Australia marked World Wetlands Day last week (2 February) and the 50th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands by establishing a national inventory of wetlands.
The Ramsar Convention is a multinational treaty to ensure the conservation of wetland habitats.
Minister for the Environment, Sussan Ley said the Convention promoted the conservation of marshes, billabongs, mangroves, coral reefs, and other bodies of water that were internationally recognised as critical habitats for migratory species, native species, and ecological communities.
Ms Ley said that as the first country to list a Ramsar site, Australia’s National Wetland Inventory would provide a consistent approach to identifying and categorising Australia’s wetlands and their highly diverse ecosystems.
“The inventory is a fitting way to mark the 50th anniversary by enhancing and strengthening Australia’s capability to conserve our important wetland habitats,” Ms Ley said.
“The National Wetlands Inventory will bring together wetland managers and scientists across Australia to apply the most advanced wetland characterisation methods to build a comprehensive register of our diverse wetland systems,” she said.
“This initiative brings together the latest technology and best science minds to create real-time, user-friendly applications for land managers that will guide decision making about on ground works and actions to support these crucial ecosystems.”
Ms Ley said Australia’s mangroves would be the first type of wetland to be mapped using Geoscience Australia’s archive of over 30 years of satellite imagery.
The Minister said Geoscience Australia’s Digital Earth Australia program already enabled wetland managers to better understand the effects of flooding and low-flow events on wetlands and the inventory would help track changes in wetland ecology and condition over time.