Environmental and cultural values of South Australia’s outback water resources Macdonald JI and McNeil DG Goyder Institute for Water Research Technical Report Series No. 12/7 www.goyderinstitute.org Goyder Institute for Water Research Technical Report Series ISSN: 1839-2725 The Goyder Institute for Water Research is a partnership between the South Australian Government through the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR), CSIRO, the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), Flinders University, the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia. The Institute will enhance the South Australian Government’s capacity to develop and deliver science-based policy solutions in water management. It brings together the best scientists and researchers across Australia to provide expert and independent scientific advice to inform good government water policy and identify future threats and opportunities to water security. The following Associate organisation contributed to this report: Enquires should be addressed to: Goyder Institute for Water Research Level 1, Torrens Building 220 Victoria Square, Adelaide, SA, 5000 tel: 08-8303 8952 e-mail: [email protected] Citation Macdonald JI and McNeil DG (2012) Environmental and cultural values of South Australia’s outback water resources. Goyder Institute for Water Research Technical Report Series No. 12/7. Copyright © 2012 SARDI, CSIRO and DEWNR. To the extent permitted by law, all rights are reserved and no part of this publication covered by copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means except with the written permission of SARDI, CSIRO and DEWNR. Disclaimer The Participants advise that the information contained in this publication comprises general statements based on scientific research and does not warrant or represent the completeness of any information or material in this publication. Contents Contents ..................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... ii List of abbreviations .................................................................................................................. iii Executive summary .................................................................................................................... v 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 2. Approach ............................................................................................................................ 2 2.1. Project scope ......................................................................................................................... 2 2.2. Activity 1 – Desktop study ..................................................................................................... 2 2.3. Activity 2 – Forum and Workshop ......................................................................................... 3 2.4. Outputs .................................................................................................................................. 3 3. A review of water values in arid zones of SA ....................................................................... 4 3.1. Defining the value of water ................................................................................................... 4 3.2. An ecosystem-specific assessment of water values.............................................................. 6 3.2.1 Water dependent ecosystems in arid zone SA .............................................................. 6 3.2.2 GDEs in arid zone SA: definitions, distribution, values and threats .............................. 9 4. Forum and Workshop outcomes ....................................................................................... 20 4.1. Overview .............................................................................................................................. 20 4.2. Day 1: Environmental Values .............................................................................................. 20 4.3. Day 2: Cultural Values ......................................................................................................... 30 5. Future research directions and opportunities .................................................................... 36 6. Conclusions ...................................................................................................................... 41 References ............................................................................................................................... 42 Appendix 1: Forum and Workshop programme, abstracts and participants ............................... 60 i Acknowledgements This project was funded jointly by the Goyder Institute for Water Research, the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The authors wish to thank all of the delegates who attended the Cultural and Environmental Values of Outback Water Resources: Forum and Workshop in early May 2012, especially those who travelled from interstate to be there. Your input during the workshop sessions and in the weeks following has added much to this report. Graham Green (Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources - DEWNR) made available a number of useful references on recent work conducted within the ‘Allocating Water and Maintaining Springs in the Great Artesian Basin’ project and the ‘Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources’ project. Gresley Wakelin-King (Wakelin Associates Pty Ltd) contributed several interesting ideas on future project directions. Angus Duguid (Northern Territory Government Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sport - NRETAS) supplied photos for the poster presentation ‘Capturing key cultural and environmental water values in Australian arid landscapes’ that was delivered at the Goyder Institute for Water Research Annual Water Forum held in late May 2012. Qifeng Ye, Rupert Mathwin and Phillipa Wilson (SARDI) are thanked for valuable discussions on the structure of the report, and Sue Jackson (CSIRO), Phillipa Wilson and David Schmarr (SARDI) provided constructive comments that greatly improved earlier drafts. Thank you also to Tim Munday (CSIRO) for advice on the direction of the literature review and for project management of the Facilitating Long-Term Outback Water Solutions (FLOWS) initiative. ii List of abbreviations AFCMP Australian Feral Camel Management Project ANSTI Australian Nuclear Science; Technology Information ANZECC The Australian and New Zealand Environment Conservation Council APY Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara ARC Australian Research Council AWMSGAB Allocating Water and Maintaining Springs in the Great Artesian Basin project AWNRMB Alinytjara Wilurara NRM board CFOC Caring for our Country CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation DEC Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation DEH South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage DENR South Australian Department of Environment and Natural Resources (now merged with DFW to become DEWNR) DERM Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management DEWNR South Australian Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (formally DFW and DENR) DFW South Australian Department for Water (now merged with DENR to become DEWNR) EPBC Act Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 FLOWS Facilitating Long-Term Outback Water Solutions FNPWA Far North Prescribed Wells Area GAB Great Artesian Basin GABSI GAB Sustainability Initiative Program GAM Generalised additive model GDE Groundwater dependent ecosystem HEVAE High Environmental Value Aquatic Ecosystems ICCWR Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources project IEK Indigenous ecological knowledge LEB Lake Eyre Basin LEBCAC Lake Eyre Basin Community Advisory Committee LEBRA Lake Eyre Basin Rivers Assessment LIDAR Light Detection And Ranging NCCARF National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility NGO Non-governmental organisation NPA National Partnership Agreement on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining NRETAS Northern Territory Government Department of Natural resources, Environment, the Arts and Sport NRM Natural Resource Management NT Northern Territory NWI National Water Initiative Inter-governmental Agreement PACE Plan for Accelerated Exploration PIRSA Department of Primary Industries and Resources of South Australia QLD Queensland SA South Australia SAALNRMB South Australian Arid Lands NRM board SARDI South Australian Research and Development Institute iii SEB Significant environmental benefit SEWPaC Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities SKM Sinclair Knight Mertz TraCK Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge WA Western Australia iv Executive summary The South Australian Government’s Facilitating Long-Term Outback Water Solutions (FLOWS) initiative was instrumental in establishing the Goyder Institute for Water Research FLOWS project in 2010. Through a multi-faceted research programme spanning the lifetime of the Institute, the project aims to provide data on the location, characteristics and sustainability of the South Australia’s groundwater resources