None
Monday, 11 October 2010

New research reveals serious flaws in the way that governments have been responding to climate change issues such as the protection of wetlands in the Murray-Darling Basin.  The research, to be presented at a national conference in Perth tomorrow, was completed prior to the release of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan Guidelines last Friday, October 8, and provides important information for evaluating those proposals.

Study co-author Associate Professor Alex Gardner, from The University of Western Australia's Law School, will report the findings of the first detailed study of how government policies and practices, and international and national law apply to the conservation of major wetlands along the Murray River at the 13 th International Riversymposium.

The research was led by Jamie Pittock, an ecologist from The Australian National University, with Professor Max Finlayson from Charles Sturt University and Professor Gardner, and assisted by UWA Law Honours student, Clare McKay.

Professor Gardner said the Federal Government risked breaching international law if it did not fully protect wetlands listed under an international treaty in its forthcoming Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

Under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Australia has undertaken to maintain the ecological character of the entire area of wetland sites along the river.  But the researchers found that not even compromised conservation targets - as low as 20 per cent of some types of wetlands in some Ramsar sites - had been achieved.

"The proposed Basin Plan needs to allocate enough water to sustain wetlands recognised as internationally important under the Ramsar convention to ensure the Federal Government is not in breach of its obligations under the 2007 Commonwealth Water Act," Professor Gardner said.  "If not, wetland conservation activists could seek redress in the High Court."

WHAT: The 13 th International Riversymposium

WHEN: Monday, October 11 to Thursday, October 14.  Professor Gardner's session is at 1.30pm tomorrow (Tuesday)

WHERE: Burswood Convention Centre.

Several UWA researchers will speak at the symposium, including:

  • Winthrop Professor Richard Weller, author of Boomtown 2050 , who will deliver a keynote speech at 4pm today: "Creatively reconciling growth with environmental limitations in the 21 st century"
  • Professor Peter Davies, whose global analysis of the world's rivers was published in Nature last month, will give two talks focusing on river restoration,
  • Winthrop Professor Chari Pattiaratchi, who will discuss circulation in the upper Swan estuary.

Media references

Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716

Tags

Channels
Business and Industry — Events — International — Media Statements — Research — University News
Groups
Science Matters