This final report discusses the: * development, methodology, outcomes and outputs of the three research projects funded by the OBP under the Aboriginal Management and Planning for Country subprogram (SP5) * the work of the Aboriginal Steering Committee * the challenges, constraints and opportunities of this work. Aboriginal Management and Planning for Country 14 The three research projects were: * Plants and animals of Kija, Jaru Country: Aboriginal knowledge conservation and ethnobiological research in the upper Ord catchment * Data management, GIS and cultural mapping with Kija and Jaru people in the upper Ord catchment * Capacity-building and two-way learning for Kija, Miriwoong-Gajirrawoong and Balangarra people in the lower Ord catchment.

The report describes, analyses and evaluates approaches to the assessment of river systems and conservation values in other types of ecosystem. The report concludes that there is no readily available strategy for identification of the ecological value of rivers. In addition, there is no overview of the aspects of river systems or river sections which constitute ecological value.

This project provided valuable review of environmental impact and development of

risk assessment strategies within the Australian Cotton Industry. It was found that

GM technologies can reduce potential environmental impact by reducing or

changing pesticide use practice. Although the benefits of Bt cotton varieties and

reduced endosulfan use are well documented, a strong correlation between pesticide

use (per ha) and average rainfall was observed. This indicates that climatic

conditions offer a potential predictor of environmental impact. These results are

based on the assumption that insect pressure is greater during wetter periods, thus

requiring more insecticide use. We would therefore expect to observe an increase in

pesticide use and environmental impact when growing conditions improve,

commensurate to the use of Bollgard cotton within the industry.

Analysis of environmental impact of herbicide use did not show a significant

reduction associated with the introduction of Roundup Ready (RR) cotton. These

results indicate that improvements in herbicide use scenarios could potentially have

been made by reduced use of "high impact" residual herbicides with introduction of

RR cotton but this did not occur. However, the use of RR Flex and Liberty Link

cotton may improve the potential environmental impact of herbicide use if such

reductions in use of residuals is achieved. We also identified a slight negative trend

(r2=0.3) between herbicide application and precipitation. This indicates that if the

climates become drier then an increase in herbicide use (g/ha) will be observed. We

expect this was either a response of growers, aiming for a higher level of crop

protection for improved yields or reducing the risk of crop failure, or a more virulent

response by weeds during dry periods. The results of the analyses conducted within

this project were used to direct industry goals with respect to environmental

custodianship.

An experiment conducted within this project showed that pesticide residues

dissipate faster in actively composted cotton gin trash (GT) than in passively

composted GT. This experiment evolved from a previous study concerning potential

environmental exposure and the regulation of GT wastes. Whilst composting of GT

is recommended to reduce the concentration of pesticide residues, the resources

required may be too large for an effective BMP. Further studies, with respect to reuse

of GT, are more likely to identify a more suitable industry-wide management

practices.

The Australian River Assessment Scheme (AUSRIVAS) is a series of procedures and associated software for the rapid assessment of river conditions or 'health' using macroinvertebrate communities. AUSRIVAS includes a set of predictive computer models relevant to particular Australian States and Territories, seasons (spring, autumn or spring and autumn combined) and habitats for river macroinvertebrates (eg. riffles and pool edges).The models attempt to predict the macroinvertebrate families in a specified subsample from a standard kick or sweep net sample, assuming natural or near-natural conditions at the sampling site. The predictions are based on physical, chemical and vegetative features of the site. The predicted fauna can then be compared with the fauna actually observed to infer departures of the macroinvertebrate community from its natural state.

A workshop entitled _Microbial Indicators of River Health_ was held at Macquarie University, Sydney, on 31 July- 1 August 1997. The purpose of the workshop was to investigate the use of microbial indicators for monitoring river health. This book contains summaries of the papers presented at the workshop and some details of the techniques demonstrated during the laboratory sessions on day 2.

This information package was commissioned by the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation, a program of Land & Water Australia, the Cooperative Research Centre for Viticulture and the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation to provide an overview of the background, current developments and future prospects for implementing regulated deficit irrigation and partial rootzone drying

Weeds cost the Australian economy millions of dollars each year in lost production, eradication, containment and management, however there has been very little effort placed on assessing or valuing the ecological impact of these weeds.

Australian river systems are threatened by the severe effects of drought, bank erosion, sedimentation, pollutant inputs, urban development, and invasions by exotic aquatic plant species. This publication is one of a suite of 13 produced as part of a folder showcasing research from the Defeating the Weed Menace Research and Development program.

Annual report for Land and water for 2002 - 2003

Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) is a valuable introduced species for pastoral production but its invasion into arid and semi-arid rangelands represents a key threatening process for conservation values.