An overview of the Victorian Waterway Management Strategy The Department of Environment and Primary Industries proudly acknowledges and pays its respects to Victoria’s Native Title holders and Traditional Owners and their rich culture and intrinsic connection to Country. The department also recognises and acknowledges the contribution and interests of other Aboriginal people and organisations in waterway management. Finally, the department acknowledges that the past injustices and continuing inequalities experienced by Aboriginal people have limited, and continue to limit, their proper participation in land, water and natural resource management. List of Photos Cover: Baker’s Swamp, Moolort. Photographer: Nick Layne Page 1: River Red Gums on the Murray River. Courtesy DEPI Page 2: Project staff travel to Mildura to discuss the draft Strategy. Courtesy DEPI Page 3: Having fun on Lake Bolac. Courtesy Ararat Rural City Page 5: Sydenham Inlet. Photographer: Sean Philipson Page 7: Looking out on the Morass. Photographer: Simon Dillinger Page 11: Waterwatch volunteers undertake important monitoring activities. Courtesy DEPI Page 12: Enjoying the Glenelg River. Photographer: Johanna Slijkerman (top) Budgee Creek. Photographer: Shar Ramamurthy (bottom) Page 13: Vegetated riparian land on the Lower Franklin River. Courtesy West Gippsland CMA (top) Water quality affecting the Murray Cray. Photographer: Keith Ward (centre) Fish ladder at Cowwarr Weir, Thomson River. Courtesy West Gippsland CMA (bottom) Page 14: Kinnairds shallow freshwater wetlands. Photographer: Yvette Baker (top) Powlett River. Courtesy West Gippsland (bottom) Page 15: Moyne River, Port Fairy. Courtesy Glenelg Hopkins CMA (top) Imperial Hotel Bairnsdale. Courtesy East Gippsland CMA (centre) At the Mallee Catch a Carp day. Courtesy Mallee CMA (bottom) Page 16: School students river rafting on the Mitchell River. Photographer: Cuc Chong Page 17: Canoeing on the Glenelg River. Photographer Johanna Slijkerman Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, Department of Environment and Primary Industries, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne, September 2013 © The State of Victoria Department of Environment and Primary Industries 2013 This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Print managed by Finsbury Green September 2013. ISBN 978-1-74287-893-5 (Print) ISBN 978-1-74287-894-2 (PDF) Accessibility If you would like to receive this publication in an alternative format, please telephone DEPI Customer Service Centre 136 186, email [email protected], via the National Relay Service on 133 677 www.relayservice.com.au This document is also available on the internet at www.depi.vic.gov.au Disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. An overview of the Victorian Waterway Management Strategy The Victorian Waterway Management Specifically, the Strategy establishes: Strategy (the Strategy) provides the • a vision, guiding principles and management approach framework for government, in partnership • a transparent, integrated waterway management with the community, to maintain or improve framework that: the condition of rivers, estuaries and wetlands – facilitates regional decision-making so that they can continue to provide with community input environmental, social, cultural and economic – sits within an integrated catchment management context values for all Victorians. The framework is – comprehensively integrates waterway based on regional planning processes and management activities decision-making, within the broader system of • an adaptive management framework and flexible integrated catchment management in Victoria. approach to manage through the challenges of The Strategy is intended for State government, drought, flood, bushfire and the potential impacts waterway managers, land managers, local government, of climate change other regional agencies or authorities and management • aspirational Strategy targets that summarise key regional partners, Traditional Owners, landholders and community management activities over the next eight years that aim groups involved in waterway management or activities to maintain or improve the condition of waterways that may affect waterway condition. It outlines the Victorian Government’s policy on regional decision- • clear policy directions for waterway management issues making, investment, management activities and specific • specific actions that will deliver more effective and management issues for waterways. It provides clear efficient management of waterways. guidance on the development and implementation of the regional strategies and management plans that are integral to the success of the waterway management program in Victoria. The Strategy also describes the institutional arrangements for waterway management in Victoria. An overview of the Victorian Waterway Management Strategy 1 Strategy background and fundamentals Development process The Strategy background and The policies and actions in the Strategy have been the fundamentals are outlined in Chapters subject of extensive discussion and review as part of a 1 - 6. Key concepts from these chapters strong consultation program (see Figure 1). Four dedicated committees have met many times over the past four are described below. years and include a Stakeholder Reference Committee, Expert Scientific Panel, Internal Review Committee and the Victorian Waterway Managers’ Forum. Additional stakeholders, such as water corporations and the Victorian Traditional Owner Land Justice Group, were engaged on specific waterway management issues. Feedback was also invited from all Victorians during the six-week public consultation period for the Draft Victorian Waterway Management Strategy. This community input, and how it was considered in developing the Strategy, is outlined in the report Community Feedback:Draft Victorian Waterway Management Strategy. These documents are all available at: www.depi.vic.gov.au/water/rivers-estuaries-and-wetlands KEY Committee meetings Key document Regional information sessions P EARLY 2013 Public submissions Release of Community Feedback: Draft Victorian Waterway Final approvals Management Strategy MID 2013 MID 2009 MID 2011 Draft policy papers Project inception meetings Final approvals LATE 2009 LATE 2011 Launch of the final Victorian Waterway Policy options papers Partners’ draft Management Strategy (Part 1) 2009 2011 2013 2010 2012 P EARLY-MID 2010 Policy options papers LATE 2012 (Part 3) Release of the Draft Victorian Waterway Management Strategy for six-week public consultation. Regional information sessions EARLY 2010 across Victoria. Policy options papers Review of formal submissions. (Part 2) Figure 1: Timeline of key events in developing the Strategy 2 An overview of the Victorian Waterway Management Strategy The vision for Victoria’s waterways is: Victoria’s rivers, estuaries and wetlands are healthy and well-managed; supporting environmental, social, cultural and economic values that are able to be enjoyed by all communities. Current waterway condition The condition of waterways in Victoria is periodically assessed by the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) using the Index of Stream Condition (ISC), Index of Wetland Condition (IWC) and the pilot Index of Estuary Condition (IEC). Rivers 43 The third ISC assessment (incorporating data from 2004- 2010) showed that across Victoria 12% of total river length 19 assessed was in excellent condition, 11% in good condition, 12 11 13 43% in moderate condition, 19% in poor condition, 13% 2 in very poor condition and 2% had insufficient data (see Data Insufficient Figure 2). Stream condition % length Very Poor Very Moderate Data can also be compared across different regions of Excellent Good Victoria (see Figure 3). For example, when data in the Poor East Gippsland river basin (basin 21) is combined it shows that more than 70% of river length in this basin is in good or excellent condition. Figure 2: Condition of rivers in 2010 14 8 4 15 7 2 1 3 39 6 5 30 24 22 38 23 31 29 21 25 36 32 34 28 37 33 26 35 27 Environmental Condition Basin Names >70% 1 Upper Murray 14 Mallee 27 South Gippsland 35 Otway 51-70% 2 Kiewa 15 Wimmera 28 Bunyip 36 Hopkins 3 Ovens 21 East Gippsland 29 Yarra 37 Portland 31-50% 4 Broken 22 Snowy 30 Maribyrnong 38 Glenelg 5 Goulburn 23 Tambo 31 Werribee 39 Millicent Coast 11-30% 6 Campaspe 24 Mitchell 32 Moorabool <10% 7 Loddon 25 Thomson 33 Barwon 8 Avoca 26 LaTrobe 34 Corangamite Insufficient Data Figure 3: Percentage length of rivers in each basin with good or excellent condition. 4 An overview of the Victorian Waterway Management Strategy Wetlands Estuaries In 2009/2010, the IWC was used to benchmark the A pilot IEC program has recently been undertaken to trial condition of almost 600 high value wetlands. The methods for assessing the health of Victoria’s estuaries. assessment found that 24% were in excellent condition, This preliminary program showed that estuaries were least 32% in good condition, 30% in moderate condition, 13% modified in areas of West Gippsland and far east Gippsland. were in poor condition and 1% in very poor condition.