December 2006 FROM THE DIRECTOR OPINION ISSUE 7 We have completed our second year as a re- by Dr Paul Humphries search group. The recent Advisory Board meeting FISH OUT OF WATER with the Management Team in Bathurst provided FROM THE DIRECTOR 1 a timely opportunity for reflection and for an exter- The current drought has been called the “worst 2 nal review of our progress towards becoming an since records began”, a “one in 100 year” and a internationally recognized research group contrib- “one in 1000 year” drought. There is an almost OPINION 1 uting to better management of critical national macabre enjoyment that some people extract Dr Paul Humphries issues. At that meeting I spoke briefly about our from climatic records being broken. 2 achievements in: • consolidating governance and manage- But there is nothing entertaining about the loss of IN THE NEWS 2 ment arrangements; livelihoods of farmers, nor even the more mun- 3 • exceeding ambitious key performance dane, but nevertheless tragic, death of suburban measures for DEST publications and plants that we are seeing. And, while these is- INSTITUTE EVENTS 3 research income; sues are real and resonate throughout most Aus- • developing integrated programs of tralian communities, one group which has re- PROFILE 4 research; and ceived relatively little attention, yet will probably A/Prof Robyn Watts • communicating within ILWS and with ex- suffer more than any other is our fish and other ternal partners. riverine animals and plants. CONFERENCES, 4 Although Australia’s animals and plants are SEMINARS & 5 Board members clearly wanted evidence that we adapted to our harsh environmental conditions, WORKSHOPS had made progress with the difficult task of inte- this does not mean that they are not severely gration. My discussions with the Board at the end affected by fires, floods and droughts. What they AWARDS & 5 of the meeting indicated that the presentations have is a high degree of resilience and can APPOINT MENTS during the day, particularly by the Integration Pro- bounce back from remnant populations which gram leaders, had demonstrated this was occur- managed to survive in some sort of refuge. How- PUBLICATIONS 6 ring. The Vice Chancellor also addressed the ever, for recovery from drought to occur, these meeting and spoke with great passion about re- refuges must first exist. Isolated pools, scattered search at CSU. Our meeting concluded with short DIRECTOR’S 7 along river beds would most likely have been the presentations from ILWS researchers. ACTIVITIES refuges for fish in droughts of the past. Once rain came again and rivers flowed freely, fish would Board members were impressed by the quality VISITORS 7 have bred, and immature and mature fish would and application of the work being undertaken, have moved large distances. Recovery, how- including that by David Roshier (tracking bird PROJECTS & 8 ever, could have taken several decades. migrations into northern Australia), Andrea Wilson GRANTS (PhD student examining the social construction of With the intensity of water resource and other quarantine risk), Peter O’Meara (expanding the development, humans may have compromised OVERSEAS TRIPS 8 role of paramedics in rural communities), Skye the innate resilience of fish and other aquatic Wassens (frogs as indicators of wetland health) organisms in our rivers. Isolated pools, with con- and Kevin Parton (responses to climate change). centrated numbers of fish could be either pumped dry by unsuspecting landowners or fished out by Some other recent highlights in ILWS include: anglers, thus removing the source of future • completing the upgrade to the ILWS web fish. With the huge number of barriers site; (thousands throughout the Murray-Darling Basin), • updating the Institute’s capability state- dispersal from refuge pools will undoubtedly be ment (brochure) to reflect our achieve- limited (unless the drought is broken by an enor- ments this year; mous flood) and so recovery will take even • finalizing negotiations for Teaching Buyout longer, if it happens at all. in 2007 (names of recipients will be pub- lished next newsletter); (cont page 2) (cont page 2) FEATURE ARTICLE: ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR ROBYN WATTS “Most natural resource management issues are very complex and so effective management solutions can’t be based on just one discipline. I believe that inte- grated research is the way of the future in applied science”. Story Page 4 DEC ISSUE P1 CLOSING THE GAP FROM THE DIRECTOR (cont.) Research conducted by Prof Allan Curtis which found that landhold- ers feel strongly about passing their property on in a better condi- • interviewing candidates for the ILWS Business Manager tion was featured in a story generated by Landcare Australia for its position; new campaign to close the gap between the city and the bush in • hosting a very popular climate change forum in Wodonga in The Tablelander on Sept 12. conjunction with La Trobe University that engaged candi- dates for the Victorian state election (we will have similar PARENTS WITH CANCER events in NSW next year); PhD student Janelle Levesque who is researching the effects that • and co-hosting a very successful wetlands forum and bird/ having a parent with cancer has on adults was interviewed by Anne nature fair in the Riverina (Iain Taylor led the ILWS input). Delaney on radio ABC Riverina on Sept 27. In wrapping up 2007 I want to thank the Discipline Group leaders LEARNING IN LAOS (David Watson/ Robyn Watts; Marg Alston/ Colin Boylan; Joanne Dr Joanne Millar’s research in Laos was featured in an article Millar; Shahbaz Khan; and Mark Morrison); and the Integration Pro- ‘Learning by Example’ in the ACIAR Partners magazine Spring gram leaders (Gary Luck/ Marg Alston and Angela Ragusa; and 2006. Robyn Watts) for their critical contributions to the development of the Institute. I also want to acknowledge the wonderful work of ALBURY RAIL STATION ILWS staff, (Margrit Beemster, Kate Roberts, Kris Deegan, Nicky Assoc Prof Bruce Pennay was interviewed on radio for ABC Goul- Loane and Karryn Murray). Later in the newsletter we farewell Craig burn-Murray on September 30 regarding getting Albury Railway Grabham and Leigh Thompson who have given great service to station on the national register of the National Heritage List. ILWS through their work in the Johnstone Centre Environmental Consulting (JCEC). The decision to close the JCEC was taken after LANDCARE considerable deliberation, including discussions with Craig as the Prof Allan Curtis’ research on Landcare and comments on its future JCEC Manager. In the end, a key factor was our intention to focus were featured in an article “Landcare feeling the pressure of suc- on research rather than consulting. cess - 20 years on” in the October issue of the Australian Landcare magazine. I wish you all the best for a happy and safe Christmas period and look forward to working with each of you in 2007. PENGUINS -Prof Allan Curtis Prof Nick Klomp and his research with students on penguin colo- nies at Montague Island was featured in the Canberra Times on Oct OPINION (cont.) 9. While agricultural, economic and social drought may ease consid- MASCULINITY erably with the first rains, hydrological and ecological drought may PhD student Ian Coldwell, who is researching masculinity and iden- take some time because our empty dams are waiting to capture tity among young dairy farmers in Northern Victoria, spoke on how vast volumes of runoff which would normally flow unimpeded down drought is affecting Australian males’ masculinity on: rivers. • ABC South West Victoria radio on Oct 9 • ABC Gippsland Victoria radio on Oct 10. What can be done? The general community, management agen- cies and scientists must recognise that to fish and other river dwell- WILDLIFE ers, drought does not just mean a lack of water. Refuges will be A profile piece “Finding riches in wild life” on Matt Herring, an ILWS critical and so must be identified and protected from pumping and wildlife ecologist, was published in The Weekly Times on Oct 11. angling. Enlisting angler and landowner support is crucial. Bans on fishing may be needed. These bans may need to continue well beyond the breaking of the drought to ensure the survival of future BUSHFIRES fish. Movement of fish should be as unfettered as possible once Dr Ian Lunt and his comments on the ecological impacts of bush- rivers start flowing again. This could be a problem for upstream fires were mentioned in a story on the history of bushfires in the movement, unless fishways are in place, but downstream move- Border Mail on Oct 11. ment may be less of an issue if high flows occur. It is imperative that rivers get a major share of runoff when the drought ECONOMIC IMPACTS breaks. There is little doubt that this drought is going to put in- The Western Research Institute’s Tom Murphy spoke on an eco- creased stress on inhabitants of our rivers and that we will almost nomic impact study for Braidwood on ABC Illawarra radio on Oct certainly lose many of them in those waterways most affected but 18, following a story in the Braidwood Times on Oct 11. there are many practical things that can be done to dramatically improve their chances of recovery. DROUGHT Prof Kevin Parton spoke on drought funding on ABC Central West radio on Oct 25. IN THE NEWS GLOBILISATION ROTA Assoc Prof Manohar Pawar, who was a key organiser of an interna- Assoc Prof Dirk Spennemann’s lecture on “From Crossroads to tional conference on the influence of globalisation on economic Cultural Reservoir: Rota during the German Colonial Period” made development and human security in the Asia-Pacific held in Thai- the Marianas Variety on Sept 4. land in October, was featured in the Daily Advertiser on October 17, and again, in The Leader, on Nov 22 in a story “CSU researcher thinks globally”.