Healthy rivers mean a healthy economy

Natural river flows are needed to support the healthy fish populations that sustain commercial fisheries. Dams, weirs, large-scale irrigated agriculture and invasive species (to name the more pervasive river threats) seriously alter natural flows, destroy fish habitat, pollute river systems and greatly reduce the economic potential for sustainable fishing.

These problems have been measured by fish scientists for the Ord, Murray and Logan Rivers. Barramundi are now down to 25% of their former distribution in the Ord, following its degradation by damming and irrigation. In the Gulf of Carpentaria alone, where four wild rivers are already protected, the value of commercial catch (mainly prawn, finfish and crab) is up to $78 million each year. As fish and prawn catch in the Gulf is highly connected to natural flows, wild river protection will ensure the long-term sustainability of this industry.

Nature-based tourism is another vital industry that will benefit from the protection of wild rivers. Just as the natural wonders of the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef attract hundreds of thousands of tourists and earn billions for the economy each year, wild rivers have the potential to greatly enhance tourism opportunities. Already many nature-based tourism operators in wild river areas are highly dependent on the health of the rivers, especially for recreational fishing for fish such as Barramundi, Saratoga and Mangrove Jack and bird watching for waterbirds such as Jabiru, Brolga, Pied Heron and Lotusbird.

Wild river protection also creates conservation jobs. For instance, the Queensland Government has committed to creating up to 100 new Indigenous Wild River Ranger jobs in Far North Queensland to ensure the sustainable management of our protected wild rivers.  This is one of the single biggest employment initiatives for residents of the Far North in recent years, and importantly harnesses the skills and knowledge of local people, rather than creating a need to ‘ship in’ a workforce from elsewhere.  It creates an opportunity to achieve a long-held desire among many Indigenous people to protect the rivers and lagoons from damage by feral animals, illegal fishing and weeds.

Sustainable fishing, tourism and conservation jobs are all components of what can be called a ‘conservation economy’, where economic activities and community development restore and nurture the environment, rather than degrade it. We know from areas like the Murray-Darling Basin that land and river management practices based and broad-scale clearing and irrigation are unsustainable. In wild river areas we have an opportunity to avoid these mistakes of the past and instead create an economy that is thriving and sustainable.