Land and Water Link

November 2003

Tropical Rivers Forum

An upcoming conference – Sustainable Futures for Australia’s Tropical Rivers: The role of science in managing tropical rivers, wetlands, estuaries and coastal ecosystems – will be held in Darwin from 1-3 February 2004.

The conference, which was sponsored by Land and Water Australia and CSIRO Land and Water, aims to assemble and synthesise the scientific knowledge that is critical to understanding and managing Australia’s tropical rivers into the future.

With increasing social, political and business interest in the water resources of Northern Australia, we need to be proactive in assembling, distilling and leading the scientific analysis which is critical to understanding and managing the long term health of Australia’s tropical river systems. This understanding will be crucial to guide current and future debate on the use of these rivers.

By focusing on science, the conference will bring together existing knowledge and identify important knowledge gaps to provide a launch pad for future studies. The intention is to develop an integrated perspective of rivers, estuaries and near-coastal systems spanning tropical Australia from Broome to Rockhampton.

The Forum will focus on a whole river system analysis, examining catchment land-use and irrigation water extraction impacts as well as fisheries impacts on the functioning of tropical rivers, their wetlands, estuaries and near-shore environments.