Lack of maintenance is a major challenge for stream restoration projects

Abstract

AbstractEnvironmental infrastructure and practices designed to restore and protect aquatic systems are now mainstream. Yet many of these projects are failing to produce the biophysical outcomes that they are designed for because of poor maintenance. The success of restoration projects is just as much a consequence of how they are maintained, as it is how the project was initially designed and implemented. Successful maintenance relies on understanding the ecological and biological recovery trajectories of aquatic systems. Some interventions will require ongoing maintenance indefinitely, whereas others will reach a self‐sustaining point where maintenance is no longer required. Different management arrangements are required to ensure the maintenance of different types of project. Those projects that involve high costs should be managed using more robust arrangements, such as legal regulation, compared to those projects that involve lower costs. This paper describes the maintenance required for common river restoration projects and outlines a classification of projects based on maintenance and recovery trajectories. It then considers the types of management arrangements required to ensure maintenance. Finally, these points are illustrated with 3 case studies of typical restoration actions (riparian stock exclusion, fish passage, and restoring large wood loads). Projects that require ongoing maintenance, particularly those that involve high costs, such as environmental flows, require strong management arrangements to ensure successful outcomes. Voluntary instruments are more appropriate for self‐sustaining interventions. Regardless of the chosen management arrangements, monitoring and independent assessment are essential for successful maintenance.