Water and Wetlands Management Conference set for Sydney, 20-21 November 1998

(posted to the Ramsar Forum, 13 November 1998)

Subject: Water and Wetlands Management Conference, Sydney

WATER: WET OR DRY?

Water and Wetlands Management Conference

Friday 20th – Saturday 21st November, 1998
Venue: Centenary Theatre, Royal North Shore Hospital, Pacific Highway, St. Leonards, Sydney

The Conference Water resource management is currently undergoing significant change. Governments are no longer willing or able to pay for new dam constructions and irrigation development; competitive water markets and trading are being established; the user-pays system is being introduced and irrigation schemes privatised.

What are the implications for the environment, communities, rural economics and the future sustainability of our land and water resources?

The Ramsar Convention will be held next year in Costa Rica. How well is Australia, and in particular NSW, managing its Ramsar and other wetlands?

Program

Day One – 20 November 9.00
Welcome: Dr. Judy Messer, NCC Chairperson
Opening address: The Hon. Bob Carr, Premier

Session 1: NSW Water Reforms - The New Era
Chair: Dr. Judy Messer, NCC
Key Note Address: The Challenges of Sustainable Water and Wetland Management, Dr. Stuart Bunn, CCIR
NSW Government Implementation Department of Land & Water Conservation, Dr. Bob Smith, Director General DLWC Environmental Protection Authority; Lisa Corbyn, Acting Director General EPA

Session 2: Social & Cultural Aspects of the Reforms
Chair: Dr Judy Messer, NCC
Key Note Address -Global Perspectives, Dr. Judy Henderson, World Commission on Dams
Case Study: CMC Approach to Water Management, Jenny McLellan, Western CMC
New Directions for Local Government, Jane Lofthouse, Tweed Council
An Environmental View of Socio-economic Issues, Francis Grey, Economists at Large

Session 3: Wetlands and Ramsar
Chair: Peter Nelson, Shortland Wetlands Centre
Key Note Address -Ecological Issues, Ass. Prof. Paul Adam, UNSW
Ramsar: Costa Rica and Beyond, Environment Australia (TBA)
Case Study: The Future of Towra Point, Duncan Leadbitter, Ocean Watch
The Value of Good Science in Protecting Wetlands, Dr Richard Kingsford, NSW NPWS

Session 3: Wetlands and Ramsar (cont)
Case Study: Narran Lakes, Kristen Auld, Inland Rivers Network
Case Study: Wingecarribee Swamp, Dr. David Tranter, REPS
Issues from Day 1 for Day 2, Anne Reeves, NPA

Day Two – 21 November
Session 4: "Whose water is it anyway?"
Chair: Dr. Ros Muston, Quality Environmental Management
Key Note Address: Conflicts Over Water, Prof. Peter Cullen, CRC Freshwater Ecology
Aboriginal Values: Past, Present and Future (TBA)
Coastal Fisheries, Phil March, Ocean Watch
Inland Fisheries, Col Donehue, Far West Anglers Association
Coastal Riparian, Warren Tindall, COW
Inland Riparian, Eric Fisher, Grazier
Justifying Environmental Flows, Prof. Kath Bowmer, Charles Sturt University
Involving Water Users in Creating Solutions, John Sutherland, Lachlan Valley Water Users Association
Water Access and Use, Pip Stenekes, NCC

Session 5: Management and Monitoring Issues
Chair: Ellen O’Brien, Coast & Wetlands Society
Key Note Address: Adaptive Management, Dr David Mitchell, Independent Scientist, Lachlan River Management Committee
Case Study: Monitoring Hawkesbury-Nepean Environmental Flows, Tony Paull, Sydney Water

Session 6: Sustainable Use of Groundwater
The Issues, Jan Gill, DLWC
Case study: Namoi, Michelle Kelly, Gunnedah Environment Group

Session 7: Challenges for a New Millennium
Ecological Drivers for Change (TBA)
Challenges for the Future, Prof. Alistair Gilmore, Centre for Environmental Studies
Plenary Session
Chair: Dr. Judy Messer, NCC

Best regards,

Christine Laurence & Peter Wright   pwcl@wr.com.au

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