New CRC Technical Report - River Restoration Program
September 02, 2004
CRC Technical Report 04/11 'Evaluating the Effectiveness of Habitat Reconstruction in Rivers by Michael Stewardson, Peter Cottingham, Ian Rutherfurd and Sabine Schreiber has now been published.
Foreword
Over the last thirty years, the focus of river management has shifted from the protection of physical and economic assets, to include the protection and enhancement of environmental assets.
River restoration is a new science and many projects are necessarily experimental. Our understanding of processes of degradation is improving but our ability to prescribe efficient restoration treatments which might include environmental flows, reintroduction of large wood debris and riparian restoration is still limited. Responsible investment in river restoration requires some monitoring and evaluation of these projects. Indeed planning for larger river restoration projects almost always includes recommendations for monitoring and adaptive management. However,successful monitoring programs are limited because we are yet to establish practical and widely applicable methods for evaluating river restoration projects.
The main contribution of this report is in Chapter 4, where various approaches to river restoration are reviewed. Those considering an evaluation will benefit from reading the limitations and advantages of the various approaches. River engineers, aquatic ecologists and fluvial geomorphologists now work in multi-disciplinary teams to plan river restoration work including monitoring and valuation. In recognition of this, Chapters 2 and 3 discuss conceptual aspects of restoration planning and evaluation as common ground across the disciplines. I sincerely hope this report is of benefit to river restorers and leads to a better understanding of how we can influence our river landscapes for the better.
Mike Stewardson
Program Leader, River Restoration Program
CRC for Catchment Hydrology
The report is available for downloading below. Printed copies can be purchased from the Centre Office for $27.50 per copy (includes 10% GST, and postage and handling in Australia).
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