Ecological impacts of flood mitigation and drainage in coastal lowlands / Impactos ecológicos de la mitigación de inundaciones y del drenaje en tierras bajas costeras

ABSTRACT

There are increasing development pressures on the south-eastern Australian coastal lowlands. The climate of these coastal floodplains provides favourable conditions for crop and pasture growth but it also causes frequent flooding and propagates the effects of land use changes into streams rapidly. This paper explores the interactions between hydrology, drainage and flood mitigation, acid sulfate soils and their ecological impacts in south-eastern Australia, and examines government response to the ecological emergencies generated and the institutional impediments to addressing them