the health and resilience of this unique ecosystem and the people who depend on it.

We take this opportunity to express our appreciation to members of the CAC and the SAP in providing quality advice over the last twelve months toward a sustainable future for the Basin.

From the Chairs

Chair of the Community Advisory Committee, Angus Emmott

Following several years of high rainfall and floods in the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB), the past year has returned us to the harsher end of the boom-bust cycle, with much of the Basin now in drought, and with the pastoral industry especially facing difficult times. As demand on the water, mineral and energy resources of the Basin continues to grow, together with our knowledge of its astonishing ecological and biophysical processes, so too does our responsibility to nurture strong relationships between sectors, industries, communities, interest groups and governments. Amidst the short term pressures continually exerted by business and political cycles, we know that it is only through inclusive, respectful communication and careful, joint planning that the landscapes and water of the Basin can be utilised and managed for the truly long term.

2013 has seen the LEB Community Advisory Committee continue to seek a growing consensus around a shared vision for the long-term future of the Basin. The 6th LEB Biennial Conference in September 2013 showcased the knowledge, passion and commitment of a remarkable diversity of people and groups in the Basin, and reminded us again that sound planning requires the input of multiple voices. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to once again benefit from a strong and growing Aboriginal voice in this conversation, and the Community Advisory Committee welcomes the official dual-naming of Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre as a reminder of these Aboriginal roots in the LEB landscape.

The Strategic Adaptive Management approach endorsed by the LEB Ministerial Forum in 2010 has required us to strive for stronger links with industries in the Basin, and to better connect our monitoring and knowledge with the decisions made in the Basin on behalf of the Australian community. As we grapple with the need to build these connections and relationships, it is clear that the LEB Intergovernmental Agreement remains a stand-out, world-class framework for cross-border and cross-sector communication and negotiation. The demand on us has never been higher to honour this framework and seek policy and management that future generations will thank us for.

Chair of the Scientific Advisory Panel, Steve Morton

The challenge of natural resource management begins firstly with recognition that the Lake Eyre Basin contains areas of economic value in pastoralism, tourism, oil and gas extraction and mining. While natural gas extraction has occurred in the Basin for many years, recent development has added spice to the management mix. The second significant feature is that the rivers of the Basin are among a handful world-wide remaining relatively untouched by water resource development. We all know that the river systems of the Lake Eyre Basin are subject to boom and bust, with serious implications for how the health of the Basin might be monitored and managed. Maintaining the current overall excellent natural condition of the Basin’s rivers and their cultural values, while also supporting economic activity and human communities, is the big issue.

In collaboration with the Community Advisory Committee, the Scientific Advisory Panel is focusing on implementation of the Lake Eyre Basin Rivers Assessment, or LEBRA. The LEBRA aims to understand the evolving condition of the Basin in order to measure trend in condition and guide future responses in management and research. The first rounds of monitoring have now occurred and will continue. A ‘strategic adaptive management’ framework will guide LEBRA’s use, as confirmed by the Ministerial Forum three years ago. Strategic adaptive management is a phrase meaning really just ‘learning-by-doing’ – but it forces everyone to ask of the monitoring, ‘Do we need to alter management as a result of what we are learning’? And, importantly, strategic adaptive management insists upon input from pastoralists, Aboriginal people, miners, and tourism operators, as well as government people. Plans for testing this adaptive approach are well under way.

The Commonwealth and States have instituted a ‘Lake Eyre Basin Rivers Monitoring Project’ as one of the Bioregional Assessments underpinning development of unconventional gas resources. Collaborative arrangements will ensure intersection between this Project and the LEBRA, for efficiencies in the targeting of knowledge gaps and synergy among monitoring programs.

The Scientific Advisory Panel has beneficially welcomed new members in recent years and through its work is supporting with enthusiasm these significant initiatives.

Boom and Bust: understanding what’s ‘normal’ in LEB river systems

The rivers of the Basin are unique on a world scale. River flows are highly variable and unpredictable, creating a distinctive ‘boom and bust’ ecology. Both high and low river flows have important ecological functions in the landscapes of the Basin.

The Lake Eyre Basin Rivers Assessment (LEBRA) is now in its third year of monitoring at more than forty-five sites across the Basin. Monitoring commenced in 2011 following some exceptionally wet years - a ‘boom’ period.

From boom to bust

Conditions are now significantly drier (the ‘bust’) with many rivers experiencing much lower flows compared to 2011. Some rivers in the Basin, for example, the Finke River in the Northern Territory, have not seen a flow for eighteen months. Actually, it is not unusual for some systems to be without flows for many years, up to five years or more in places like the Strzelecki Creek in the Cooper catchment.

Monitoring data from autumn 2013 could be considered the first set of LEBRA data collected in a dry period, and signal a fairly dramatic shift in water quality and fish populations. Fewer fish numbers are now being found at many of the LEBRA sites. In 2012, the highest count of fish at a single site was 4874, much lower than the highest count of 52000 fish in 2011. Although quite startling, this difference is actually within normal expectations for the Basin.

It is not just the number of fish that can vary between years, but also which fish species are found where, and which species are most common. Twenty-one native fish species were recorded in 2012 compared with seventeen in 2011, and bony bream (Nematalosa erebi) was the most common across most sites, while in 2011 it was the silver tandan (Porochilus argenteus).

Monitoring yields new knowledge

Since monitoring commenced, we have new fish species distribution records for the Basin, with data collected in the Northern Territory from the very first systematic population sampling undertaken for most sites in this part of the Basin. In many catchments and sub-catchments some species were recorded for the first time (five in the Macumba, one in the Neales, three in the Ooratippra, one in the Ranken and four in the Sandover). Three exotic species - sleepy cod (Oxyeleotris lineolatus), eastern gambusia (Gambusia holbrooki) and goldfish (Carassius auratus) - have been recorded, although generally in low numbers. Repeated sampling at LEBRA sites also enables greater observation of the spread of cane toads (Rhinella marina) down the Cooper, and the movement of the invasive redclaw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) in western Queensland.

Local knowledge and engagement

As with previous years, land managers and their families, including the Tjuwanpa Rangers on the Finke River and the Scott family at Lake Nash, have continued to provide assistance with monitoring field work.

10-year condition assessment

LEBRA has been designed with a clear purpose. Under the LEB Intergovernmental Agreement, the LEB Ministerial Forum is required to undertake an assessment of the condition of all watercourses and catchments within the LEB Agreement Area. The LEBRA monitoring program is building the foundations for the next condition assessment which is due by 2018.

Annual monitoring reports

An analysis of each year of LEBRA monitoring data is published in an annual report. The 2011 and 2012 monitoring reports are available online at www.lakeeyrebasin.gov.au/projects-and-activities.

LEBRA monitoring is improving our understanding of the Basin’s rivers and catchments, our ability to determine if the condition of the Basin is shifting beyond what we would normally expect, and the scientific integrity behind our management decisions.

Cullyamurra Waterhole, Cooper Creek, Innamincka, SA – Lake Eyre Basin Rivers Assessment monitoring site profile

GPS location: -27.701212 latitude, 140.840971 longitude

LEBRA sample dates - autumn 2011, spring 2011 and autumn 2012

Site Description - Cullyamurra Waterhole is a large, very deep, main channel waterhole in Innamincka Regional Reserve. The site is acknowledged as the deepest and one of the most permanent waterholes in the LEB. This is corroborated by the presence of flora and fauna indicative of permanence at this site.