1. Consultancy Background
2. Tasmanian Contribution
3. Other Contributions
4. The Biobaffle
5. National Contribution
6. International Contribution
1. Consultancy background
Now in its 16th year, the Freshwater Systems team is proud of its environmental
achievements. It has been responsible for a wide range of practical
environmental outcomes and the consultancy has also been instrumental
in developing state and national environmental policies, protocols and
codes. The consultancy has directly contributed to the betterment of
Tasmania's aquatic environment and its ecosystems.
Prof Peter Davies' environmental work began in the early 1980's with novel
research on the effects of pesticides on Tasmanian native fish. This
led to work with Tasmania's Inland Fisheries Commission as a research
biologist, and it was here that he was responsible for:
- Initiating a ongoing culture of environmental concern, investigation
and active management in the agency.
- Assessments of pesticide levels in Tasmania's rivers, their impact
on aquatic biota, and their management. This led to professional involvement
in reviews to the Forest industry nationally.
- Initiated data collection on Tasmania's trout fisheries, with annual
surveys of 2000+ anglers, now in its 24th year.
- Managed the successful translocation and population restoration of
the country's most endangered freshwater fish (the Lake Pedder galaxias).
In 1992 Peter established the first consultancy in Australia to focus
only on freshwater and estuarine environmental issues, Freshwater Systems.
The consultancy has maintained its focus on delivering quality scientific
advice, investigation and research on freshwater and estuarine issues.
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2. Tasmanian contribution
Peter and the Freshwater Systems team (Laurie Cook, Tom Sloane, Will
Elvey and many other employees) have made significant contributions
to environmental management in Tasmania.
2a. Policy & Management
Peter has been an active contributor in environmental policy and management.
He is or was:
- Member of the Technical Advisory Committee for a joint DPIW-FPA project
to develop a planning tool to manage water use by plantations in Tasmanian
catchments, a project he initiated.
- Board member (environment) for the Tasmanian Forest Practices Board;
- Member of the Threatened Species Advisory Committee (SAC);
- Chairman of the Tasmanian Forest Research Council for seven years;
- Member of the State Water Quality Management Policy Development Committee.
- Chair of the Forest Practices Code Review (Soil and Water Quality
Provisions), and the principal author of the review report in 2000.
- Member of the Forest Practices Tribunal;
- Member of the Warra Long Term Ecological Research Committee;
- Principal technical advisor and member of the reference and technical
panels during development of the CFEV (Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystem
Values) framework;
He also:
- Reviewed the management of Tasmania's trout fisheries for the then
Minister in 1996, which initiated fishery management planning, several
new policies, and structural changes within the IFS;
- Advised the Minister on cage aquaculture in lakes, a review which
formed the basis for state policy on that issue;
- Reviewed the environmental aspects of the State Water Development
Plan for government, the recommendations from which have initiated the
development of a new conservation and management framework for freshwater/estuarine
environments;
- Served on the inaugural Inland Fisheries Advisory Committee, 2001/02;
- Conducted the initial scoping review of aquatic environmental issues
associated with the Basslink project for government and the Basslink
Development Board, which formed the basis for all subsequent aquatic
environmental assessments for the Basslink EIIS;
- Developed an approach to restoring native fish passage which formed
part of a new fish passage policy.
2b. Environmental Management
Mining
Peter has acted as both advisor and consultant to the Tasmanian
mining industry and government in relation to the environmental effects
of their operations, for over 18 years. This has involved detailed assessments,
research, monitoring and advice in relation to Copper Mines of Tasmania
at Mt Lyell, Henty Gold/AurionGold/PlacerDome's Henty goldmine, the
Savage River Mine and ABM, the Beaconsfield Gold Mine, the Hellyer mine
on the Que and Southwell rivers, as well as the rehabilitation of impacts
of historical workings at Mt Lyell, Hercules, Storys Creek and Aberfoyle.
Peter has provided scientific advise to several mining consultancy environmental
managers on the aquatic environmental issues under their management.
Forestry
Peter has acted as both researcher, consulting and pro-bono advisor
to the forest industry, the Forest Practices board and the community
on aquatic aspects of forest management. His and Freshwater Systems
team's investigations and activities included:
- Impacts of logging operations on water quality, hydrology and aquatic
biota;
- Impacts, design and maintenance of forest roading on aquatic values;
- Impacts and improved management of pesticide applications in plantation
forestry;
- Community concerns about water quality downstream of forest production
areas;
- Water and fauna issues as they pertain to forest practices - drafting
or commenting on provisions of the Code in relation to road crossings,
culverts, streamside reserves and threatened species;
- Aquatic issues for the RFA, conducting assessments of river biodiversity;
- Long term research for sustainability of the aquatic environment,
at Mt Barrow and at Warra;
- Initiation and conduct of several investigations directly addressing
forest practices issues on streamside reserves, pesticides and roading.
These results have directly influenced forest management decisions in
the state and nationally.
Peter has been an annual instructor in Forest Practices Officer
training courses and Fauna courses on aquatic issues for the FPB for
the last 15 years.
Fisheries
Since leaving IFC, Peter has been an active participant/advisor
as a:
- Member of the Inland Fisheries Advisory Council;
- Member of two Recovery Teams for Threatened Species;
- Participant in the management of the threatened Pedder galaxias, giant
lobster and Cataract Gorge snail;
- Technical advisor for the management plans for Lakes Sorell and Crescent
and the Clyde River;
- Advisor on native fish management to government;
- Developer of the Tasmanian fish database, and ensuring its' maintenance.
Water Management
DPIWE: Peter' projects/achievements with DPIWE Water Branch
include:
- Acting as researcher, consulting and advisor on water management on
environmental flows, river health assessment, monitoring program design
and analysis, water management and policy development issues.
- Developing a novel risk assessment approach to determining environmental
flows which has been the basis for over 40 environmental flow assessments
in the state. He formed a professional advisory group on the development
of environmental flow assessment, and actively championed multidisciplinary
involvement in these assessments.
- Training DPIWE and Hydro staff in environmental flow assessment techniques.
- Facilitating the development of a monitoring program for the first
environmental flow release in Tasmania, on the Mersey River.
- Analysis and reporting on the results of the above 8 year Mersey River
environmental flow rehabilitation project monitoring program - the first
Australian demonstration of the considerable environmental benefits
of such a release.
- Conducting environmental flow assessments on the Derwent, Clyde, Coal,
Elizabeth, Macquarie, Meander, Mersey, South Esk, Wye, Isis, St Pauls,
Tomahawk and Boobyalla rivers.
- Initiating, designing, and reporting on the first and second water
quality assessments for the Tasmanian World Heritage Area, making a
number of key recommendations. Freshwater Systems also conducts routine
environmental assessments of the performance of wastewater treatment
at Lake St Clair and at Cradle Mountain.
Hydro Tasmania:
Peter' projects/achievements with Hydro include:
- Initiating the establishment of an ongoing environmental monitoring
program within the Hydro to address their aquatic environmental issues
in the late 1980s. Peter has had an active role in advising this
group on water management, assessment and monitoring issues for over
15 years.
- Initiating, negotiating funding and conducting the first assessment
of the downstream impact of hydro-development in Tasmania on river ecology
(1994), the report from which has formed the basis for a number of management
actions and ongoing monitoring.
- Conducting assessments/research for Hydro Tasmania on:
- likely impacts of Basslink on the Gordon, King and lower Macquarie
Rivers, and their mitigation;
- the conservation needs for the biota of Great Lake and implications
for lake level management;
- metal toxicity issues in Lake Burbury;
- fish passage issues.
- Peter currently manages the Basslink monitoring program on instream
aquatic biota for Hydro, with monitoring at over 35 locations over 10
years.
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3. Other Contributions
Peter has appeared as an expert witness for a number of environmental
court cases for both government (eg Great Forester River pollution)
and for the community (eg North West Bay water quality, saltmarsh pollution
from Lauderdale tip).
Peter has been involved with, advised and consulted to local government
on such issues as:
- Water and biological quality of urban streams (Hobart City);
- City water supply quality (Burnie City);
- Impacts and remediation of effects from wastewater treatment plant
remediation (Scottsdale, Sheffield, Sorell);
- Impacts of forestry on water (Dorset).
Peter has been responsible for raising awareness of road crossing
and passage issues for aquatic fauna at DIER.
Peter has cooperated with a number of engineering firms on environmental
assessments and investigations, including GHD, Australian Power &Water,
Pitt and Sherry, John Miedeke and partners, SKM, Thompson and Brett.
Peter has assisted a number of community groups with environmental
advice in relation to forestry, water quality, environmental flows,
pollution and aquatic species.
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4. The Biobaffle
In 2002 Peter patented the Biobaffle, which restores the ability
of native fish to swim upstream at road crossings through concrete culverts.
This followed a research program with his School of Zoology students
Rod Walker and Jed McDonald on native fish passage needs. With several
million culverts nationwide affecting fish populations, rehabilitation
of fish passage at road crossings is a significant issue. The Tasmanian
ConservationTrust and Envirofund provided funding for Biobaffle culvert
rehabilitation to begin on the lower Derwent catchment. The 'Biobaffle'
has attracted significant media and professional interest and is now
being incorporated into local road planning and contract tenders..
Leadership
Peter has provided leadership in environmental management and protection
to a large number of professionals and community members. He has provided
training, direct employment and guidance on aquatic environmental issues
to most of the people currently employed in this area (eg in DPIW Water
Management and in Hydro environmental services). Peter has provided
inspiration both through his high level of energy and commitment and
his insistence on quality scientific process.
Peter regularly offers his time and skill free ('pro-bono'), with
the central philosophy of helping the environment and community in cases
of genuine need.
Peter has supervised, with no payment, over 15 Honours and post-graduate
students over the last decade. He has given 120+ guest lectures to University,
government, community and angling groups. He has worked with the Fahan
and Hutchins Schools in Grades 4 and 9 in teaching about the schools'
streams (Wayne and Lambert Rivulets), for which Fahan won an award.
Peter regularly samples local stream fish populations for several
community groups (Lambert, Cartwright Creeks, Sandy Bay Rt).
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5. National contribution
Policy & Management
MURRAY DARLING BASIN: In 2002 Peter was appointed Chair of the Independent Sustainable Rivers Audit Group overseeing the development of a process for auditing the ecological condition of the rivers in the Murray Darling Basin, and subsequently reporting on the audit itself. This audit (the SRA) is the largest of its kind in the world and reports and comments on ecological condition of all Basin rivers to Ministerial Council. Peter has also been a senior scientific advisor to the Living Murray environmental remediation program. Peter was one of two independent reviewers of the Living Murray MFAT flow evaluation tool.
NATIONAL WATER COMMISSION: In 2006 Peter became a member of the National Aquatic Ecosystem Advisory Group, advising the NWC on aquatic environmental issues.
NRHP: Peter was science manager and coordinator for the National River Health Program at a national level for Environment Australia (CEPA & LWRRDC/LWA) from 1993 to 2004. Peter was responsible for coordinating development of riverine bioassessment (including AUSRIVAS, the Australian River Assessment Scheme) in all states and territories. In 1994 he wrote the technical manual on which AUSRIVAS bioassessment is based, and facilitated the establishment of a 'lead agency' in every state capital. He was responsible for advising the Commonwealth on expenditure and contractual issues regarding the development of a wide range of aquatic bioassessment methods, as well as a $30+ million supporting R&D program. He remained the 'collective memory' of the NRHP through two periods of jurisdictional change and re-organisation, and maintained a consistent approach to the development of tools for ecological assessment of freshwater environments in advice to Federal Government.
SOE: Peter wrote the 'Inland Waters' chapter section on biological condition of inland waters for the first National State of the Environment Report (1996), co-authored the rest of the chapter, and reviewed the inland water chapter for the 2006 national SOE report.
SNOWY RIVER: Peter was intra-government advisor to Environment Australia on the Snowy Water Inquiry. He is one of three scientific advisors on the Steering Committee for the Snowy River benchmarking project, which is assessing the environmental benefits of the restoration of environmental follows to the Snowy River, NSW. Snowy Hydro Ltd contracted him to review their water monitoring program in 2004/05.
NATIONAL MONITORING: In 2002/03 I advised EA and AFFA on the development of Monitoring and Evaluation indicators for the Natural Resource Management and NAP programs.
PESTICIDES: Peter was technical advisor/field program designer and reviewer to the forest industry and the NRA for a national risk assessment on the use of triazine herbicides in forestry. He has provided input into several national and state government and industry reviews of pesticide use and water quality guidelines.
NSW PARKS: Peter was a member of the Independent Scientific Committee advising the NSW National Parks Service on the Kosciusko National Park Management Plan. He was also a reviewer for the Snowy Hydro cloud-seeding project on aquatic environmental aspects of the project.
ACT: Peter co-wrote the review of ACT Environmental Flow Guidelines for Environment ACT in 2004.
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6. International contribution
UK, SOUTH AFRICA - As NRHP coordinator, Peter fosters scientific
linkages between Australia, the UK and South Africa. He organised reciprocal
visits, with mutual benefit for the development of river health assessment
frameworks in all countries. He facilitated scientific exchanges between
South Africa and Australia in the area of environmental flow assessment.
Peter visited both countries during the mid 1990's, and co-organised
an international conference on river health assessment held in Oxford
UK. He was the keynote speaker at the conference, and co-editor of an
international book of proceedings, published by the Freshwater Biological
Association (UK).
INDONESIA - In 1999-2000, Peter worked on a project developing
a bioassessment system for Indonesia, and ran a trial, with Indonesians
and three other Australians, in the upper Brantas River catchment, east
Java. He helped run a national bioassessment conference in Java, and
has since continued work on the program.
FRANCE - In 2004-06, Peter worked with Prof Regis Cereghino, Universite
de Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, to develop a framework for prioritisation
of aquatic ecosystem restoration. That work continues
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