Natural Asset Resource Library
The following list of resources is the result of a literature review and council liason during 2010-2011 to locate existing studies, reports and practice of relevance to local government natural asset management. These resources focus on asset registration, condition assessment and prioritisation for select "classes" of natural assets - initially natural urban creeks and wetlands.
Thanks to those who have contributed to this library. Contact us if you have a resource to contribute.
NOTE: Click on the column title to sort by that column.
| Natural Asset Management for Urban Waterways | 2009 | The Hills Shire Council | Publication | This project developed a basis for integrating urban waterway 'Asset Elements' into council’s asset management system. The report outlines methods used to map and assess the condition of such elements. |
| A Wetland Prioritisation Technique for the SMCMA Area | 2009 | Sydney Metro CMA | Publication | A desktop assessment method was developed for wetlands in the SMCMA area, to assess wetland condition and better understand wetland rehabilitation priorities. This report reviews eight existing condition assessment and prioritisation methods. |
| Sydney Metropolitan CMA Waterways Health Strategy Report | 2007 | SMCMA | Publication | This study developed and applied a simple desk-top based method to prioritise and monitor progress on activities to protect and rehabilitate Sydney’s waterways and waterway corridors - from a metropolitan-wide perspective. |
| A Baseline Assessment of Water Resources for the National Water Initiative - River and Wetland Health Theme | 2007 | National Water Commission | Publication | This report descrribes a national framework for assessing river and wetland health, undertaken by the Commonwealth Government. |
| Waterways Group Index of River Condition | 2005 | Melbourne Water | Publication | Details the information systems used by Melbourne Water to manage and generate work programs for their waterway and drainage assets. Covers the Index of River Condition (IRC) which is used to monitor waterway condition and rehabilitation efforts. |
| Options Paper on the Affordable Management of Urban Riparian Areas | 2009 | Local Government and Shires Association (LGSA) | Publication | A well referenced, detailed review of the legislation and mechanisms in place to acquire and manage urban riparian land in NSW. Identifies options (Section 94 Contributions and other) to aquire and manage urban riparian lands for environmental outcomes. |
| A Riparian Categorisation Strategy for Urban Drainage Channels in Gold Coast City | 2007 | Gold Coast City Council | Publication | Describes a strategy used to categorise urban drainage channels to help council determine the extent and type of maintenance works required for each channel asset; and to prioritise investments in channel maintenance on a council-wide basis. |
| The Coastal Eutrophication Risk Assessment Tool (CERAT) | Ongoing | GeoScience Australia; NSW Office of Environment and Heritage | Map, model, data | A modelling tool to better understand and predict the relationship between catchment land use and impacts on estuaries and coastal lakes. It helps identify and prioritise land use planning options to protect and preserve the health of estuaries in NSW. |
| Australian River Assessment System: Review of Physical River Assessment Methods - A Biological Perspective | 2002 | Environment Australia (Commonwealth) | Publication | A review of eight methods for assessing stream condition that can inform local standardised condition assessment protocols. The assessment methods reviewed do not specify stream size requirements and need to be examined in detail. |
| Australian Runoff Quality - Chapter 13: Urban Waterways | 2006 | Engineers Australia | Publication | Reviews the factors influencing the ecosystem health of urban waterways; introduces a broad classification system (7 categories) for urban waterways; and presents a multi-objective decision support framework for remediation strategies. |