Balancing estuarine and societal health in a changing environment: A decision support framework for sustaining the Peel-Harvey estuary-catchment system in south-western Australia

Fiona Valesini (Editor), Matthew R. Hipsey (Editor), Sorcha Cronin O’Reilly (Editor), Peisheng Huang (Editor)

Research output: Book/ReportEdited book/Anthology

Abstract

Estuaries around the world are challenged by the pressures of coastal development, resource exploitation and climate change. At the same time they remain integral to community values, local identity, and regional economies. So how can we best strike the balance between development and protection? The research documented in this book aimed to explore this question and facilitate the sustainable development of a fast-growing coastal area in south-western Australia - the Peel-Harvey region. By exploiting 40+ year inter-disciplinary data sets for this catchment-estuary system and integrating ecological, hydrological, biogeochemical, modelling and socio-economic expertise, the research presented in this book seeks to link primary catchment drivers to estuarine health response (up to higher fauna), quantify estuarine ecological health and ecosystem services under historical and future scenarios, and test resilience across the human–natural system. Key outcomes include evidence-based catchment planning solutions that optimise trade-offs between socio-economic development goals and minimal downstream impacts on estuarine health. Given the Peel-Harvey’s particularly iconic history of fundamental ecosystem shifts, through both chronic decline and an acute engineered ‘recovery’, combined with its current and forecast climate and development stressors, there is an urgent need for a holistic view of this important socio-ecological system that can be used to inform sustainable development.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationCrawley
PublisherThe University of Western Australia
ISBN (Electronic)978-1-74052-939-6
Publication statusPublished - 10 Dec 2023

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