WetlandCare Australia Sponsors

 

Business Partners

Wetland Care Australia - Current Projects

Rehabilitating Burdekin's Billabongs and Bowling Green Bay Catchments

Wetland works continue! WetlandCare Australia in partnership with North Queensland Dry Tropics and many other significant stakeholders in the Burdekin have been successful in securing funds for the regions wetlands through the Australian Government Open Grants round. 

Funding received were used to raise awareness, rehabilitate and protect priority wetland sites across the Burdekin floodplain, an important northern Queensland wetland aggregate with direct connectivity to the Great Barrier Reef, a World Heritage area and Bowling Green Bay, a Ramsar wetlands site of international importance.

Wetlands of the Burdekin floodplain have been degraded by a range of threats, particularly changed hydrological regimes, ever increasing weed populations, dis-connectivity of wetlands, cleared riparian buffers, erosion and sedimentation. This project addressed these by informing and training landholders, industry groups and the community in the latest knowledge about best management practice (BMP) of wetlands.

The project also implemented on-ground works to address these issues at priority sites to improve the functionality of priority wetlands in the Burdekin catchment. These actions have also assisted in delivering improved water quality to the Great Barrier Reef. This project has improved biodiversity in the region through the protection, improved connectivity and rehabilitation of wetland habitats critical to the survival of nationally threatened and migratory bird species.

This project also informed and engaged the community in the importance of aquatic habitats in their local region.  Increased community knowledge, resulting in combined community action has improved the health of internationally recognised aquatic habitats including; Great Barrier Reef, Bowling Green Bay and nationally recognised wetlands including; Barratta Channels Aggregation, Burdekin-Townsville Coastal Aggregation, Burdekin Delta Aggregation and The Serpentine Aggregation (all listed in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia).This project protects and improves critical fish habitat areas including Bowling Green Bay and Burdekin as nominated by Queensland DPI&F.

WetlandCare Australia hopes to continue this work on these important wetland areas in the North Queensland Dry Tropics area into the future. For more information about this or future wetlands projects in this region, please contact Senior Project Coordinator, Cassie Price on 02 66816169 or cassieprice@wetlandcare.com.au.