Wetlands Australia: National Wetlands Update February 2013

Introduction

The international theme of World Wetlands Day 2013 is “Wetlands Take Care of Water”. Wetlands provide important hydrological functions such as groundwater recharge, water quality improvement and flood alleviation. The health of wetlands depends on the quality and quantity of water that reaches them. To secure their conservation and wise use it is essential that they are managed in the wider context of catchment-scale water resource management.

This edition includes several feature articles on wetlands and water management along with many other articles on current wetland projects and programs.

If you would like to contribute to future editions of Wetlands Australia contact wetlandsmail@environment.gov.au

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Contents

• Managing environmental water for wetlands
  • Ten years of The Living Murray program - restoring the health of the Murray River For the past 10 years The Living Murray program has been working to restore the health of the Murray River system.
  • Regulator upgrades in Gunbower Forest to help manage environmental flows Refurbished regulators are enhancing environmental water delivery to Gunbower Forest.
  • Tracking flooding from space for Macquarie Marshes environmental water management At the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage scientists are using imagery captured from the Landsat space satellite to track flooding at the Macquarie Marshes.
  • New structures open natural flow paths to long stranded wetlands In the spring of 2012, newly installed regulators, pipes and culverts enabled the delivery of environmental water flows to long stranded Lower Murrumbidgee wetlands located on private property in south western New South Wales.
  • Concrete structures achieve environmental benefits New water delivery structures in the Koondrook-Perricoota Forest will deliver environmental water to wetlands and creeks more efficiently, offsetting the environmental impacts of dams and river regulation.
• Water management and wetlands
  • Victoria moves to a fully integrated program for rivers, wetlands and estuaries The Draft Victorian Waterway Management Strategy was released in November 2012 and when finalised will set out the State policy and planning framework for rivers, wetlands and estuaries.
  • Working Wetlands – bringing the lakes back to life The Working Wetlands project is improving water quality and providing a sustainable water supply for the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne.
  • Water quality action for Corner Inlet A Water Quality Improvement Plan for Corner Inlet is being developed by the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority, with funding provided by the Australian Government, to help protect the ecological character of this significant wetland.
  • Managing water in the landscape - wetlands surviving the dry WetlandCare Australia is working with floodplain farmers to implement best practice wetland management and better manage acid sulphate soils.
  • Mapping groundwater dependent ecosystems in Queensland Workshops are being held across Queensland to engage a wide range of experts in mapping the State's groundwater ecosystems.
• Water requirements for wetland species
  • Water for plants - capturing knowledge for wetland managers The book Water regime for wetland and floodplain plants: A source book for the Murray-Darling Basin is a valuable resource for everyone involved in wetland and floodplain management in the Murray-Darling Basin.
  • The Australasian bittern and its water requirements The Bittern Project is collecting data to improve understanding of the water needs of the Australasian bittern.
• Wetlands, water and Indigenous Engagement
  • Ancient Science - an Indigenous perspective on wetland care Primarily designed to unlock the potential of Aboriginal people to engage in science learning activities, Ancient Science also assists people working with Aboriginal communities.
  • Indigenous cultural and spiritual values in water quality planning Case studies of water quality planning processes that have included Indigenous cultural and spiritual values have been published in a report by DSEWPaC to start addressing the gap in the National Water Quality Management Strategy on this issue.
  • Engaging Indigenous Australians in environmental research Indigenous people own and manage about a third of the landscape across northern Australia and have detailed knowledge about the region's environment and ecological processes.
• Wetland Conservation and Restoration
  • Unravelling the story of change at Long Swamp, south west Victoria Nature Glenelg Trust is using ecological skills and working with partners to bring together information that will improve the management of Long Swamp.
  • Wetlands at risk of weeds The Friends of Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands have embarked on a weed eradication and education project.
  • Authority to boost self-defence for eight priority public wetlands Eight Central Murray Wetlands will be assisted with self-defence by reducing the impacts of threatening pests, such as rabbits, foxes and weeds, as well as recovery through fencing and revegetation.
  • Delivering biodiversity dividends in the Barratta Creek Catchment Protecting, managing and enhancing the high ecological values of the Barratta Creek Catchment.
• Wetland Management
  • WetlandCare Australia National Art and Photography Competition WetlandCare Australia's National Art and Photography Competition is in its sixth year.
  • Development of the Wetland Tender metric The Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment is conducting a review of the Wetland Tender metric to improve the system by which bids for management interventions in wetlands are chosen.
  • Walking the landscape' - a whole-of-system framework for understanding and mapping environmental processes and values Walking the landscape' incorporates diverse knowledge on the many landscape components and processes to support identification, description and confirmation of a phenomenon in the landscape.
  • Pictures worth a thousand words - A guide to pictorial conceptual modelling for wetland managers and scientists Pictorial conceptual modelling provides a suite of knowledge visualisation practices for aiding communication among natural resource managers, scientists and the community, especially in the field of environmental science and management.
• Government Updates
  • Australian Government Update In 2012 the Australian Government undertook a variety of wetland activities.
  • New South Wales Government Update In 2012 the New South Wales Government undertook a variety of wetland activities
  • Victorian Government Update In 2012 the Victorian Government undertook a variety of wetland activities.
  • Queensland Government Update In 2012 the Queensland Government undertook a variety of wetland activities
  • Tasmanian Government Update In 2012 the Tasmanian Government undertook a variety of wetland activities
• Calendar of Events

Previous editions of Wetlands Australia are also available:

• Wetlands Australia