Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystems Values Project

The Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystem Values (CFEV) Project is an initiative of the Tasmanian State Government's Department of Primary Industries and Water (DPIW). The project represents a key milestone in Australian water reform, by providing planners with consistent freshwater conservation management information at a state level.

The overarching objective of the project is to ensure that priority freshwater values are appropriately considered in the development, management and conservation of the State’s water resources. To achieve this, the project provided an comprehensive and representative assessment of all of the conservation management priorities, and the associated conservation values, of all freshwater ecosystems throughout the state. In November 2008, the project released the technical report of its audit of the state’s freshwater ecosystems.

As the first assessment of its kind conducted in Australia, the CFEV project gives planners in Tasmania access to information and data to manage all freshwater ecosystems with comparable conservation management information, rather than only having access to limited data on a range of flagship ecosystems. The specific value of the CFEV derives from its comprehensive coverage of the state, which allows for system specific information, broad scale comparisons and generalised summaries, and its combination of complicated data sets into readily interpreted indices.

DPIW currently uses the CFEV database in assessments of dam proposals, determining environmental flows and general catchment management. For more information about the project, download the Technical Report here.

Citation: Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Water. (2008). Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystem Values (CFEV) project Technical Report. Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystem Values Program. DPIW, Hobart, Tasmania.

Providing access to this information was also considered a priority. Web-based access to the CFEV database has been developed through two interfraces which are intended to improve the adoption of the CFEV database as a decision-making tool:

A simple user interface with quick access to the more commonly used CFEV assessment components is available through the Water Information Systems of Tasmania (WIST). This information can be used to identify priority freshwater assets or ecosystems, or to browse for values information related to a specific ecological theme.
For more technical users, the CFEV Corporate Interface (CFEVCI) allows access to the full range of CFEV variables, together with a range of summary tools and a far more GIS-styled user interface. This site requires log-in access.

Guides to the interpretation of CFVEV data and links to a range of CFEV documents can be found on the CFEV website.