What are Australian wetlands?

Australian wetlands are areas of land permanently or seasonally covered in water, supporting unique communities of plants, fish, frogs, and birds. They include freshwater swamps, billabongs, floodplains, peatlands, mangroves, salt lakes, and coastal estuaries.

Australia has 67 wetlands listed under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, covering about 8.3 million hectares. Notable Ramsar sites include Kakadu in the Northern Territory, the Coorong and Lower Lakes in South Australia, the Macquarie Marshes in New South Wales, Roebuck Bay near Broome in Western Australia, and the Hattah-Kulkyne Lakes in Victoria. These wetlands provide critical breeding and refuge habitat for migratory birds along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, which links Australia to breeding grounds in Siberia, Alaska, and east Asia.

Wetland types vary widely across the continent. Tropical wetlands such as Kakadu and the Channel Country support magpie geese, jabirus, brolgas, and saltwater crocodiles, with explosive seasonal cycles tied to monsoon rains. Temperate wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin support large breeding colonies of waterbirds when in flood and contract to permanent waterholes between events. Coastal estuaries and mangroves nurse most of Australia's commercial fish stocks. Salt lakes such as Lake Eyre fill rarely but become spectacular sites for pelicans, gulls, and waders when they do.

Australian wetlands face pressures from water extraction for agriculture, salinity from cleared inland catchments, invasive species (especially carp in the Murray-Darling), and climate change. The Murray-Darling Basin Plan and state water-sharing plans aim to set aside environmental water for wetland flooding. Indigenous Protected Areas, joint management of national parks, and Landcare projects all play roles in restoring wetland health.