River Management: The Australasian Experience

Australia and New Zealand were colonised only two centuries ago by centrally organised bureaucratic administrations. For the whole period of European settlement most river management activities have been carried out or recorded by government agencies and their records remain relatively complete. These countries therefore provide good case studies for the impact of technological societies on river systems, having transformed many of their rivers in a short time from their ‘natural' into a heavily managed condition. Geomorphology provides the scientific basis for much of our understanding of river behaviour and geomorphologists are now actively involved in the management process.

This book provides a collection of case studies, the first to be produced to date, which deal with key issues in river management from a geomorphological perspective. Issues dealt with include environmental flows, stream condition, mining and extractive activities, river channel change, river stabilisation, river regulation and urban streams. The book will prove invaluable to geomorphologists, river engineers, stream ecologists, river managers and environmental impact assessors involved in river management and restoration.