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Savanna Links - e-newsletter

This newsletter (published by CRC for Tropical Savannas Management) provides news and information on a broad range of land-management issues, research and events across the tropical savannas.

REsource ALlocation Model (REALM)

The REsource ALlocation Model (REALM) is a Windows based computer program that can simulate the operation of both urban and rural water supply systems during droughts as well as during periods of normal and high streamflows.REALM is a generalised computer program that can simulate simple water supply systems as well as large and complex ones such as the Goulburn Irrigation system in south eastern Australia.

MUSIC

MUSIC is designed to simulate urban stormwater systems operating at a range of temporal and spatial scales; catchments from 0.01 km2 to 100km2 and modelling time steps ranging from 6 minutes to 24 hours to match the catchment scale.

Multi-Criteria Analysis Shell for Spatial Decision Support (MCAS-S)

MCAS-S is a generic framework for the use of data-sets in Multi Criteria Analysis. It is the latest of several MCA decision aids used in the Australian Government Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry policy environment since the early 1990s. MCAS-S is currently being used at the national, regional and catchment scale for:

  • assessment of Australia's rangelands: analysing natural resources, patterns of use and commodity assets
  • assessment of land cover change and ecosystem services using the Vegetation Assets, States and Transitions (VAST) framework
  • assessing the contribution to ecologically sustainable development of regional areas for the National Land and Water Resources Audit.

MOSAIC

MOSAIC is an integrated spatial optimisation framework for exploring future land use and management options at regional and landscape scales. Critical spatial interactions and linkages such as resource use externalities, transport costs and habitat configuration are supported explicitly. MOSAIC provides the capability of identifying the social, environmental and economic trade-offs of changing the way land is managed in particular landscape contexts. MOSAIC is currently implemented as a plug-in to the EcoPlan software developed by Environment Australia. The user interface provides GIS functionality and utilises wizards to define scenarios — which specify how landscapes are valued—- and to develop allocations — which specify how each part of the landscape is managed.

Minimum Energy Loss (MELS)

MELS is a hydraulic design and analysis suite that enables designers to quickly trial several alternative Minimum Energy Loss (MEL) culvert designs, checking for basic structure dimensions, performance under adverse conditions such as high or low flow and sedimentation issues. Full set-out dimensions are given as output along with graphical outputs to facilitate visual checking.

Land Use Planning and Information System (LUPIS)

LUPIS is a micro computer spatial decision support system developed to facilitate the ranking of competing landuses or management regimes. The ranking reflects the degree to which each landuse collectively addresses issue induced guidelines and the importance of achieving each guideline. To identify preferred landuse or management strategies taking into account exercise specific guidelines proposed in response to user goals.

INSIGHT

To explore alternative land use policies against plausible price and climatic scenarios for the next 20 years. INSIGHT aims to support a balanced approach to policy development by helping resource managers consider the full range of social, economic and environmental assets valued by the community, and learn how they might change over time in response to external pressures and different policy options. Currently specific to the Lachlan catchment.

Guidelines for evaluating...aspects of Urban Stormwater Management Measures to improve waterway health

These guidelines primarily aim to provide urban stormwater managers with a step-wise process and supporting material to assess the merits of proposed stormwater management measures to improve waterway health within the context of the 'triple bottom line', that is, the financial, ecological and social aspects of the proposed measures are systematically assessed to identify the option with the greatest net benefit. The process outlined in the guidelines represents a Multiple Objective Decision Support System (MODSS) that uses multi criteria analysis (MCA) techniques. The procedure for undertaking a triple bottom line assessment is outlined in detail. The guidelines allow users to choose one of three levels of assessment which are commensurate with the scale, complexity and potential impact of the project. This approach has been taken to allow stormwater managers to find the appropriate balance between the degree of rigour undertaken in the assessment and the resources needed to undertake the assessment.

Decision facilitator

Decision Facilitator is used to work through decisions in meetings, and where prioritisation of criteria needs to be developed quickly by consensus.  Facilitator is a generic, multiple objective decision support tool for prioritising natural resource management options using decision criteria and a weighting scheme. Management options and decision criteria are defined using participatory processes with stakeholders, and the impacts of each management option are scored using measured data, simulation models and expert opinions. Criteria are defined to account for environmental, economic, social, cultural and legislative considerations.