We can do more to restore our freshwater ecosystems, says researcher
The United Nations' Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) calls for accelerated action to prevent, halt and reverse the loss of nature—including freshwater ecosystems like rivers, streams and wetlands.
The Decade aims to build a decentralized global movement to ramp up restoration, by connecting people and organizations across multiple scales. The aim is to improve resourcing, build knowledge and capacity, while empowering marginalized communities and the next generation of ecosystem custodians.
Collaborative, participatory and adaptive nature-based solutions are required to ramp up the restoration of freshwater ecosystems to the necessary scale.
In Australia, like in other western developed nations, adaptive management, community participation and restoration practices have been applied in river and stream management over recent decades.
However, we need to look closely at how embedded those practices are and whether there's a trend towards more widespread implementation.
Our collaborative team, representing multiple facets of the industry (government, consulting and research) across four Australian states, recently investigated 25 years of research, policy and practice in Australian stream management to work out whether the required shifts are actually happening.
Looking at the papers presented at the Australian Stream Management Conference from 1996-2021, we found some positive trends: contributors are becoming more collaborative and gender representation is improving, and the content is becoming more diverse and interdisciplinary over time.
Many Australian urban freshwater ecosystems have become severely degraded. Credit: Daryl Holland/University of Melbourne
At Hanlon Park/Bur’uda inBrisbane, replacing concrete with vegetated banks has allowed a more dynamic stream form that is resilient to flooding, improves local climate and brings nature into the inner city. Credit: Supplied