The Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, Kate Auty has delivered her report on the future of the Cotter River water catchment area and its management into the future.
Professor Auty’s report, The Heroic and the Dammed – Lower Cotter Catchment Restoration Evaluation , responds to a recommendation of the ACT Auditor-General that restoration of the area be evaluated against continuing management goals, and that priorities for the next decade be established.
The Auditor-General’s Report identified bushfires as the biggest threat to the Lower Cotter Catchment, stating it was essential there was continuous long-term action to manage fire risk.
It said erosion continued to impact water quality and that weed management was also a persistent issue.
“It is critical that adequate funding, increased from the current level, is provided to continue long-term effective management of the catchment,” the Auditor-General’s report said.
Professor Auty’s report updated the implementation status of all 12 of the Auditor-General’s recommendation, the seven recommendations from the subsequent Standing Committee on Public Accounts Report, and a broad evaluation of restoration against the key management objectives contained in the Lower Cotter Catchment Reserve Management Plan 2018.
Additionally, her report provided a framework to monitor and evaluate water quality and ecological values over time and under changing environmental and economic conditions.
Professor Auty made five recommendations, broadly relating to monitoring and evaluation implementation; funding and resources commitment; governance improvements; coordination of efforts, and legislative interventions.
The Government is expected to respond in the next six months.
The Commissioner’s 147-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
