A river valley in New South Wales held up against one of the worst floods in its history last summer thanks to two decades of care from the local community, research has revealed. In taking what has been labelled a ‘nature-based approach’ to managing it, Wollombi Brook, which flows into the Hunter Valley, was saved from the worst effects of the flood.
“All the hard work that a very active community put into nature-based rehabilitation for more than 20 years, such as continuous streamside revegetation, played a role in this outcome,” explains Professor Kirstie Fryirs of the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University, who added that it is “one of the best examples in Australia of sustainable environmental restoration in the management of rivers”.
The research paper, co-authored by Professor Fryirs and Dr Russel, indicates that the multi-billion-dollar global river management industry can learn from this success story, to help the planet ‘meet the river health goals set by the United Nations in its Decade on Ecosystem Restoration to 2030’.
“It’s important,” says Dr Russell of the University of Melbourne, “as part the worldwide effort to achieve river sustainability and resilience to drought, fire and flood.”
Among the authors recommendations for improving the sustainable management of rivers, was prioritising ‘nature-based, rather than engineering solutions’.
“But this work needs upscaling if we are going to get anywhere close to achieving some of the UN’s global goals,” added Professor Fryirs.
Learn more about the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
