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Cast your mind back to this time a fortnight ago — remember all those dramatic scenes of flood damage to homes, infrastructure and livelihoods? The news cycle may have moved on but for those affected — many of whom were already experiencing disadvantage — the impact will be felt for years to come.
Today, Melissa Parsons and Martin Thoms ask what if, for a moment, we removed the humans and their structures from these tragic images — what would we see?
We would see a natural process of river expansion and contraction, of rivers doing exactly what they’re supposed to do from time to time. We’d see them depositing sediment across their floodplains. We’d see reproductive opportunities for fish, frogs, birds and trees. The floods would also enrich the soils.
“Floods can be catastrophic for humans, but they are a natural part of an ecosystem from which we benefit,” they write. “We must envision a new way of interacting with floodplains – these brilliant social-ecological systems that are not separate to rivers but rather part of the riverine landscape.”
Humans can live on and with floodplains, they argue, but the way we do that has to change.
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Sunanda Creagh
Head of Digital Storytelling
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AAP Image/AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE
Melissa Parsons, University of New England; Martin Thoms, University of New England
Floodplains are among the most productive ecosystems on the planet – they are biodiversity hotspots. That's in large part due to periodic flooding between different parts of a river-floodplain system.
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Joshua Zadro, University of Sydney; Brooke Nickel, University of Sydney; Giovanni E Ferreira, University of Sydney; Mary O'Keeffe, University of Sydney; Tessa Copp, University of Sydney
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AAP/Joel Carrett
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