There is substantial investment of public funds in riparian protection and improvement projects on freehold and Crown land in Victoria as part of the Victorian Government’s Waterway Management Program. These projects involve catchment management authorities (CMAs) working collaboratively with landholders to undertake riparian works including fencing and revegetation.
The Riparian Works Review (RWR) program was developed by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) with CMAs to provide a consistent, statewide approach to review the condition of riparian works and engage landholders about the riparian works.
Each year CMAs inspect riparian works and survey landholders at all new riparian works sites and for an agreed subset of riparian works sites at three- and eight-years post-works. CMAs report the data to DEECA for collation and reporting at a statewide level.
The RWR provides information about:
The RWR enables regional and state managers to communicate riparian management successes to their communities, collaborators, and investors. The information gathered supports reporting and accountability, and demonstrates whether investment of public funds has achieved its aims and is protected long-term. It also supports refinement of CMA project planning and implementation processes, and approaches to landholder engagement.
The RWR program commenced in 2019; the long-term dataset is growing. While a multi-year analysis of the data has not yet been completed, here we report key findings of the statewide results for 2021/22 and discuss potential opportunities for improvement. Although the RWR program is undertaken in Victoria, the lessons learnt are transferrable and far reaching, well-beyond jurisdictional boundaries.