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Wetland Prioritisation Decision Support System (DSS) Great Barrier Reef Catchment

Developer

Australian Department of Environment and Heritage through the Queensland Wetland Program

Latest documentation

2006

Designed for use in

Queensland, Australia

Ongoing

Assessment purpose

Management effectiveness, Prioritisation, Values/Services

Assessment criteria

Socio-cultural, Significance, Physical and chemical, Management and planning, Flora, Fauna, Economic

Method type

Desktop, expert panel

Timescale

Medium term – The DSS could be re-run for the GBR catchments. Additional time would be required to use improved or new data. The DSS could also quickly be adapted for use in other regions with limited modifications.

Scale

Landscape/Catchment, Region, Site/habitat

Wetland system

Estuarine, Lacustrine, Marine, Palustrine, Riverine

Description and method logic

Method purpose

To strategically prioritise wetlands for investment. The DSS operates at two scales. The primary DSS prioritises wetland aggregations within the GBR catchments and uses GIS analysis methods to priroritise existing catchment scale datasets. The secondary DDS is used to prioritise individual wetlands using local expert knowledge and GIS analysis.

Summary

The decision support system (DSS) aims to use biophysical, socio-economic, community capacity, threat data and expert consultation to identify high priority wetlands for strategic investment and to achieve greater accountability and transparency in wetland prioritisation.

The development of the wetland DSS involved a number of steps including a review of international and national literature and decision support systems, data assessments, data processing and workshopping with nominated experts and stakeholders.

The DSS operates at two scales. The primary DSS prioritises wetland aggregations within the GBR catchments and uses GIS analysis methods to priroritise existing catchment scale datasets. The secondary DDS is used to prioritise individual wetlands using local expert knowledge and GIS analysis. Primary and secondary wetland DSS tools have been developed in separate MS Excel workbooks which provide the user with the capacity to view prioritisation results, assign priorities to criteria and, for the secondary DSS, input data for wetland criteria.

The Primary and Secondary DDSs were tested at a series of workshops with regional and local decision makers. The results were then interrogated and feedback received for the participants. The DSS and associated reports have been externally peer reviewed and a sensitivity analysis has been undertaken.

The DSS could be improved as new data becomes available and as experience grows in using the system.

Method logic

The wetland DSS is based on a multi-criteria assessment method to determine wetland priorities and allows different alternative views to be assessed through weighted measurable criteria. Criteria were developed and then assessed and weighted in a series of expert panel and stakeholder workshops. Weighting allowed for value judgements to be made about the criteria and their importance when making a decision.

Criteria groupings of the method

Wetland values, threats and capacity generated by analysis of available data, current NRM frameworks, wetland types and different decision makers and stakeholders in the GBR catchment.

Data required

PRIMARY

Regional Ecosystems of Queensland
Wetland aggregation dataset
Queensland Wetand Inventory
Nested catchments
Census data - population density
ASGC Digital Boundaries
Queensland Land Use Mapping Project (QLUMP)
Dams and Weirs in Queensland
National Pollutant Inventory
Socio-economic indices for areas (SEIFA)
National Native Title Register
Registered and Notified Indigenous Land Use Agreements
Collaborative Australian Protected Areas (CAPAD)

ADDITIONAL SECONDARY

User-defined wetland areas

Resources required

Expertise required

Facilitator familiar with use of the DSS and understanding of the criteria, participants with high level of information on the criteria, assumptions and uncertainties.

Materials required

MS Excel workbooks, DSS Primary and Secondary tools, spatial datasets.

Method outputs

Outputs

A list of wetland prioritised for investment according to specific management objectives.

Uses

To support optimal allocation of funding for wetland restoration and protection for the long term conservation and management of the Great Barrier Reef.

Criteria by category

Physical and chemical

Primary values
- Aggregation area
Secondary threats
- Aquatic habitat connectivity restriction
- Hydrological change
- Water quality
Secondary values
- Assimilative capacity for nutrients and sediments
- Size
- Wetland condition

Economic

Primary threats
- Point source pollution risk
- Population density
- Population growth
Primary values
- Economic resources
- Socio-economic disadvantage
Secondary capacity
- Best management practice feasibility
- Financial incentives
- Industry land use viability

Socio-cultural

Primary values
- Education and occupation
- Indigenous land areas
- Socio-economic disadvantage
Secondary capacity
- Engagement capacity
Secondary values
- Indigenous value
- Recreational value

Management and planning

Primary threats
- Catchment land-use intensity
- Hydrological change (irrigation)
Primary values
- Fishery habitat value
Secondary threats
- Land use intensification
- Land use intensity
- Point-source pollution

Significance

Primary values
- Diversity of wetland types
- Protected areas
Secondary capacity
- Level of protection
Secondary values
- Populations of rare or threatened taxa
- Wetland representativeness

Flora

Primary values
- Proportion of remnant vegetation
- Vegetation representativeness
Secondary threats
- Weed invasion
Secondary values
- Species richness/diversity
- Vegetation representativeness

Fauna

Secondary values
- Fishery habitat
- Species richness/diversity
- Waterbird habitat value

Review

Recommended user

Natural resource managers, including NRM bodies, community groups, government agencies, local government.

Strengths

Inherent flexibility which allows the system to be applied to multiple management objectives and outcomes.
Ability to use data in different formats.
Ability to work at multiple scales.
Ability to provide transparency to decision making process.
Enables ownership by decision makers.
Able to be updated as data is improved.

Limitations

Accuracy, availability and relevancy of the criteria data used in making the tool
Need to use in a workshop setting with facilitator familiar with system
System supports rather than makes decisions
Can't calculate amount of funding required for each wetland
Doesn't recognise individual wetlands in their catchment context or connectivity with other systems.

Case studies

(not documented)

References

HLA-Envirosciences (2006) Final DDS Report Wetland Prioritisation Decision Support System - Great Barrier Reef Catchment. Unpublished report for Department of Environment and Water, Canberra.

Last updated: 7 February 2019

This page should be cited as:

Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Queensland (2019) Wetland Prioritisation Decision Support System (DSS) Great Barrier Reef Catchment, WetlandInfo website, accessed 20 December 2024. Available at: https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetlands/resources/tools/assessment-search-tool/wetland-prioritisation-decision-support-system-dss-great-barrier-reef-catchment/

— Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation

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