Koala Planning Dreaming

A wise developer once told me that to successfully plan for development, the following rules of thumb can work for everyone:-

• leave the surveyors and engineers till the very last
• consult local wildlife and environmental experts first
• fit the building of homes and infrastructure around the wildlife habitats
• go gently, use as little machinery as possible
• do not squeeze as many "home blocks"in as possible - rather, let the circumstances of the land dictate how many "home blocks" there can be
• when you know where all the animals live and how they live, then, and only then, bring in the surveyors and engineers

I believe this is true for all catchments, all land, all developments. Water considerations should also be dealt with in this way, firstly consulting local catchment authorities and local water knowledge to understand the nature of water above and below the ground. Monitoring this water, and altering the catchment only to benefit the sustainability of the catchment's well being.

Totem based Education for Biodiversity in Darling River (Murray Darling System)

The current Issue of the Darling River has it's roots in ignorance, lack of continuity of focus and understanding plus run amok ego and greed. The Darling River is one of the main arteries of the Australian continental BODY. All along and within the River System lives an amazingly complex interconnected section of the Australian BIOSPHERE. There are also key components of that Biosphere that are helpful indicators to the health of the system.

I have my own ideas as to how to fix this main artery:

1. Continuity of understanding and respect by creating a comprehensive long term vision of education. Base this education on a)teaching within every single school (and associated community network) within the Catchment System and b) teaching via mass media.

2. Use the concept of "totems" to carry this understanding and respect into future generations' life styles. Create a comprehensive "TOTEM" based educational framework, that is fully coordinated and on equal footing with economic educational components of current mainstream educational policies.

3. Find the "TOTEMS" (eg Koala, dragonfly, ant, goanna, crayfish, habitat, river red gum, wallaby etc- the list could be refined by proper consultation with the traditional land owners also ). Pool current ecological wisdom to isolate key indicator species. Imprint these "TOTEM" qualities and understandings onto every future student generation - Thus safeguarding their survival in their HABITATS via full integration of the "TOTEMS" system within the environmental and economic educational frameworks of the Australian Schooling network.

A simple start here:-

• Create the school "house" system as the "TOTEM" base for a particular location/section of Catchment.
  
• Fully integrate the learning of that TOTEM within each individual school.
  
• Involve the local knowledge, science community, businesses and core catchment authorities to mentor the knowledge.
  
• Ensure that each student leaving the education system has a deep and thorough understanding and care for at least ONE TOTEM.
  
• Make this a hundred year plan.
  

4. Implement a wide scale revegetation program of monumental proportion.

Creating industry in organic nurseries, provincial species seed distribution, habitat restoration networks and other industry incentives based around the current and future utilities & transport corridors and other public & crown land. This RESOURCE MANAGEMENT approach, that caters for seed stock plants, education, sustainability and habitat "demonstration" can fill a massive niche, that is missing in Australia - that of sustainable "organic" nursery and revegetation networks, seed networks and local habitat restoration industries.

5. Ensure that CARBON TRADING and CARBON OFFSET PROGRAMS are based on only the soundest of biodiversity principles - instead of the quick fix approach taken by many of industry and the market place opportunists, when initiatives such as these are let loose in the public market place and supported by government sectors and funding support.

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Creation Story told by Auntie Beryl Carmichael

(creation story for Ngyiaampaa country as well as land belonging to Eagle Hawk and Crow)

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The Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability

Some Darling River (Murray Darling Catchment Links) on bluecray blog

Aboriginal Economy and Society - Educational link & Sociological Remarks from Australian National University - Darling River

Platypus by Ann Moyal - a preview page

Pauline McLeod - Aboriginal Storyteller - an interview

Aboriginal Principal for Sustainable Development as told in tradition law stories by Karl Eric Sveiby (google HTML version) by sveiby knowledge associates

Murray Lower Darling Indigenous Nations

Report to the Murray Darling Basin Commission (2003) - Indigenous response to the Living Murray Initiative (google HTML version)

The Salt that Ate Australia - note on BBC Costing the Earth program 1/04/04 BBC Radio 4 (google HTML version)

Aboriginal Studies Press, Library, Research, Audiovisual Library, Weblinks, News at Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)

Bluecray EDUCATION LINKS

Bluecray Darling River (Murray Darling Catchment) Links

Benoit  - the young Crow  (Burringbar,NSW)

The Darling River is a long way from the Mt Warning Caldera Region. If you look at this catchments MAP for the Catchments of NSW and this Qld catchments MAP, you will see that the catchments of the Darling River do not conveniently fit within state borders  of  NSW  and  QLD  .  Eventually, these catchments flow intoVictoria and South Australia. This is the Murray-Darling System spanning 4 Australian States and finally flowing into the ocean in South Australia . To further compound the complexity, governments continually change the historical reference points for understanding this vaste system of waterways.

Money, Scientific Research , Reform processes , Government Initiatives and Community effort  : the LIST is endless when it comes to the response to the management of the Darling River Catchment System. It is decades since the  problems of water loss and farmland sustainability were identified by the Australian Government.

 The history of these initiatives have all but been forgotten as the various personalities of politics and powerplay continually introduce new reforms, create new public agendas and frameworks, find another cause or cure to the issue, waste valuable community effort, time and resources in changing benchmarks and project support and sell off public assets to "fix" the issues.

Oh, now you might say - well what about Carbon Credits and Carbon Trading ?  LANDCARE?  Caring for Country?   Catchment Management Programs?  Greening Australia? Australian Conservation Volunteers?Rotary? Scouts?  There is a huge list of already participating community volunteers and paid environmental advisors out there.

And I might say back to you - well it has been years since the National Landcare and Catchment Management grew from the need to address vital LAND and WATER issues within the Murray-Darling System, and other prominent Catchment Systems in Western Australia, Qld and Victoria. The previous Government sold chunks of government telecommunications to FIX this issue. YET still, the precious WATER of the Murray- Darling undergoes "stream stealing" by channel altering, land reshaping and other catchment interference such as Dams, developments, clearing, innapropriate land use and  waste by monoculture industries that are fully supported by other government incentives and the PUBLIC.

Australian Commonwealth Water Act 2007  - at ComLaw, Attorney-General's Department, Australian Government 

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Below is a not conclusive all encompassing list of Catchment links to the Darling and the Murray-Darling system. It is more a list to encourage a starting point to understanding the depth and breadth of this great system that once supported a fantastic number of living flora and fauna, while the original land Custodians of Australia lived and walked the land, ( before the European invasion of Australia in the 18th century and subsequent decline in water quality, species, habitats and adequate land stewardship)

• Beyond Native title: The Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations  
• Recognition of Aboriginal rights, interests and values in river research and management: Perspectives from northern Australia - with implications for Catchment Management throughout Australia
  
• Aboriginal Law Bulletin  
• Caught in the Act - ongoing research blog byKathy Stavrou - brief history of Australia since European occupation of NSW, Australia
• Indigenous Law Bulletin - Indigenous Law Centre, University of NSW, Australia
• Australian Human Rights Commission - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
• NSW Dept. Environment and Climate Change - Indigenous People of NSW - this is extremely brief considering how long the indigenous Nations have lived throughout Australia and cared so well for its biodiversity and habitats
• The Murray Darling Basin - an overview  
• Current Australian Government Position for Murray Darling System (2009)
• 1. What's in the catchment and where does the water flow_
• ACF - Murray Darling
• Australian Government National Water Commission
• River condition in the Murray-Darling Basin
• Queensland WaterShed - Drainage Divisions & Stream Flow Sites - select a Qld Catchment
• Australian Natural Resources Atlas home page
• Catchment Classification Project
• Catchment Classification_ regional maps- South Australia
• Catchment Mapping - Connected Water Website
• CatCon mapping facility
• map australian catchments - Google Search
• University of Melbourne Integrated Catchment Management Education  

• Darling River - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Darling River Action Group
• Data Library
• Department of Natural Resources and Water Queensland home page
• Develop and implement management options - Connected Water Website
• Dryland Rivers policy document
• Geoscience Australia - Fab Facts, Landforms, Australian Rivers
• Investigate and Assess - Connected Water Website
• Land Use - Australia
• Link to Atlas on-line mapping
• Maps - protected wetlands, rivers and river catchments
• National Mapping - Fab Facts, Landforms from Space
• Rivers - Assessment of River Condition - Queensland
• Set Management Targets - Connected Water Website
• Statwide map
• Australian Government understating Perth catchment rain
• WaterShed
• Australian Government Land and Water  programs
• Water Regulations 2008 - Australian Bureau of Meteorology :  Water Act 2007 & Water Information 
• Australian Water Association  
• Ganesha on the Murray  
• Natural Sequence Farming  
• Natural Sequence Association 
• Biodiversity Assessment Darling Riverine Plains ANRA (Australian Natural Resourse Atlas) i am not sure when this was done
• ENIAR (European Network for Indigenous Australian Rights) 
• Bluecray.org WATER and Darling River LINKS pages