NESP Project
Environmental water needs for the Fitzroy River
The West Kimberley’s mighty Fitzroy River is of high environmental, economic and cultural significance. Areas within the river catchment have been listed as National Heritage for a mix of biodiversity, Indigenous, historic, geological heritage and aesthetic values. Throughout the entire Kimberley, researchers are also investigating riparian plants and weeds, as well as investigating bilby populations to inform management efforts of this threatened species. Projects focussing specifically on the Fitzroy River are listed here.
Other Hub research across northern Australia, on topics such as carbon, eDNA and threatened species, is also generating information to support development decisions across the Kimberley (read more here).
You may also be interested in our projects conducting research across the entire northern Hub region.
Completed project
Environmental water needs for the Fitzroy River
Indigenous water needs for the Martuwarra/Fitzroy River
Investing in Indigenous cultural and natural resource managers
Knowledge brokering for Indigenous land management
Managing savanna riparian zones
Monitoring, mapping and safeguarding Kimberley bilbies
Multi-objective planning in northern Australia
Multiple benefits of Indigenous land and sea management programs
Research priorities for Indigenous Protected Areas across northern Australia
Transdisciplinary research for water management
Improving the efficiency of biodiversity investment
Partnerships and tools to support biodiversity monitoring by Indigenous land and sea managers
Indigenous values and river flows
Scientific Paper
November 2023 | Open Access
Identifying intermittent river sections with similar hydrology using remotely sensed metrics
Tayer TC, Beesley LS, Douglas MM, Bourke SA, Meredith K and McFarlane D (2023) 'Identifying intermittent river sections with similar hydrology using remotely sensed metrics', Journal of Hydrology, 626(A):130266, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.130266.
Scientific Paper
October 2023 | Open Access
Brief floodplain inundation provides growth and survival benefits to a young-of-year fish in an intermittent river threatened by water development (scientific paper)
Pratt OP, Beesley LS, Pusey BJ, Gwinn DC, Keogh CS and Douglas MM (2023) 'Brief floodplain inundation provides growth and survival benefits to a young-of-year fish in an intermittent river threatened by water development' Scientific Reports 13:17725, doi:10.1038/s41598-023-45000-x.
Scientific Paper
February 2023 | Open Access
Improving the accuracy of the Water Detect algorithm using Sentinel-2, Planetscope and sharpened imagery: a case study in an intermittent river (scientific paper)
Tayer TC, Douglas MM, Cordeiro MCR, Tayer AND, Callow JN, Beesley L and McFarlane D (2023) ‘Improving the accuracy of the Water Detect algorithm using Sentinel-2, Planetscope and sharpened imagery: a case study in an intermittent river’, GIScience & Remote Sensing 60:1, https://doi.org/10.1080/15481603.2023.2168676
Report
January 2023
Developing a Yawuru bilarra (wetland) monitoring program (report)
Video
December 2022
Monitoring, mapping and safeguarding Kimberley bilbies (impact video)
Report
December 2022
Monitoring, mapping and safeguarding Kimberley bilbies (final report)
Info Sheet
December 2022
Monitoring, mapping and safeguarding Kimberley bilbies (wrap-up factsheet)
Scientific Paper
November 2022 | Open Access
A well-being framework for cross-cultural assessment of development scenarios: a case study from north-western Australia (scientific paper)
Wallace K, Kiatkoski Kim M, Álvarez-Romero JG, Pannell D, Hill R and Marshall M (2022) 'A well-being framework for cross-cultural assessment of development scenarios: a case study from north-western Australia', People and Nature, 00:1–17, https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10407.
Report
July 2022
Northern Hub Final Report 2021
Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub. 2021. Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub Final Report. Charles Darwin University, Darwin.
Research product or tool
February 2022
ValueMapper: an interactive web-based tool to map and visualise spatial data (software)
Álvarez-Romero, J.G. & Osbaldiston, J. 2021. ValueMapper: an interactive web-based tool to map and visualise spatial data [GIS software]. James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia. DOI: 10.25903/d0zk-9818
Other
January 2022
ValueMapper: an interactive web-based tool to map and visualise spatial data (software manual)
Álvarez-Romero, J.G. & Osbaldiston, J. 2021. ValueMapper: an interactive web-based tool to map and visualise spatial data [GIS software]. James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia. DOI: 10.25903/d0zk-9818
Other
November 2021
Traditional Owners’ response to stories about the future of the Fitzroy River Basin (poster)
Presentation
November 2021
Assessing how changes in cultural services associated with future scenarios affect the wellbeing of different cultural groups (presentation)
Report
November 2021
Assessment of the potential changes in wellbeing of key interest groups in the Fitzroy River catchment under alternative development scenarios: Scenario team’s workshop 3 (report)
Kiatkoski Kim, M.,1 Alvarez-Romero, J.,2 Wallace, K.,1 Pannell, D.,1 Douglas, M.1 and Pressey, R.2 2021. Assessment of the potential changes in wellbeing of key interest groups in the Fitzroy River catchment under alternative development scenarios: Scenario team’s workshop 3, Broome, Western Australia, 15–16 October. The University of Western Australia, Perth.
Report
November 2021
Multi-objective planning in northern Australia: co-benefits and trade-offs between environmental, economic, and cultural outcomes (final report)
JG Álvarez-Romero, M Kiatkoski Kim, D. Pannell, M. Douglas, K. Wallace, R. Hill, V. Adams, A. Spencer-Cotton, M. Kennard, R. Pressey. 2021. Multi-objective planning in northern Australia: co-benefits and trade-offs between environmental, economic, and cultural outcomes. Final report to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. James Cook University.
Report
November 2021
Assessment of the potential changes in wellbeing of key interest groups in the Fitzroy River catchment under alternative development scenarios: Traditional Owners’ workshop (report)
Kiatkoski Kim, M.,1 Alvarez-Romero, J.,2 Wallace, K.,1 Pannell, D.,1 Hill, R.3 and Pressey, R.2 2021. Assessment of the potential changes in wellbeing of key interest groups in the Fitzroy River catchment under alternative development scenarios: Traditional Owners’ workshop. The University of Western Australia, Perth.
Scientific Paper
November 2021
Participatory multi-stakeholder assessment of alternative development scenarios in contested landscapes (scientific paper)
Kiatkoski Kim, M., Álvarez-Romero, J.G., Wallace, K. et al. Participatory multi-stakeholder assessment of alternative development scenarios in contested landscapes. Sustain Sci (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-021-01056-0
Report
November 2021
Environmental water needs of Western Australia’s Fitzroy River (final report)
Beesley LS, Canham CA, Douglas MM, Setterfield SA, Freestone FL, Keogh CS, Kennard MJ, Pusey BJ, Burrows RM. 2021. Environmental water needs of Western Australia’s Fitzroy River. The University of Western Australia, Perth.
Report
November 2021
Environmental DNA survey in areas of the Kimberley region at risk of invasion by cane toads (report)
Villacorta-Rath, C., & Burrows, D. 2021. Environmental DNA survey in areas of the Kimberley region at risk of invasion by cane toads. Report 21/50, Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER), James Cook University, Townsville.
Other
October 2021
Living waters of the Martuwarra/Fitzroy River (Story Map)
Milgin, A., Nardea, L., Grey, H., Laborde, S. and Jackson, S., (2021) Living waters of the Martuwarra. Griffith University, Queensland.
Report
October 2021
Transdisciplinary environmental research: Trial and evaluation (final report)
Kiatkoski Kim M., Douglas M, Pannell D. Setterfield S, Hill R, Jackson S, Álvarez-Romero J, Laborde S, Beesley L, Canham C. 2021. Transdisciplinary environmental research: Trial and evaluation. The University of Western Australia, Perth.
Info Sheet
October 2021
Characterising vegetation zones along the lower Fitzroy River, Western Australia (project update)
Freestone FL, Canham CA, Setterfield SA Douglas MM & Loomes RC. 2021. Characterising vegetation zones along the lower Fitzroy River, Western Australia (project update). University of Western Australia, Perth.
Report
October 2021
Characterising vegetation zones along the lower Fitzroy River, Western Australia (report)
Freestone FL, Canham CA, Setterfield SA Douglas MM & Loomes RC. 2021. Characterising vegetation zones along the lower Fitzroy River, Western Australia. University of Western Australia, Perth.
Info Sheet
September 2021
Guiding non-government investment in Indigenous cultural and natural resource management enterprises (policy brief)
Report
September 2021
Looking back to look forward: A timeline of Western Australia’s Fitzroy River catchment (report)
Video
August 2021
NESP Northern Hub wrap-up video
Scientific Paper
August 2021 | Open Access
Learning together for and with the Martuwarra Fitzroy River (scientific paper)
Hill, R., Harkness, P., Raisbeck-Brown, N., Lyons, I., Álvarez‑Romero, J.G., Kiatkoski Kim, M., Chungalla, D., Wungundin, H., Aiken, M., Malay, J., Williams, B., Buissereth, R., Cranbell, T. Forrest, J., Hand, M., James, R., Jingle, E., Knight, O., Lennard, N., Lennard, V., Malay, I., Malay, L., Midmee, W., Morton, S., Nulgit, C., Riley, P., Shadforth, I., Bieundurry, J., Brooking, G., Brooking, S., Brumby, W., Bulmer, · V., Cherel, V., Clifton, A., Cox, S., Dawson, M., Gore‑Birch, C., Hill, J., Hobbs, A., Hobbs, D., Juboy, C., Juboy, P., Kogolo, A., Laborde, S., Lennard, B., Lennard, C., Lennard, D., Malay, N., Malay, Z., Marshall, D., Marshall, H., Millindee, L., Mowaljarlai, D., Myers, A., Nnarda, T., Nuggett, J., Nulgit, L., Nulgit, P., Poelina, A., Poudrill, D., Ross, J., Shandley, J., Skander, R., Skeen, S., Smith, G., Street, M., Thomas, P., Wongawol, B., Yungabun, H., Sunfly, A., Cook, C., Shaw, K., Collard, T. and Collard, Y. 2021. Learning Together for with the Martuwarra Fitzroy River. Sustainability Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-021-00988-x
Other
July 2021
Looking back to look forward (Fitzroy River catchment timeline Story Map)
J.G. Álvarez-Romero, and R. Buissereth. 2021. Looking back to look forward: A timeline of the Fitzroy River catchment, Story Map. James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
Info Sheet
July 2021
Scenario planning for WA’s Fitzroy River catchment (wrap-up factsheet)
Video
June 2021
Veins of the Country (video)
Impact Storie
May 2021
Strengthening and sharing knowledge for land and sea management (impact story 2020)
Impact Storie
May 2021
Engagement is a two-way street: Creating symbols for science communication (impact story 2020)
Scientific Paper
April 2021
The use of regional and alluvial groundwater by riparian trees in the wet‐dry tropics of northern Australia (scientific paper)
Canham, C.A., Duvert, C., Beesley, L.S., Douglas, M.M., Setterfield, S.A., Freestone, F.L., Clohessy, S. and Loomes, R.C. (2021), The use of regional and alluvial groundwater by riparian trees in the wet‐dry tropics of northern Australia.. Hydrological Processes. Accepted Author Manuscript. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14180
Scientific Paper
April 2021
When and where are catfish fat fish? Hydro‐ecological determinants of energy reserves in the fork‐tailed catfish, Neoarius graeffei, in an intermittent tropical river (scientific paper)
Beesley, LS, Pusey, BJ, Douglas, MM, Keogh, CS, Kennard, MJ, Canham, CA, Close, PG, Dobbs, RJ, & Setterfield SA. When and where are catfish fat fish? Hydro‐ecological determinants of energy reserves in the fork‐tailed catfish, Neoarius graeffei, in an intermittent tropical river. Freshwater Biology. 2021; 00: 1– 14. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.13711
Other
March 2021
More Than Words (CSIRO Double Helix article Jan 2021)
Other
November 2020
Scientists using technology to fight weeds (radio interview)
Vanessa Mills on Kimberley Breakfast.
Other
November 2020
Nyikina seasonal connections poster
A. Milgin, L. Nardea, H. Grey & S. Laborde. 2019. Birr Walangarri-yoonoo Nganka (Elements of Nyikina ecological science). Walalakoo Aboriginal Corporation in partnership with the National Environmental Science Program
Other
November 2020
Nyikina seasonal calendar
A. Milgin, L. Nardea, H. Grey & S. Laborde. 2020. Birr inmany jada Warloongaryi nganka Woonyoomboo-ni - A Nykina seasonal calendar. Walalakoo Aboriginal Corporation in partnership with the National Environmental Science Program.
Report
October 2020
Distribution maps of freshwater crocodiles and their nests at Danggu (Geike Gorge) National Park (report)
Other
October 2020
Hydro-socio-ecological (HSE) conceptual model enables inclusive and integrated water allocation planning for WA’s Fitzroy River (poster)
Scientific Paper
October 2020 | Open Access
Sustainability crises are crises of relationship: lessons from Nyikina ecology & ethics (scientific paper)
Milgin, A., Nardea, L., Grey, H., Laborde, S., & Jackson, S. Sustainability crises are crises of relationship: Learning from Nyikina ecology and ethics. People Nat. 2020; 00: 1– 13. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10149
Info Sheet
October 2020
Sustainability crises are crises of relationship: lessons from Nyikina ecology & ethics (science summary Oct 2020)
Scientific Paper
September 2020 | Open Access
New insights into the food web of an Australian tropical river to inform water resource management (scientific paper)
Beesley, L.S., Pusey, B.J., Douglas, M.M. et al. New insights into the food web of an Australian tropical river to inform water resource management. Sci Rep 10, 14294 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-71331-0
Other
August 2020
National Environmental Science Program 2020 Outcomes document
Video
July 2020
Launch of Our Knowledge Our Way: Indigenous-led best practice guidelines
Other
July 2020
Our Knowledge Our Way in caring for Country: Summary
Other
July 2020
Our Knowledge Our Way in caring for Country: Indigenous-led approaches to strengthening and sharing our knowledge for land and sea management
Scientific Paper
January 2020
Water velocity and groundwater upwelling influence benthic algal biomass in a sandy tropical river: implications for water-resource development (scientific paper)
Burrows, R.M., Beesley, L., Douglas, M.M. et al. 2020. Water velocity and groundwater upwelling influence benthic algal biomass in a sandy tropical river: implications for water-resource development. Hydrobiologia doi:10.1007/s10750-020-04176-3
Scientific Paper
January 2020 | Open Access
Indigenous land and sea management programs (ILSMPs) enhance the wellbeing of Indigenous Australians (scientific paper)
Larson, S., Stoeckl, N., Jarvis, D., Addison, J., Grainger, D., Watkin Lui, F., Walalakoo Aboriginal Corporation, Bunuba Dawangarri Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, Ewamian Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC and Yanunijarra Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC. 2019. Indigenous Land and Sea Management Programs (ILSMPs) Enhance the Wellbeing of Indigenous Australians, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17 (1),125. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010125
Impact Storie
June 2019
Telling our stories face to face (impact story)
Impact Storie
June 2019
Communicating an Indigenous understanding of WA’s Fitzroy River through art and film (impact story)
Video
May 2019
NESP 2019 Canberra Forum summary (Feb 2019 video)
Video
May 2019
Multiple benefits of Indigenous land & sea management programs (user & co-researcher perspectives video)
Video
April 2019
Showing and sharing knowledge in the Fitzroy River catchment – Ro Hill, Lloyd Nulgit and Gordon Smith Junior (video Feb 2019)
Other
April 2019
Managing stinking passionflower with Dr Bruce Webber (radio interview)
Bruce Webber interview with Wangki Radio about managing stinking passionflower
Other
March 2019
Why we must act on Gamba Grass now (WA DPI AgMemo Jun 2018)
Info Sheet
March 2019
Finding out about fish in the Fitzroy (research story)
Info Sheet
March 2019
Environmental water requirements for the Fitzroy River (project update Feb 2019)
Presentation
February 2019
Supporting savanna fire management via carbon farming (presentation Feb 2019)
Presentation
February 2019
Prioritising threatened species in northern Australia (presentation Feb 2019)
Presentation
February 2019
Multiple benefits of ILSMPs (presentation Feb 2019)
Presentation
February 2019
Knowledge brokering for Indigenous land & water management (presentation Feb 2019)
Info Sheet
February 2019
Indigenous water needs for the Fitzroy River (project update Feb 2019)
Info Sheet
February 2019
Supporting savanna fire management through carbon farming (wrap-up factsheet)
Video
January 2019
Stable Isotopes, Fatty Acids and Compound Specific Stable Isotopes of Fatty Acids as biomarkers (video Dec 2018)
Info Sheet
November 2018
Can ILSMPs contribute to development as it is perceived by Indigenous communities? (policy note Nov 2018)
Video
November 2018
3D catchment map Kimberley road trip (video Nov 2018)
Info Sheet
November 2018
Transdisciplinary research for water management (start-up factsheet)
Info Sheet
October 2018
Prioritising threatened species in northern Australia (project update Oct 2018)
Other
October 2018
NESP Indigenous collaboration (brochure)
Other
October 2018
Indigenous science partnerships (brochure)
Report
October 2018
Northern Hub Annual Report 2017
Info Sheet
October 2018
Monitoring, mapping & safeguarding Kimberley bilbies (start-up factsheet)
Info Sheet
October 2018
Monitoring, mapping & safeguarding Kimberley bilbies (start-up factsheet)
Presentation
September 2018
Exploring possible development futures for the Fitzroy catchment through participatory scenario planning (presentation Sept 2018)
Scientific Paper
August 2018 | Open Access
Are Indigenous land and sea management programs a pathway to Indigenous economic independence? (scientific paper)
Jarvis D, Stoeckl N, Addison J, Larson S, Hill R, Pert P, Lui FW. 2018. Are Indigenous land and sea management programs a pathway to Indigenous economic independence? The Rangeland Journal, https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ18051
Info Sheet
July 2018
Multiple benefits of Indigenous land and sea management programs (project update Jun 2018)
Info Sheet
July 2018
Using measures of wellbeing for evaluating the impact of Indigenous Land & Sea Management programs (policy note)
Video
July 2018
Showing and sharing knowledge in WA’s Fitzroy River catchment (June 2018)
Info Sheet
June 2018
Weaving knowledge systems for sustainable environments and societies: Five tasks (science summary)
Info Sheet
May 2018
Are Indigenous Land & Sea Management Programs a pathway to Indigenous economic independence? (policy note)
Scientific Paper
May 2018 | Open Access
Using measures of wellbeing for impact evaluation: Proof of concept developed with an Indigenous community undertaking land management programs in northern Australia (scientific paper))
Larson S, Stoeckl N, Jarvis D, Addison J, Prior S & Esparon M. 2018. Using measures of wellbeing for impact evaluation: Proof of concept developed with an Indigenous community undertaking land management programs in northern Australia. Ambio https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-018-1058-3
Presentation
May 2018
NESP Fitzroy update for Fitzroy Valley Futures Forum (presentation May 2018)
Scientific Paper
April 2018 | Open Access
Exotic grass invasion alters microsite conditions limiting woody recruitment potential in an Australian savanna (scientific paper)
Setterfield, S., Clifton, P., Hutley, L., Rossiter-Rachor, N., & Douglas, M. (2018). Exotic grass invasion alters microsite conditions limiting woody recruitment potential in an Australian savanna. Scientific Reports, 8(1), Scientific Reports, 12/2018, Vol.8(1).
Info Sheet
March 2018
Knowledge brokering at the Kimberley Ranger Forum (report summary)
Info Sheet
March 2018
Knowledge brokering at the Kimberley Ranger Forum (report summary)
Report
March 2018
Kimberley Ranger Forum (Report 2017)
Info Sheet
March 2018
Multi-objective planning in northern Australia (scenario planning info sheet)
Info Sheet
February 2018
Can Indigenous Land and Sea Management Programs help ‘close the gap’? (policy note)
Scientific Paper
November 2017
The crowding out of complex social goods (scientific paper)
Stoeckl N, Hicks C, Farr M, Grainger D, Esparon M, Thomas J, & Larson S. 2018. The crowding out of complex social goods. Ecological Economics 144: 65-72. ISSN 0921-8009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.07.021.
Presentation
September 2017
Biosphere stewardship – reflections from Indigenous governance systems and ethics of care and reciprocity (presentation)
Presentation
September 2017
The role of communities and Indigenous knowledge for stewardship across scales (presentation)
Presentation
June 2017
Knowledge brokering with Indigenous land managers to support informed decisions (Jun 2017 presentation)
Info Sheet
June 2017
Multiple benefits and of Indigenous land and sea management programs (project update Jun 2017)
Other
May 2017
West Kimberley research overview (brochure Jun 2018)
Report
April 2017
Economic values and Indigenous Protected Areas across northern Australia (final report)
Scientific Paper
April 2017
Carbon sources for aquatic food webs of riverine and lacustrine tropical waterholes with variable groundwater influence (scientific paper)
Pettit, N. E., Warfe, D. M., Close, P. G., Pusey, B. J., Dobbs, R., Davies, C., ... Davies, P. M. (2017). Carbon sources for aquatic food webs of riverine and lacustrine tropical waterholes with variable groundwater influence. Marine and Freshwater Research, 68(3), 442-451. DOI: 10.1071/MF15365
Report
April 2017
Integrated models, frameworks and decision support tools to guide management and planning in Northern Australia (stand-alone summary)
Report
April 2017
Integrated models, frameworks and decision support tools to guide management and planning in Northern Australia (final report)
Info Sheet
April 2017
Tools and models to support sustainable development decisions in northern Australia (wrap-up factsheet)
Info Sheet
January 2017
Identifying high-priority areas in northern Australia for threat abatement and species recovery (wrap-up factsheet)
Scientific Paper
December 2016
Collaborative research partnerships inform monitoring and management of aquatic ecosystems by Indigenous rangers (scientific paper)
Dobbs, R., Davies, C., Walker, M., Pettit, N., Pusey, B., Close, P., Akune, Y., Walsham, N., Smith, B., Wiggan, A., Cox, P., Ward, D., Tingle, F., Kennett, R., Jackson, M., & Davies, P. (2016). Collaborative research partnerships inform monitoring and management of aquatic ecosystems by Indigenous rangers. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 26(4), 711-725. DOI: 10.1007/s11160-015-9401-2
Info Sheet
November 2016
Prioritising threatened species in northern Australia (start-up factsheet)
Info Sheet
November 2016
Managing savanna riparian zones (start-up factsheet)
Presentation
October 2016
Appendix 2: Reporting back – Kimberley discussions (Nov 2015)
Presentation
October 2016
Appendix 2: Reporting back – Kimberley discussions (Nov 2015)
Info Sheet
October 2016
Knowledge brokering for Indigenous Land Management (start-up factsheet)
Info Sheet
September 2016
Indigenous water needs for the Fitzroy River catchment (start-up factsheet)
Info Sheet
September 2016
Multi-objective planning in northern Australia (start-up factsheet)
Info Sheet
August 2016
Research priorities for Indigenous Protected Areas across northern Australia (4-page project summary)
Info Sheet
August 2016
Environmental water needs for the Fitzroy River (start-up factsheet)
Presentation
June 2016
Emerging remote environmental monitoring techniques (presentation)
Presentation
June 2016
RPAS for environmental monitoring in northern Australia (presentation)
Scientific Paper
April 2015
Developing collaborative marine turtle monitoring in the Kimberley region of northern Australia (scientific paper)
Jackson, M. V., Kennett, R. , Bayliss, P. , Warren, R. , Waina, N. , Adams, J. , Cheinmora, L. , Vigilante, T. , Jungine, E. , Woolagoodja, K. , Woolagoodja, F. , Umbagai, J. , Holmes, J. and Weisenberger, F. (2015), Developing collaborative marine turtle monitoring in the Kimberley region of northern Australia. Ecol Manag Restor, 16: 163-176. doi:10.1111/emr.12184
