Incorporating community objectives in improved wetland management: the use of the analytic hierarchy process

Wetlands in Australia provide considerable ecological, economic, environmental and social benefits. However, the use of wetlands has been indiscriminate and significant damage to many Australian wetlands has occurred. During the last 150 years one third of the wetlands in Victoria have been lost. A conspicuous problem in wetland management is the paucity of involvement by stakeholders. This paper uses the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to incorporate stakeholder objectives in the ‘Wonga Wetlands’ on the Murray River. The study shows that the AHP can explicitly incorporate stakeholder preferences and multiple objectives to evaluate management options. The AHP also provides several approaches for policy makers to arrive at policy decisions.

Balancing Wetland Management with the Military: Using Special Area Management Plans (SAMPs) to protect wetlands on U.S. Air Force Installations

U.S. Air Force installations by virtue of their isolation and often remote locations provide protection to critical habitats that would otherwise be susceptible to development and other stressors. While Air Force activities may not always compliment environmental protection, a balance between environmental protection and Air Force requirements must be achieved to minimize conflict. Special Area Management Plans (SAMPs) are a possible solution in the quest to balance conservation with mission requirements. Beale Air Force Base, California is the first military installation to pursue implementation of a SAMP. This project found that SAMP implementation could be a tool to successfully balance conservation efforts with military requirements on other Air Force installations; however, further education on the SAMP process would be required.

Management of wetland resources in the lower Mekong Basin: issues and future directions

The Lower Mekong Basin has extensive wetlands and these are being threatened by numerous problems. Most of these problems are interdependent and interact with one another. The lack of an appropriate definition of wetlands applicable to the region, pervasive inefficiencies and chronic lack of funds among riparian governments, and the poor appreciation of the true economic importance of wetlands and its resources are among the most prominent. The current definition, based on the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971), is too broad when compared to the understanding of wetlands as being swamps, marshes and the like, and was developed specifically for wetlands with international importance as waterfowl habitats. Furthermore, wetlands are composed of different types of resources, which require different modes of management. Often, institutional competition, overlapping mandates and sometimes jealousies occur between government departments when they try to assert their authority on a particular wetland resource and use, and put forward their development plans without considering how these may conflict with other wetlands uses. Finally, effective wetland management requires reliable statistics or information on rate of harvest of natural resources such as fish and others, fishing/harvesting methods over time in order to determine the level of exploitation, and the status of the natural resources. This information is needed to identify opportunities for expansion, to establish historical trends, and to determine when management interventions are necessary to protect the resources from being overused by other developments. In order to address these issues, ICLARM - The World Fish Center has launched a project, the aim of objectives of which are described in this paper.

The NRA's role in wetland conservation

This is the NRA's role in wetland conservation report produced by the National Rivers Authority in 1995. This document is the third of a series of three R&D Notes produced as part of an integrated research programme addressing aspects of the NRA's role in wetland management and conservation. Chapter 1 considers the nature of the wetland resource and its definition. Chapter 2 presents the NRA's current legislative and policy framework relating to its role in wetland conservation. National and international legislation and agreements are considered, and particular attention is afforded to the potential implications of the 'Habitats Directive'. Chapter 4 presents key examples of operational casework involving wetlands. Differences in approach and external perceptions of the NRA's current and likely future role in wetland conservation are discussed within Chapter 5. Other issues highlighted in this report are: policy guidance required on NRA’s role in land drainage; standard of flood defence service for wetlands; cost-benefit analysis; strategies for halting and reversing the decline and degradation of wetland resource; and Catchment Management Planning.

Creating Local Institutional Arrangements for Sustainable Wetland Socio-ecological Systems: Lessons from the ‘Striking a Balance’ Project in Malawi

Wetland socio-ecological systems provide livelihood benefits for many poor people throughout the developing world, yet their sustainable development requires local utilisation strategies that balance both environmental and development outcomes. Community-based local institutional arrangements that mediate peoples’ relationships with their environment and facilitate adaptive co-management offer one means of achieving this, and increasingly many NGOs and development practitioners have sought to integrate local institutional capacity-building into development projects. In the context of wider academic debates surrounding the long-term sustainability of externally-facilitated local institutions, this paper draws on the experiences of the three-year Striking a Balance (SAB) project in Malawi which sought to embed sustainable wetland management practices within community-based local institutional arrangements. Drawing on field data collected through participatory methods at three project sites some five years after the cessation of project activities, we examine the extent to which SAB’s local institutional capacity-building has been successful, and from this draw some lessons for externally-driven project interventions which seek win-win outcomes for people and the environment. With reference to Elinor Ostrom’s design principles for long-enduring common property resource institutions, we suggest that the observed declining effectiveness of SAB’s local institutions can be attributed to issues of stakeholder inclusiveness and representations; their sustainability was arguably compromised from their inception on account of them being nested within pre-existing, externally-driven village ‘clubs’ whose membership and decision-making was not congruent with all the wetland stakeholders within the community.

Local population preferences toward restoring ecosystem services of a wetland in Thailand

This study reports the findings of a choice experiment designed to explore local population preferences toward wetland ecosystem restoration of Bung Khong Long Wetland in Thailand. By addressing ecological, socioeconomic and cultural dimensions of ecosystem services, the findings provide policy-makers with a richer insight into the interconnections among ecological, socioeconomic and cultural systems in explaining the value of ecosystem services. Gaining an understanding of the trade-offs associated with different interests in ecosystem uses in this community has the capacity to promote wetland management and enhance land use planning. The choice experiment application entails selecting attributes and their levels and developing an experimental design to create the choice sets or hypothetical scenarios for welfare assessment via the questionnaire. The study is based on household level data collected from 780 randomly drawn respondents living around the lake and the data are analysed using the Random Parameter Logit Model with interactions. The findings indicate that the local population derives positive and significant values from the restoration of wetland ecosystem services, indicating caution is needed in the decision-making processes involving sensitive environments faced with competing uses. Socioeconomic and attitudinal characteristics of respondents are important factors influencing willingness to pay, implying community preferences are important in the effectiveness of environmental conservation efforts in this community. The cultural values associated with the wetland are significant suggesting that incorporating culture preferences may be a key factor in supporting wetland conservation.

Assessment of created wetland performance in Illinois /

Wetlands are extremely valuable natural features that have decreased significantly in number over time in Illinois and the United States ... Their important functions include flood protection, water conservation in times of drought, groundwater recharge, improvement of water quality through sediment reduction and contaminant removal, and providing habitat for native animals and plants, including many sensitive and state-listed threatened and endangered species ... Due to a federal "no net loss" policy on wetlands adopted through executive order by President George H. Bush in 1990, as well as a prevailing heightened interest in conservation in general, there is currently considerable interest in the restoration and creation of wetlands. Both Section-404 of the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Swampbuster Provision of the Food Securities Act of 1985 require compensation or mitigation for the loss of wetlands. A number of federal and state programs such as Section 319 of the Clean Water Act and the Conservation Reserve Program within the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) encourage wetland restoration and creation. In addition, various conservation organizations, such as The Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited are very active in wetland restoration. Despite wetland restoration efforts and the national goal of no net loss, wetlands and wetland functions continue to be lost due to degradation of existing wetlands ... Unfortunately, no reliable information exists on the quality of existing wetlands or on trends in wetland quality over time ... The functional quality of existing wetlands is likely decreasing in many areas due to the combined effects of habitat fragmentation, alteration of hydrology, invasive species, and continued input of nutrients and pollutants. Furthermore, it is still debatable whether created or restored wetlands can adequately replace the suite of ecological functions provided by natural wetlands ... and the failure of many wetland compensation projects contributes to a continued national net loss of wetland functions ... The need for post-construction site monitoring and assessment of created and restored wetlands to evaluate functional success is widely recognized. ... At this time, there is little agreement on how to assess the success on quality of wetland restorations or creations.

Vegetation dynamics and their implications for the management of wetlands in the lowlands of Nepal

The maintenance of species richness is often a priority in the management of nature reserves, where consumptive use of resources is generally prohibited. The purpose of this research was to improve management by understanding the vegetation dynamics in the lowlands of Nepal. The objectives were to determine vegetation associations in relation to environments and human-induced disturbances that affect vegetation dynamics on floodplains, where upstream barrages had altered flooding patterns, and consumptive use of plant resources was influencing natural processes. Floodplain vegetation in relation to physical environments and disturbances were studied along transects, perpendicular to the course of the Mahakali River in the western Terai, Nepal. Forest structural changes were studied for three years in ten plots. A randomized split-block experiment with nine burning and grazing treatments was performed in seasonally flooded grasslands. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess people's socio-economic status, natural resource use patterns and conservation attitudes. ^ Elevation, soil organic matter, nitrogen, percentage of sand and grazing intensity were significant in delineating herbaceous vegetation assemblages, whereas elevation and livestock grazing were significant in defining forest type boundaries. On the floodplain islands, highly grazed Dalbergia sissoo-Acacia catechu forests were devoid of understory woody vegetation, but the lightly grazed D. sissoo-mixed forests had a well-developed second canopy layer, comprising woody species other than D. sissoo and A. catechu. In grasslands, species richness and biomass production were highest at intermediate disturbance level represented by the lightly grazed and ungrazed early-burned treatments. Ethnicity, education and resource use patterns were important in influencing conservation attitudes. A succession towards the mixed forests would occur in D. sissoo-dominated floodplain forests, where dams and barrages reduce flooding and associated fluvial processes, and if livestock grazing is stopped, as occasionally suggested by nature conservationists. In seasonally flooded grasslands, early burning with moderate grazing would enhance the species diversity and productivity. There is a need to implement a participatory integrated wetland management plan, to include community development, education and off farm income generation, to assure participatory conservation and management of wetlands in Nepal. ^

Grazing for Healthy Coastal Wetlands: Guidelines for managing coastal wetlands in grazing systems.

Grazing for Healthy Coastal Wetlands has been developed to provide graziers, landowners and extension officers with information on managing grazing in and around Queensland’s coastal wetlands to maintain healthy coastal wetlands and productive grazing enterprises. It provides practical advice on how grazing and associated land management practices can be implemented to support the long-term health of coastal wetlands whilst maintaining production. The guidelines have been compiled from published literature, grazier knowledge, wetlands managers and the experience of extension and natural resource management professionals. They reflect the current knowledge of suitable management practices for coastal wetlands. They are designed to complement and be considered in conjunction with existing information resources including the EDGEnetwork Grazing Land Management series and best management practice guidelines from regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) groups. While the recommendations apply broadly to Queensland’s coastal wetlands, regional, catchment and landscape-scale variations in wetland characteristics and the objectives of the individual grazing enterprise should be taken into account in planning and deciding management actions for wetlands. An individual grazing property may even have a range of wetland types with different management needs and objectives which should be identified during whole of property planning. Specific land and wetland management advice should also be sought from local grazing extension officers and NRM professionals.

Final Evaluation Memorandum: Strategies for Resolving Low Dissolved Oxygen and Methylmercury Events in Northern Suisun Marsh

The purpose of the project is to improve our understanding about best management practices that can be utilized on diked managed wetlands in Suisun Marsh for reducing the occurrence of low dissolved oxygen (DO) and high methylmercury (MeHg) events associated primarily with fall flood-up practices. Low DO events are of concern because they can lead to undue stress and even mortality of sensitive aquatic organisms. Elevated MeHg levels are of concern because MeHg is a neurotoxin that bio-magnifies up the food chain and can cause deleterious effects to higher trophic level consumers such as piscivorous fish, birds, and mammals (including humans). This study involved two years (2007-2008) of intensive field data collection at two managed wetland sites in northwest Suisun Marsh and their surrounding tidal sloughs, an area with prior documented low DO events. In addition, the study collected limited soils and water quality field data and mapped vegetation for three managed wetland sites in the central interior of Suisun Marsh, for the purpose of examining whether wetlands at other locations exhibit characteristics that could indicate potential for similar concerns. In Year 1 of the study, the objective was to identify the baseline conditions in the managed wetlands and determine which physical management conditions could be modified for Year 2 to reduce low DO and MeHg production issues most effectively. The objective of Year 2 was to evaluate the effectiveness of these modified management actions at reducing production of low DO and elevated MeHg conditions within the managed wetlands and to continue improving understanding of the underlying biogeochemical processes at play. This Final Evaluation Memorandum examined a total of 19 BMPs, 14 involving modified water management operations and the remaining five involving modified soil and vegetation management practices. Some of these BMPs were previously employed and others have not yet been tested. For each BMP this report assesses its efficacy in improving water quality conditions and potential conflicts with wetland management. It makes recommendations for further study (either feasibility assessments or field testing) and whether to consider for future use. Certain previously used BMPs were found to be important contributors to poor water quality conditions and their continued use is not recommended. Some BMPs that could improve water quality conditions appear difficult to implement in regards to compatibility with wetland management; these BMPs require further elaboration and feasibility assessment to determine whether they should be field tested. In practice for any given wetland, there is likely a combination of BMPs that would together have the greatest potential to address the low DO and high MeHg water quality concerns. Consequently, this report makes no sweeping recommendations applicable to large groups of wetlands but instead promotes a careful consideration of factors at each wetland or small groups of wetlands and from that assessment to apply the most effective suite of BMPs. This report also identifies a number of recommended future actions and studies. These recommendations are geared toward improving the process understanding of factors that promote low DO and high MeHg conditions, the extent of these problems in Suisun Marsh, the regulatory basis for the DO standards for a large estuarine marsh, the economics of BMPs, and alternative approaches to BMPs on diked managed wetlands that may address the water quality issues. The most important of these recommendations is that future BMP implementation should be carried out within the context of rigorous scientific evaluation so as to gain the maximum improvement in how to manage these water quality issues in the diked managed wetlands of Suisun Marsh.

Renovation of the Masterfoods wetlands

This thesis describes the renovation of the Masterfoods' wetlands in Ballarat, including an analysis of the behaviour of the three key components upon which a functioning constructed treatment wetland relies: water quality, wetland design and the wetland plants. Includes a description of replanting and the subsequent improvement in treatment function.