ILWS - Institute of Land, Water and Society
News and Achievements 2011
2010 / 2009
How we value wetlands and bushland wins top prize
An academic paper, "Valuing Biodiversity Using Habitat Types" highlighting the greater value people place on wetlands near the Coorong in South Australia compared to surrounding bushlands has been awarded the Eric Anderson award for best article in the Australasian Journal of Environmental Management by environment academics from Australia and New Zealand.
Co-authored by ILWS Associate Director and senior environmental 
economist Professor Mark Morrison, and Dr Darla Hatton MacDonald from CSIRO, the research showed that people around the Coorong, in the capital Adelaide and elsewhere in South Australia were willing to pay much more money to protect the wetlands than scrublands or grassy woodlands in the same region.
Professor Morrison and Dr Hatton MacDonald received their award on Wednesday 28 September at the annual conference of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand in Brisbane. Read More
Investing in Ecosystem Services Vital to Improving Food Security
A major global report, co-authored by the Institute's Director, highlights healthy ecosystems as the basis for sustainable water resources and stable food security for people around the world, including Australia.
"Healthy ecosystems help produce more food per hectare of agricultural land, are more resilient to climate change and produce more economic benefits for poor communities," says Professor Max Finlayson. 
The report, An Ecosystems Approach to Water and Food Security, which was launched on Tuesday by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and International Water Management Institute and 19 collaborating institutions, including ILWS, during World Water Week, August 21 - 27 in Sweden .
“How we manage and invest in the connections between ecosystems, water and food could help us avoid water scarcity and meet the growing food demands of a global population tipped to reach nine billion by 2050,” Professor Finlayson said.
“Diversifying our crops, planting trees on farms and improving rainwater collection are important practical steps we can take to improve these connections.”
Water and environment public lecture at CSU in Dubbo
A free public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo on Wednesday 10 August will explore the growing awareness that many of the procedures routinely used to manage water resources can be inappropriate for Australian landscapes. Head of Campus, Dr Bev Moriarty, said the public lecture, titled Water, Drought and Climate Change, will be presented by renowned ILWS wetland scientist Professor David Mitchell. The public lecture starts at 6pm Wednesday 10 August at the Lecture Theatre (Room 422) at CSU in Dubbo. Read More
Sweet Solution for Woodlands
The wealth derived from Eastern Australia's grazing and crop farms has come at a price to both the natural environment and sustainable agriculture. ILWS researchers A/Prof Ian Lunt and PhD student Ian Cole along with CSIROs Dr Suzanne Prober have found that a spoon full sugar can is a sweet restorative for native woodland grasses. Tanya Ha from the ABC's Catalyst program took a stroll down the paddock to look at this grass roots research. Link to transcript
"Basin Futures: Water reform in the Murray-Darling Basin"
This unique book, published in electronic form and launched in June, brings together 27 chapters from some of the world's leading practitioners and experts on environmental water, law, communities, economics and governance.
ILWS researchers have contributed to the book and their work includes a chapter co-authored by ILWS Director Prof Max Finlayson and Dr Jamie Pittock from ANU, on Freshwater Ecosystem Conservation: Principles versus policy, a chapter by Associate Director Prof Mark Morrison and adjunct Dr Darla Hatton MacDonald, Multiple Benefits through the Life Cycle of the Basin Plan and and an introduction to the Basin Understanding the Basin and its Dynamics by adjunct Dr John Williams. Download the book for free
Large environmental water release to re-invigorate Murrumbidgee wetlands
A team of ILWS researchers from the Institute's Sustainable Water Strategic Research Area have been engaged to monitor the responses from the largest release of water ever used to maintain the ecological health of the Murrumbidgee River.
The team, led by Dr Skye Wassens, will spend the next 10 months monitoring wetland communities from Tumut to Carrathool looking at the response of river and wetland communities before, during and after the water is released from Burrinjuck and Blowering Dams.
“Our focus is to measure the changes in water quality and the movement of carbon in the wetlands next to the river, as well as the response of frog and fish communities, and aquatic plants that also indicate the environmental health of these wetlands” says Dr Wassens of the exciting opportunity. “This data will generate knowledge to assist environmental water managers and dam operators better predict future ecological responses to large releases of environmental water from dams."
Over 150 gigalitres of water is currently being delivered to wetlands along the Murrumbidgee River that flows across southern NSW.
“The Murrumbidgee is highly regulated by large dams which results in far fewer natural floods, " says Dr Wassens. "This has caused a significant decline of wetlands along the river, particularly the River Red gum forests that line the river and wetlands. Watering is critical to ensure the full recovery of wetland plants and animals which were under severe stress after years of drought Also involved in the project, which has been funded by the NSW Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DESEWPC), are Dr Wassens fellow Sustainable Water SRA members A/Prof Robyn Watts and Drs Julia Howitt and Alex Zander, and ILWS cross-centre member Dr Andrew Hall . The project team is working in close partnership with staff from DESEWPC, NSW Department of Environment and Heritage, NSW Office of Water, and landholders. Federal Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities Hon. Tony Burke, MP has hailed the water release as “largest use of Commonwealth environment water that has occurred to date”. Read More
Endangered fish finds refuge in CSU wetlands
An endangered native fish has been introduced to artificial wetlands on Charles Sturt University (CSU)’s Albury-Wodonga Campus in a bid to conserve the species and allow them to breed up for their reintroduction into major inland rivers in the Murray Darling Basin.
Institute researcher Mr Luke Pearce, who is completing a Master of Science with the School of Environmental Sciences, is investigating how the Southern Pygmy Perch can be reintroduced into its former habitat in the Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers.
“This tiny perch was once found in many inland waterways across South Eastern Australia. It is thought nearly all populations within NSW have disappeared since the 1970s, possibly due to river regulation, prolonged droughts, poor water quality, loss of habitat and competition and predation from introduced fish species such as Red Fin,” said Mr Pearce, who is a fisheries conservation manager with NSW Department of Primary Industries. Read More
Birds disappearing from southern woodlands
Wander through many woodlands in southern Australia these days and they are much quieter than they were 50 years ago. The birds are disappearing.
One of Australia’s leading bird ecologists, ILWS lead researcher Associate Professor David Watson, believes he has some answers, which may have implications for Australian agriculture.
The numbers of woodland birds in southern Australia have been 
in decline for some years, but finding sound reasons for these declines and devising management solutions to arrest them have defied scientists, says Professor Watson.
“Australia’s northern forests still abound with most of the birds that were first seen by Europeans over one hundred years ago. “But in some southern forests, the silence can be deafening ..." Read More
Red Capped Robin, Stud Creek, Sturt National Park, NSW. Photo: Tom Rambaut
Cities face crisis in a bigger Australia
Major Australian cities face decreasing drinkable water, increasing traffic congestion and pollution problems by 2050 if immediate changes are not made to current government policy, says Mr Barney Foran, an ILWS research fellow.
Mr Foran is also concerned that Sydney, Melbourne and Perth could grind to a halt if the predictions of ‘peak oil’ are reached in the next 20 years. 
And he warns that the current Federal policy to encourage a larger Australia population growth is putting future Australians on the road to a more constrained future.
“Multimillion dollar plans to restructure and rebuild Sydney, Melbourne and Perth have already been developed. However, the immediacy of natural disasters such as fires, floods and cyclones in recent months remind us of the growing risks facing Australians in a changing climate and that longer-term plans may be ‘put on the backburner’ while day-to-day recovery projects receive priority.”
Mr Foran believes that if Australia transitions to a relatively stable population of between 26 and 28 million people in 2050, the nation will be more resilient to future economic and environmental shocks.
“A smaller Australia could live within its means, repair its rivers and soil and limit its loss of biodiversity. But few of our political leaders will dare talk about this other Australia unless they take a longer view of where Australia is going, rather than just winning the next election.”
Mr Foran’s concerns arise from his recent paper published this month in the journal People and Place looking at Australia’s energy, water, biodiversity and land resources in the face of a major increase in population by 2050.
Bigger Australia - Opinion Piece
Mistletoes of Southern Australia
Ecologist A/Prof David Watson and botanical artist Robyn Hulley have joined forces for a new book on mistletoe, Mistletoes of Southern Australia, published by CSIRO Publishing. The book will launched on Friday, February 25, at Domain House, next to the Melbourne Botanic Gardens at 5.00pm. There will be an exhibition of 25 of Robyn's original illustrations as well as an exhibition of work by Rebecca Mayo, a mixed media artist and print-maker whose work features mistletoes. The book is a beautifully illustrated comprehensive guide to half of Australia's 91 known mistletoe species. It contains over 100 color photographs, most of which were taken by A.Prof Watson who also has a strong interest in photography and 51 of Robyn Hulley's watercolour illustrations. It is a thorough and up-to-date summary of current knowl-edge and the biology, ecology and management of mistletoes in Australia. The book has a recommended retail price of $49.95 and is from bookstores, order online from CSIRO PUBLISHING direct: www.publish.csiro.au or local call 1300 788 000.