April Newsletter

Measuring ecological condition is no mean feat. Measuring natural systems to place a dollar value on them and their “worth” to individuals and communities adds yet another level of complexity to an already challenging task. Yet, as our appreciation of the environment as finite increases, and the more its protection is enshrined in legislation, the more we are having to step up to this challenge.

This is not a new problem, various frameworks have been used for many years to quantify changes in ecological conditions, for example, Rapid Appraisal of Riparian Condition (RARC) or SIGNAL scores.

What has changed is that the environment is now worth big money. Biodiversity credits are one of the latest tools, and the capital pursuing these credits provides a unique opportunity to restore the environment.

The goal now is to determine where best that money should be invested and how to quantify the true change in ecological value. Pressure is mounting on ecologists and natural resource managers to answer the question “Where should we be doing what to save the environment?” Without agreed methodologies to underpin the assessment and quantification of ecological health, there is potential for investment in the wrong places.

State and Transition Modelling (STMs) is one approach to describing key components of ecological site descriptions (e.g. to measure ecological resilience) that’s gaining traction. For example, it has been adopted as a component of the Ecological Elements Method used to compare environmental outcomes at the regional scale as part of the Murray Darling Basin Plan scenarios. Check out this research publication on the Ecological Elements Method published by the CSIRO.

HydroTerra too has been collaborating in the development of a model that will allow the selection of sub catchments which are likely to benefit most from implementing landscape rehydration practices. This is so investment dollars, both by private entities and governments can be directed to provide the best return on investment possible.

Richard