New South Wales wetland recovery plan
Macquarie Marshes and Gwydir Wetlands, NSW
Total funding: $26.8 million (plus GST) with a contribution of $13.4 million (plus GST) from the Australian Government and $13.4 million (plus GST) from the New South Wales Government.
About the project
The plan aims to improve the health of the internationally significant Macquarie Marshes and Gwydir Wetlands, listed under the Ramsar Convention. The Macquarie Marshes and Gwydir Wetlands are under ecological stress as a result of drought and land and water management practices. The plan incorporates a suite of sub-projects with strategies to develop knowledge of wetland and environmental water management, and provide on-ground environmental improvement through noxious weed management and improved flow regimes. Water savings will be generated through more efficient infrastructure such as piping of open channels and market based mechanisms.
Project benefits
The NSW Wetland Recovery Plan will:
- improve the health of the Ramsar listed Macquarie Marshes and Gwydir Wetlands by addressing the environmental stress resulting from land and water management
- develop plans for the Macquarie Marshes and Gwydir Wetlands initiatives that will be used as pilots for other important wetlands in NSW
- establish Environmental Water Management Trusts for both the Macquarie Marshes and Gwydir Wetlands
- generate water savings that will be transferred to environmental managers and used to improve flow regimes in the Wetlands. Where appropriate, environmental managers may temporally trade to extractive users, and
- establish appropriate mechanisms to engage the community in the project.
The project advances the National Water Initiative objective of protecting systems of high conservation value.
Water Smart Australia projects are funded by the Australian Government's Water for the Future initiative.
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