Adaptive Management of Malkumba-Coongie Lakes Ramsar Site in Arid Australia—A Free Flowing River and Wetland System

Vol Norris,Travis Gotch,Richard T. Kingsford,Robert Brandle,Bernie Cockayne,Craig A. McLoughlin,David Schmarr,Gilad Bino,Justin McCann

doi:10.3390/su13063043

Abstract

The Malkumba-Coongie Lakes Ramsar Site has extensive terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems (largest Ramsar Site in Oceania, 2,178,952 ha, designated in 1987), including freshwater and salt lakes, lignum swamps and river channels in central Australia. It is supplied by Cooper Creek, a free-flowing Lake Eyre Basin river system. The area includes pastoral leases (97% of site grazed, including a regional conservation reserve (35%)) and a National Park (3%), with the largest oil and gas production field in Australia. We developed a Strategic Adaptive Management (SAM) Plan, linking science, monitoring and management of this social-ecological system, involving stakeholders and workshops. This involved developing a shared vision and hierarchy of objectives linked to management actions and identified outputs and outcomes. We exemplify this approach with explicit and measurable end-points (thresholds of potential concern) culminating from low level objectives for fish communities, particularly the alien sleepy cod Oxyeleotris lineolata. We describe this framework, highlighting the benefits in prioritizing management actions and monitoring in collaboration with a diverse range of stakeholders, driving adaptive feedback for learning. The whole approach is aimed at successfully achieving mutually agreed management objectives and the vision to maintain the ecological character of the Malkumba-Coongie Lakes Ramsar Site.

Highlights

We developed a Strategic Adaptive Management Plan (Ramsar SAM Plan) for the Malkumba-Coongie Lakes Ramsar Site (MCLRS), an exten
We describe the development of the Ramsar SAM Plan, which involved workshopping with all stakeholders, including government, industry and Traditional Owners
We collectively agreed that eight vital attributes broadly captured the broadly captured the essence of MCLRS, spanning cultural, environmental, legal and soessence of MCLRS, spanning cultural, environmental, legal and socio-economic dimensions cio-economic dimensions

Summary

Introduction

The world’s biodiversity is in critical decline, freshwater ecosystems, including rivers and wetlands [1]. Ecosystem loss comes from habitat loss and degradation, pollution, overharvesting, invasive species, disease and climate change [2,3,4]. These threats are directly and indirectly diminishing ecosystem services, including drinking water, fishing, spiritual and cultural values and building resources, tourism and grazing resources for human communities around the world [5]. Pressures to develop the world’s rivers are ongoing, given the burgeoning population and our dependence on fresh water, making it among the top five global risks to human

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