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Water bird numbers down 70% in the Murray-Darling Basin over ~30 years (2 Viewers)

Chosun Juan

Chosun Juan

Given to Fly
Australia - Aboriginal
"New research has found a dramatic decline in water birds in the Murray-Darling Basin, with numbers down about 70 per cent in the past three decades"
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-05/murray-darling-basin-waterbirds-population-declining/8587720

The verdict is irrefutably in. White fulla ways since 'ahem', settlement, and water infrastructure decisions of the 1950's and 60's have had alarming long term ramifications on birds "which tells you the whole of the ecosystem is in decline."

This should sound deafening alarm bells for those of the more red-necked or liberal political class who blindly seek to repeat the exercise in the north of Australia .....


It really makes the repair and regenerative work of visionary landscape whispering 'guru' Peter Andrews OAM, all the more important ....
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=342128



Chosun :gh:
 
Here is a link to the original research paper published in the Global Change Biology journal. Only the Abstract is available to view for free. Various rising costs are charged to rent it for one-off reading, through to download.

Titled:
"Continental impacts of water development on waterbirds, contrasting two Australian river basins: Global implications for sustainable water use".
Richard T. Kingsford
First published: 4 June 2017
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13743

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.13743/full



Chosun :gh:
 
Chosun Juan said:
Here is a link to the original research paper published in the Global Change Biology journal. Only the Abstract is available to view for free. Various rising costs are charged to rent it for one-off reading, through to download.

Titled:
"Continental impacts of water development on waterbirds, contrasting two Australian river basins: Global implications for sustainable water use". Richard T. Kingsford First published: 4 June 2017. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13743 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.13743/full
Chosun :gh:
Click to expand...

Richard Kingsford is usually quick to put his material online at ResearchGate, so it might be available soon.
MJB
 
I am using a Samsung Note 3, and I still can't download this file :(

The UNSW ecosystem address bar is showing an open padlock - is this what everyone else is seeing? Every time I try to download, after a while of being in progress, my phone comes up with a download failed message ......?

Anyone ?



Chosun :gh:
 
Thanks Henning, now reunited with my old laptop, I was able to open that pdf and download first time too - and the old girl is running Vista, and has more than one troublesome cold that I can't get rid of.

Perhaps my android phone has a virus too? It's saying that the security certificate from the unsw site is not recognised - clearly a problem on my end. Does anyone have any advice there?

It was interesting that the 2010 rainfall event showed as statistically relevant - these flooding rains was when I saw Buff-banded Rails, Royal Spoonbills, and even a Brolga poking about what was basically ex-cow paddocks! :eek!: :t: :king:

The Brolga visited for just one morning at a small temporary pond (a depression maybe a foot or so deep and no bigger than the size of your loungeroom) - this was a once in 10 year (maybe more) event - many many kilometres from any recognised wetlands ..... :cat:

The treatment of rivers and catchments as drainage ditches largely devoid of natural floodout and soil building processes, and even worse erosion, makes such occurrences less and less likely as these processes and attendant land clearing and riparian destruction dry the land out. :-C



Chosun :gh:
 
Hi Chosun,

Chosun Juan said:
Perhaps my android phone has a virus too? It's saying that the security certificate from the unsw site is not recognised - clearly a problem on my end. Does anyone have any advice there?
Click to expand...

You could try a different browser - if you're using chrome, try Firefox or Opera.

(That's a non-scientific approach, no idea what the root cause might be.)

Regards,

Henning
 
Glad you downloaded it successfully Chosun (eventually!), it opened fine first time for me in Safari so I wouldn't have been much help resolving your problem I'm afraid :(
 
Further to the original report, comes a documentary about water allocations, rights, and financial drivers, which will be aired tonight, Monday 24th July 8:30pm (AEST) on Australian ABC TV investigative journalism program "Four Corners" titled "Pumped". In an advertisement for the program I noted that Professor Richard Kingsford was interviewed for ecological input. Watch it if you can :t:
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2017/07/20/4705065.htm


Chosun :gh:
 
Chosun Juan said:
Further to the original report, comes a documentary about water allocations, rights, and financial drivers, which will be aired tonight, Monday 24th July 8:30pm (AEST) on Australian ABC TV investigative journalism program "Four Corners" titled "Pumped". In an advertisement for the program I noted that Professor Richard Kingsford was interviewed for ecological input. Watch it if you can :t:
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2017/07/20/4705065.htm


Chosun :gh:
Click to expand...

Missed it. Will iview it later though - just saw a clip that included a secret recording of an (alleged!) dodgy senior civil servant and recognised them from some audit work I did a few years ago when the same person was a senior civil servant in a different state :-O
 
mjh73 said:
Missed it. Will iview it later though - just saw a clip that included a secret recording of an (alleged!) dodgy senior civil servant and recognised them from some audit work I did a few years ago when the same person was a senior civil servant in a different state :-O
Click to expand...
Bumma mjh, it will be replayed at other times tomorrow morning, and Wednesday night, as well as the streaming catchup service.

Jeez, what an eyeopener. The results, and the rules and governance system that we have is definitely NOT what the taxpayer has forked over several Billion $ for over the last decade or so.

The program revealed profiteering and what I can only describe as environmentally stupid business models based on water allocations and trading in some of the hottest parts of the country, with vast storage dams acting like large evaporation ponds.

Madness when you consider the country and it's flora and fauna evolved diametrically in precisely the opposite direction of water storage in floodplains and ephemeral and permanent river connected wetlands, in what must be the most efficient and beautiful such system in the world.

Here's a bit of a summary I posted on the dedicated program alert thread .......
"WOW! What an absolute bombshell! :storm:

Allegations of subversion, non-compliance, measurement equipment tampering or just plain disconnected, wilful dishonesty and criminality. Billions of litres of water obtained spuriously.

Also, senior executive public servants preferentially providing selective "de-badged" information to irrigation lobby groups, and proactive investigation units within departments sidelined and disbanded.

Apart from these actions deliberately on the wrong side of the ledger, comes revelations of the playing field tipped in favour of irrigators with much higher extraction during low flow periods with much larger pipes and equipment, it must be said in direct contravention of the 'spirit' and 'intent' of the Murray Darling Basin Plan and the several Billion $ of taxpayer's money invested for the purpose of trying to achieve better environmental outcomes.

If you missed the original sceening, the program will be repeated tomorrow morning, 9:59am Tuesday 25th July on ABC (channel 21), and again on Wednesday evening, 26th July at 11:15pm. It should also be available to stream from the ABC catchup service via the Internet, and transcripts should be available at some stage too."




Chosun :gh:
 
WOW!! This is massive!

Following revelations aired in the 4 Corners program last night, there are calls for a judicial inquiry, referring the matter to ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption), and even a Royal Commission :eek!:

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/poli...SKY_murray-darling-water-theft-inquiry_250717

There is a long history of State versus State and accusations of unfair water grabs, which several billion $ of taxpayer money and the MDBA (Murray Darling Basin Authority), Plan, and water allocation, and even station (Toorale - now a National Park) buybacks were meant to fix. This is a matter of national significance, and likely just the start. Hang on to your hats folks - I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore! :cat:


Chosun :gh:
 
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