The Thames and Ganges Twinning Programme held an event in
The event included guest speakers Dr Siddarth Kaul, Advisor to the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the Government of India, and Dr Sejah Woral, Programmes Director of WWF India. The keynote speech was given by Dr Peter Spillett, a board member of the Thames Rivers Restoration Trust and President of the
While in
The Sunshine Coast Council hosted a celebratory river cruise as a way to thank all of the partner organisations involved with the Sunshine Coast Rivers Initiative - the winners of our 2011 National Riverprize.
Thirty partner organisations were invited on the three hour cruise up the Noosa River, and this was great opportunity for everybody to celebrate the success of the project and get together to talk about the next steps, including potential 'twinning' partners. Steve Skull, Manager of Environmental Policy and Programs at the Sunshine Coast Regional Council, said that it was important for partners to think about how to best invest the prize money to ensure longevity with the Sunshine Coast Rivers Initiative, so that the project continues to grow and develop.
The International Riverfoundation was also able to take this opportunity to present representatives from each of the partner organisations with certificates acknowledging their Riverprize success.
Oregon's Siuslaw Basin Partnership, winners of the Thiess International Riverprize in 2004, has been twinning with Russia’s Sakhalin Island, sharing knowledge in sustainable salmon and river management in partnership with the Wild Salmon Center. Significant achievements have resulted from this partnership such as establishing Russia’s first watershed council and the Sakhalin Salmon Initiative. In October, the Wild Salmon Center and Siuslaw Institute hosted the third Oregon-Russia Far East Watershed Council Exchange.
The primary goal of the exchange was to provide representatives from the Public Salmon Councils in the Russian Far East with an opportunity to learn from well-established, successful models of citizen involvement in local watershed management that have been developed in Oregon through its watershed council network. While visiting the Siuslaw Basin, Russian delegates met with government agencies, the Siuslaw Watershed Council, indigenous representatives, school youth and educators, as well as rivers practitioners. Johnny Sundstrom, founder of the Siuslaw Institute said:
“Our success in previous exchanges has shown us how important it is to share direct knowledge and experience of a place with the people who can best learn and apply these lessons in their homeland. The continued development of this unique relationship-building, and the ongoing accumulation of understanding and expertise that comes from international cooperation, truly benefits all of the parties involved in both tangible and intangible ways”.
The winner of the 2011 Thiess International Riverprize was announced on Tuesday 27 September at the Riverprize Gala Dinner during the 14th International Riversymposium in Brisbane, Australia.
The Charles River (Boston, USA) took out the top award for excellence in river management, receiving a prize of $330,000.
Under the direction of the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA), the Charles River has made a remarkable recovery from the 1950s when sewage and paint were discharged in to the river. The Charles River now boasts better river health after the implementation of sustainable river management including innovative stormwater management and water-sensitive urban development.
Robert Zimmerman, CRWA’s Executive Director, thanked everyone involved in the operation on the Charles River and congratulated the finalists and all the other rivers that had applied for the Riverprize.
“We are all doing great work and as we face unsure times about climate change over the next 100 years the decisions and changes we make today can ensure the future is not so bad for our kids,” Mr Zimmerman said.
The Charles River was chosen because of its innovative and visionary sustainable program for river management. The Charles River Watershed Association has developed their water programme to include; urban design, sustainable infrastructure and eliminating barriers between water supply, wastewater and stormwater management.
The other finalists for the 2011 Thiess International Riverprize were the Yarra River - Victoria , Australia (Highly Commended) and the Mattole River - California, USA.
International Riverprize Winner Media Release | Charles River Watershed Association
The Tweed-Kenya Mentoring Program (TKMP) commenced in 2003 and has evolved into a dynamic partnership built on transferring technical and cultural knowledge between Australian and Kenyan individuals and communities. TKMP’s urban projects work with youths and community groups within the informal settlements of Nairobi to improve the environment and rehabilitate the Nairobi River. Emerging out of the urban activities are: a youth network of over 100 clubs called Youth-Community Led Environmental Action Network (YCLEAN); six primary schools with indigenous tree gardens; catchment re-vegetation and riparian care –where more than 10000 seedlings have been planted since 2008; and an annual environmental advocacy soccer tournament called the Great Nairobi River Tournament.
In rural Kenya, TKMP’s SafeWater Program commenced in 2007 with the installation of ‘Sky Juice’ water filtration systems to improve water access in rural areas. Increasing access to safe water in rural Kenyan communities has increased community health by reducing exposure to diseases such as typhoid and cholera, as well as reducing the time taken to collect clean water. In September, Mr David Mango, Safewater Manager, visited the Tweed community to learn more about river and water management and the implementation of community based conservation projects. Mr Mango also attended in the International Riversymposium, networking with other practitioners and learning more about river management from Australian and international participants. Safewater will be delivered in the Siaya District, Western Kenya by Tweed Shire Staff member Nigel Dobson in early 2012.
The winner of the 2011 National Riverprize was announced on Tuesday 27 September at the Riverprize Gala Dinner during the 14th International Riversymposium in Brisbane, Australia.
The Sunshine Coast Rivers Initiative, coordinated by the Sunshine Coast Regional Council and Partners, (QLD, Australia) took out the national award for excellence in river management, receiving a prize of $195,000.
Funded by the Australian Government’s Water for the Future initiative, the National Riverprize is the largest prize for environmental achievement in Australia.
Sunshine Coast Regional Council Mayor, Councillor Bob Abbot, thanked the Sunshine Coast Rivers Initiative team for not relying on guidance but for having passion for what they do.
“This is all about protecting the one thing that keeps us alive, our rivers and streams, our water,” Cr Abbot said.
Dr Stephen Skull, Manager of Environmental Policy and Programs at the Sunshine Coast Regional Council said “the great thing about this award is the recognition it gives to the community groups that toil away each day on these programs”.
Sunshine Coast Rivers Initiative won the award for their impressive collection of river-health planning and on-ground achievement in six catchment areas, totaling approximately 5000km of waterways across the Sunshine Coast and southeast Queensland.
The other finalist for the 2011 National Riverprize was Project Catalyst (QLD, Australia).
The River Thames, England, won the Thiess International Riverprize in 2010 for significant achievements and excellence in river restoration over the past sixty years and commenced twinning with the Ganges River, India, threatened by rapid industrialization and populations growth. The International RiverFoundation and Thames Rivers Restoration Trust will work in India with The PEACE Institute, Nadi Mitra Mandalis (Friends of the River groups) and WWF India to develop local, grass-roots river restoration techniques along the Yamuna River.
Planned activities include: planting of local tree species in the river flood plains/riparian areas; creating sewage ponds for prevention of liquid and solid waste from reaching the river; monitoring of river flows and water quality on a regular basis; restoration of ponds/springs/drains that are linked directly with the river; prevention of exploitative resource extraction (fish / sand) from the river; promotion of ‘river dolphin’ (Platanista gangeticus) and Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) and turtles as keystone species for river protection and restoration; promotion of environmental education amongst the rural young targeted at the river’s restoration.
The techniques developed to restore other rivers are also intended to be promoted to other local communities within and outside of India.
Congratulations to Michael O'Dwyer, the winner of the IRF World Rivers Day Photography Competition! Michael's entry, 'Canoeing through the Barmah National Park (Murray River)' was picked as the winner from our judging panel of three, and he has been awarded $1000 in prize money!
Michael's winning entry was taken from a canoe in the Murray River as water returned to the forest wetlands after a 15 year drought.
The IRF photography competition was set up through Facebook, where participants had the opportunity to submit up to two original photographs evoking 'The Value of Rivers'. Viewers then has the opportunity to vote for their favourite, and the five photographs with the highest number of votes were put forward for judging.
Australia joined with 60 other countries to celebrate World Rivers Day on Sunday 25 September. Many events took place in and around Brisbane, and some of Australia's biggest names got behind the campaign including Olympic Gold medalist Duncan Armstrong, marathon swimming champion Tammy van Wisse, comedy star Wil Anderson and Icehouse front man Iva Davies.
The Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordination Committee (B4C) held a tree-planting event at Phillips Creek, where 40 people (including 25 Gumdale Scouts) planted 400 native species to provide habitat and riparian buffer to waterways that flow to Bulimba Creek, Brisbane River and Moreton Bay. The new vegetation along the edge of the creek will help with water quality as the plants will minimise erosion and sediment making its way into the creek. The plants will also provide food and shelter for wildlife in the area.
The Oxley Creek Catchment held a canoe, bird watching and community tree planting event from 5:45am onwards at the Oxley Creek Common. The community tree planting saw approximately 400 native plants go in the ground to enhance a section of riparian zone on Oxley Creek.
A fundraiser was held at the University of Queensland (UQ) coordinated by the International WaterCentre and the UQ Indonesian Student Association in order to help raise funds for a small but incredibly dedicated community group in Indonesia, the Ciliwung River Care Community group (KPC). For a small donation, participants were invited to learn how to cook and taste Indonesian food and join in traditional song, dance and music.
Supported by SEQ Water and SEQ Watergrid and in partnership with the 2011 Riversymposium, a community event also took place at the Main Stage in Queen Street Mall. Audiences listened to leaders in river management and community organisations as they spoke about the value of waterways to our communities. There were presentations by Riversymposium keynote speakers Dr Denise Reed and Phil Duncan as well as lice entertainment. Up a Dry Gully competition presentations weremade by high school students, and river related artworks shown by primary school students.
International RiverFoundation wound up World Rivers Day with Film and Trivia Night at Tribal Theatre. Hosted by celebrity cowboy conservationist Johnny Sundstrom from the USA, the Riva Trivia evening tested peoples knowledge of rivers from music to infrastructure and wildlife. This was followed by a screening of Big River, a documentary feature from award winning directors The King Corn Boys.
All in all, World Rivers Day 2011 was a great success and a big thank you goes out to everybody who contributed in some way.
Pictured: Gumdale Scouts help out with the B4C tree planting event on World Rivers Day.
(Source: Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordination Committee)
In the context of current economic downturn, our friend the International WaterCentre (IWC) is seeking new ways to support the world's future water leaders.
IWC is now offering partial-tuition scholarships to the first 50 students who enrol in an Integrated Water Management program (Masters, Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate) for 2012.
The scholarship is available to Australian and international students who do not receive any external full-tuition scholarship or full-tuition funding from other sources.
Each partial scholarship is valued at $5,000 for the whole Masters program, payable per semester towards tuition fees. Flexibility in program delivery is provided through students being able to study full-time or part-time/distance. Three new specialisation streams will be offered in 2012 including International development; Water, land and people; and Urban water.
For further details and information on deadlines, see:
www.watercentre.org/news/partial-scholarships-au-5-000-to-first-50-students-to-enrol
Contact: email admin@watercentre.org | phone +61 7 3123 7766
Saving native fish and their habitat has earned the Dewfish Demonstration Reach, a joint project between Condamine Alliance, Murray Darling Basin and Fisheries Queensland, an Associate Membership with Oakey Freshwater Fish Stocking Association.
The Dewfish Demonstration Reach is a 75 kilometre stretch of water way that incorporates parts of Myall Creek, Oakey Creek and the Condamine River in Queensland, Australia.
The program takes its name from the freshwater Catfish, commonly known as Dewfish. While the population is declining or extinct in some areas, the Dewfish can still be found in the area of the Dewfish Demonstration Reach.
The Partnership began in 2006 with a significant improvement project of Oakey Creek at Bowenville Reserve which involved replanting along the sides of the creek and improving habitat shelters in the water. The improvements were so significant that is was decided to introduce the first Demonstration Reach in the Condamine River catchment.
"The River Rescue Program has significantly helped to protect native fish species and their habitats along the Reach", said Noal Kuhl, Oakey Freshwater Fish Stocking Association member (pictured above left with Kevin Graham).
Give to Condamine Alliance & the Murray Darling Basin for World Rivers Day | Read full media release
2005 National Riverprize winners Bulimba Creek Catchment Coorindating Committee (B4C) and their Landcare Group have been working and researching into the recolonisation of a dead Oxbow tidal area in Brisbane, Australia for over four years.
Big news comes as two new species have been identified in the Oxbow area recently – an Obtuse Barracuda (pictured), also known as a Striped Sea Pike or Striped Barracuda, and a prawn species yet to be identified but suspected to be a freshwater species called Machrobrachium australiense.
The Oxbow now supports over 63 bird species and 31 fish and prawn species, with evidence now of wallabies using the site. With further protection and rehabilitation, the Bulimba Creek Oxbow will truly become a model of best practice in urban wetland restoration. An Oxbow community education day will be held on Saturday 20 August 2011 with workshops by University of Sunshine Coast nekton researcher, David Bright, and B4C President, Michael Petter.
Olita Ogonjo received the inaugural Ken Thiess Memorial Scholarship in 2009 to study a Masters of Integrated Water Management through the International WaterCentre. Olita saw the scholarship as an opportunity to ‘sharpen his saw’ and work with water professionals from different backgrounds and join the network of new water leaders around the world.
Olita describes the most valuable thing learnt in the scholarship experience as ‘understanding that our contemporary world is structured towards multiculturalism, and cross-cultural approaches where science of water, ecosystems management and research blends together’.
Olita will return home in August to Nairobi, Kenya to work once again with the Tweed Kenya Mentoring Project, a project he has been involved with since its inception. Now a water professional, Olita sees his qualifications as a new strength to the project. ‘We are now in a better position to advise government, local leaders and communities on water development’ he says, ‘We intend to be a point of reference in best practice in Integrated Water Resource Managment (IWRM) and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Kenya.
Looking to the future, Olita’s goal in Kenya is to lobby for improved water and environmental policies using models learnt in the Masters course.
The Ken Thiess Memorial Scholarship for 2012 is open for application until 30 July 2011.
Congratulations to International RiverFoundation Ambassador, Dr Deborah Nias, who was awarded a Churchill Fellowship this month. Dr Nias will travel to the USA to assess the role community-based water trusts could play in the future of the Murray-Darling Basin. “It is a great honour and the opportunity of a lifetime...this will mean establishing greater networks and being able to contribute to the ongoing debate about water management in the Murray-Darling Basin” explained Dr Nias.
Demonstrating where a career in science can take you, Dr Nias commenced her journey as a ‘mature-aged’ ecology student to become a leader in wetland and environmental water management. Reflecting on her own career path Dr Nias credits several important figures who influenced her journey and considers finding allies and mentors to guide you as an important message to young people starting out. ‘What I have achieved is a reflection of those people, and what I haven’t achieved is all my own doing’ says Dr Nias.
The twenty years Dr Nias has spent in the industry have certainly been filled with achievements including Inaugural Fellow of the Peter Cullen Trust (2010); Director of Wetland Care Australia; Advisor to RiverSmart; winner of the Australian Riverprize (2007, Murray Wetlands Working Group); and CEO of Murray Darling Wetlands Ltd.
You can meet Dr Nias at the 14th International Riversymposium where she will be presenting the workshop ‘Does Science Really Matter in Environmental Water Management?'. You may also find and speak with Dr Nias at the IRF Trade Booth.
Our flagship program, Riverprize is the world's most prestigious environmental award, giving recognition, reward and support to those who have developed and implemented outstanding, visionary and sustainable programs in river management. In 2012, RiverFoundation will award the Thiess International Riverprize and Australian Riverprize (supported by the Australian Government's Water for the Future initiative) at the Riverprize Gala Dinner as part of the 15th International Riversymposium in Melbourne (8-11 October, 2012).
International RiverFoundation's Twinning Program is an innovative initiative that supports collaborative partnerships to restore rivers. This unique program enables Riverprize winners and finalists (Riverprize Alumni) to exchange their valuable expertise with other river organisations that are in need of skills and knowledge.
RiverFoundation financially supports a number of river scientists and practitioners from less developed countries to attend the International Riversymposium. Enabling them to present their work, share their experiences, learn about world's best practice and develop networks for improving river health in their home country. This year's sponsored delegates will attend the 14th International Riversymposium in Brisbane, Australia (26 - 29 September 2011).
Future water leaders within the RiverFoundation network (Riverprize alumni and twinning partners) are supported by the Ken Thiess Memorial Scholarship with the opportunity to undertake a world-class post-graduate program - the International WaterCentre's Master of Integrated Water Management. Applications for the 2012 scholarships are open until 30 September 2011. APPLY NOW.
The International RiverFoundation rewards and gives recognition for the restoration and sustainable management of the world's rivers, lakes and wetlands to improve the health of these precious resources and the communities that depend on them.
International RiverFoundation's flagship program is in awarding the International Riverprize and Australian Riverprize each year; giving recognition to those implementing and achieving best practice in river management.
Our innovate twinning program is a unique point of difference. Riverprize winners and finalists have the opportunity to share thier knowledge and experience with another organisation in need of their expertise.
As a Foundation we are financed by donations from individuals, companies and governments that are passionate and committed to making a difference.
International RiverFoundation is a not-for-profit organisation with a vision of a world in which all rivers and waterways are healthy and sustainably managed.
Established in 2003 in response to the critical state of many of the world’s rivers, International RiverFoundation is a dynamic organisation dedicated to supporting the sustainable management of the world’s rivers basins.
We operate with an independent, global and non-political stance.
We act as a catalyst for sustainable river management worldwide.
We work directly with “river managers” in a “bottom-up” leadership approach to achieve on-ground results.
We aim to transfer world's best practice into practical applications with tangible results.
We build partnerships and alliances with organisations worldwide to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
International RiverFoundation sincerely thanks our Life Benefactors who have given a significant contribution, supporting a specific program and/or donating to our endowment fund.
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