Western Australian Wetlands

The Kimberley and South-West

Edited by Rod Giblett and Hugh Webb

Black Swan Press Wetlands Conservation Society (Inc.) 1996 First publisht~~6 by Black Swan Press School of Communication and Cultural Studies Curtin University of Technology GPO Box U1987 Perth Western Australia 6001 and the Wetlands Conservation Society (Inc.)

Copyright© individual contributors 1996

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-publication data

Western Australian wetlands: the Kimberley and south-west

ISBN 1 86342 499 7

1. Wetlands- Western Australia- Kimberley. 2. Wetlands­ Western Australia- South-West. 3. Wetland conservation­ Western Australia- Kimberley. 4. Wetland conservation­ Western Australia- South-West. I. Gibiett, Rodney James. II. Webb, Hugh, 1941-. III. Wetlands Conservation Society. IV. Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (1971).

333.91809941

Printed by Lamb Print

A Lotteries Commission initiative . ~ ALCOA AUSTRALIA LOTTERIES COMMISSION• A Decade of Wetland Conservation in Western Australia

Philip Jennings, Wetlands Conservation Society (Inc.)

The Setting Few people in Western Australia and fewer still beyond its borders would realize that such an arid State possesses such a vast wealth of wetlands. Only in comparatively recent times have we begun to appreciate the extent of our wetland heritage and its ecological significance. Permanent fresh water lakes are rare in W A, except in the Kimberley and South-West regions where regular heavy rainfall produces high water tables. However, throughout the rest of the State there are many seasonal wetlands and many large salt lakes. All wetlands are important because they are amongst the most productive of all biological systems. They support a vast range of wildlife, both aquatic and terrestrial. Western Australia lies on one of the main international bird migration routes, usually referred to as the east-Asian flyway. The WA section consists of a chain of lakes, swamps, estuaries and tidal marshes stretching from the Ord River delta and Lake Argyle in the north to the vast fresh water expanses of Lake Muir and Lake Warden in the south. It supports a huge population of migratory birds, some of which travel from as far away as Siberia and Manchuria. There are literally thousands of wetlands in this system which, besides supporting migratory birds, also sustain a diverse local flora and fauna. No two wetlands are identical and even within a small geographical region we find variation based on soils, landforms and water quality. Over a large State, like WA, we have additional variation due to climate and evolutionary history. Although our Government has seen fit to nominate only nine of W A's wetlands for Ramsar listing, there are at least another ten wetlands which are worthy of Ramsar listing and thousands of others which should be listed on the Register of the National Estate.

Origins The appreciation of wetlands developed slowly in the western world. The pioneer settlers in W A failed to appreciate the superb biological heritage of this region. Instead they sought to tame and subdue it. They saw the wetlands as impediments to development and as sources of disease and insect pests. Most of the wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain and in the South West Agricultural Area were drained, cleared or damaged within a century of European settlement. By 1980 it was estimated that 80% of the wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain had been totally destroyed (Fisheries and Wildlife 1978). The situation in the Agricultural Region was even worse because salinity, caused by overclearing, has destroyed or damaged almost all of the original wetlands (EPA 1994b). The original European settlers sought to transform the natural landscape into a more familiar form and so they cleared the fringing vegetation along the rivers and wetlands and replanted with grass and exotic trees. Some of the smaller swamps near Perth were 'saved' as ornamental ponds in traditional settings such as Queens Gardens and Hyde Park. These wetlands were usually dredged and contoured and completely transformed. In the process their ecological values were destroyed. Few people questioned the destruction of the wetlands

149 until the worldwide awakening of environmental consciousness in the sixties. Through the efforts of a few pioneering thinkers such as Rachel Carson, Paul Ehrlich and E. F. Schumacher, people gradually became aware of the beauty of nature and the . value of biodiversity. Eventually they came to accept that wetlands had an important role to play in nature conservation. In the sixties, conservation groups such as the Naturalists Oub and the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union began to argue the case for wetland conservation and some of the bureaucrats began to listen. During the seventies action was taken to develop a representative system of nature reserves in W A and wetlands were included in these studies. However, initially the focus was on protecting outstanding individual wetlands rather than whole systems. One of the first environmental campaigns of this era occurred in 1961, when Bessie Rischbieth and a group known as the Swan River Protection Society, tried to prevent the filling of Mounts Bay for the Narrows Bridge interchange. Their pleas fell on deaf ears and so they eventually confronted the bulldozers in a symbolic protest by the riverside at the foot of Mt Eliza. Although the protest failed to stop the work, the Government made a minor concession by landscaping the interchange and constructing artificial wetlands in the cloverleaf. The whole site was beautified and planted with lawns and exotic trees. The Government of that time simply failed to understand the message. Nevertheless, this incident demonstrated increased public concern for the natural environment and for wetlands in particular. Later, in 1967 the Conservation Council of Western Australia was formed as an alliance of conservation groups. The Council led the campaign for the establishment of the Environmental Protection Authority (which occurred in 1972) and for the creation of a comprehensive system of national parks and nature reserves. In response to this campaign the Government established the Conservation Through Reserves Committee (CTRC) in 1972 with the task of creating a reserve system from existing Governmentlandholdings. The Committee surveyed the whole State and published a set of twelve 'Red Books' containing their recommendations for conservation reserves. This approach was not comprehensive as it· focussed pragmatically on crown land and thus avoided the difficult questions of compensation and funding for land purchases (EPA 1991). As a result of the CTRC Reports many new reserves were created and the area of the State set aside for conservation increased from less than 2% in 1970 to more than 6% in 1990 (EPA 1992c). In the process of assessing Government land for conservation, the value of wetlands was recognised for the first time by Government in WA. The EPA set up a Wetlands Advisory Committee in the late seventies and it provided advice to the CTRC on wetland reserves in the System Six Area, especially the Swan Coastal Plain (DCE 1979). As a result of their work the System Six Red Book (1983) contains a long list of important wetlands which were recommended for conservation (DCE 1983). The implementation of the System Six Report has proved to be difficult because of conflicting land uses, particularly urban development and agriculture. Consequently, more than a decade after the release of the System Six Report, less than 75% of its recommendations have been implemented (EPA 1993c). A similar problem exists in Systems 1 and 2 in the South-West Region where traditional European land uses have impeded efforts to conserve wetlands. The System 5 area, on the coastal plain from the Moore River to the Irwin, contains many important wetlands but very few of these were recommended for conservation because the EPA had failed to appreciate the importance of

150 Artificial wetlands, K win ana Freeway

Main Roads Department

151 Len and Doreen Howard, Peel Preservation Group

Philip Jennings/Wetlands Conservation Society

152 these wetlands for bird breeding and migration when the Study was done in 1975. Similarly the System 7 Study for the Kimberley region missed the opportunity to recommend the conservation of large areas of wetland because of concerns about objections from pastoralists.

Rising Public Concern During the CTRC process in the 1970's public concern was growing about wetland conservation. Herdsman Lake was saved from its intended fate as a rubbish dump but other important wetlands such as Alfred Cove and Bibra Lake were used for this purpose. Conservationists participated actively in the CTRC process and lobbied for wetland conservation as part of the study. However, wetland abuse still continued and during the sixties and seventies the Leschenault Inlet was polluted by effluent from a mineral-processing plant and the Peel-Harvey estuary system began to collapse through eutrophication caused by excessive fertilizer use by farmers in the catchment. In 1977 Len Howard and John Devereaux formed the Peel Preservation Group (PPG) with the aim of campaigning for the conservation of the Peel-Harvey-Yalgorup wetland system. This significant chain of coastal wetlands streches over more than 100 kilometres from Myalup north ofBunbury, to Mandurah. It includes two large estuaries fed by the Serpentine, Murray and Harvey Rivers and two large saline lakes, Clifton and Preston. It is the most important wetland system in south-western Australia and it supports a large and diverse population of wildlife. Because of its size it has many problems caused by human activities including eutrophication, drainage, clearing, tourism and urban development. Over the years the PPG has campaigned tirelessly for the protection of these wetlands and their efforts have been rewarded with considerable success. One of the first successes in wetland conservation occurred in 1982 when a dispute broke out over a plan by the State Housing Commission to fill and develop part of Star Swamp, near North Beach, for housing. This Government Reserve had been recommended for conservation in the System Six Red Book. The Friends of Star Swamp, mostly local residents, campaigned strongly for two years to protect the swamp. Finally, the Burke Government purchased the swamp from the Housing Commission in 1983 and set it aside as an A-class Nature Reserve. This campaign marked the beginning of a period of activism in wetland conservation which has continued up to the present.

The Movement Grows The mid-eighties was a time of great environmental concern. The economy was healthy and progressive Governments were attempting to redress the errors of the past. This led to a rise in public expectations about what could be achieved in conservation through community efforts. In this period the landcare movement blossomed and the State Government introduced a stronger Environmental Protection Act 1986 and a State Conservation Strategy (1987) (EPA 1987). The Wetlands Conservation Society (WCS) was formed in early 1985 by a group of people who had fought the campaign to prevent a major road (Farrington Road) from being constructed through sensitive wetlands near North Lake in Kardinya (Jennings 1985). They included students, conservationists and local residents who were outraged that a System Six Recommendation, which opposed the construction of this road, was ignored by the State Government. This was a shock to many who had expected that a sympathetic State

153 Government would have implemented all of the System Six Recommendations. The WCS was fonned out of the failure of the Farrington Road campaign with the objective of working for the implementation of the remaining wetland recommendations in the System Six Report. The founding members included Nonn Godfrey, Ray Polglaze and Helga and Philip Jennings all of whom were deeply involved in the Farrington Road protest. As the years went by the WCS also became heavily involved in wetland rehabilitation and environmental education. At about the same time (1984) a large toxic algal bloom occurred in two large, internationally significant wetlands - Thomsons and Forrestdale Lakes near Perth. Many migratory waterbirds became ill after ingesting blue-green algae and a group of caring people fonned the Waterbird Conservation Group to train others to rehabilitate waterbirds. The founders of this group were Joan Payne and Karen McRoberts and their initial focus was primarily on wildlife rehabilitation. However, as time went by they widened their efforts to include the protection of wetland habitat, the campaign against recreational duck shooting and wetland management. There were several important campaigns for wetlands conservation in the late eighties which helped to mould and unify the voluntary conservation movement. They included: • the campaign to protect Herdsman Lake from industrial and urban development and the recognition of this Lake as an important urban wildlife habitat. The Herdsman Wildlife Centre was the first wetlands education centre in W A. • the unsuccessful campaign by wetland groups to save Watts Road Lake on the Canning River from destruction. This small wetland, adjacent to the river, was privately owned but it had important wildlife habitat values and should have been purchased for inclusion in the Canning River Regional Park. Unfortunately the State Government failed to intervene and the wetland was filled and developed for housing in 1987. • the campaign to implement the System Six Recommendations for regional parks in the Canning, Cockburn, Jandakot, Rockingham, Wanneroo and Gnangara wetlands. These all met with some success although the Regional Parks have still not been fonnally established. Similar campaigns were organised by the PPG and the Busselton Naturalists Club and FA WNA to establish Regional Parks in the Peel-Yalgorup and Vasse-Wonncrup areas. • a major campaign against recreational duck shooting in W A began after the 1987 duck shooting season in which hundreds of protected birds were accidentally shot. Ted Packer started this campaign and it was later taken up by a coalition of wetland conservation groups and animal welfare groups. No duck shooting was allowed in 1988 or 1989 but a new Minister, Ian Taylor, declared a duck shooting season in 1990. After fierce public protests, and a change of Minister, the 1991 and 1992 seasons were cancelled and State Parliament finally banned recreational duck shooting in June 1992.

• the Conservation Council and wetlands groups campaigned vigorously for five years to persuade a reluctant State Government to nominate twelve W A wetlands for inclusion on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. This finally occurred late in 1989, on the eve of the 1990 Federal Election. However, the final list included only nine of the ori!,rinal twelve wetlands.

154 Farrington Road Dispute

Jan Rodda/Wetlands Conservation Society

155 Farrington Road Dispute

Jan Rodda/Wetlands Conservation Society

156 Joan Payne, Waterbird Conservation Group, and botulism-affected swan Thomsons Lake, 1984

Courtesy The West Australian

157 Joan Payne, Waterbird Conservation Group, and botulism-affected swan Thomsons Lake, 1984

Courtesy The WestAustralian

158 All of these campaigns helped to mould the wetlands conservation groups into an experienced and effective campaign team. Although no fonnal coalition exists they network effectively through personal contacts and via the Conservation Council. Recently however, a national coalition called the Australian Wetland Alliance was fonned (1994) and this could have a valuable role in fonnulating common action and the exchange of infonnation.

Institutional Responses The EPA was the first Government agency to recognise the importance of wetlands. Through the Wetlands Advisory Committee and the CTRC Reports the EPA identified important wetlands and recommended their conservation. They were aided in this task by the scientists in the Wildlife Research Centre of the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. After the fonnation of the Department of Conservation and Land Management in 1985 the Wildlife Research Centre was transferred to that Department. Although CALM has generally been a great disappointment to the conservation movement, the staff of the Wildlife Branch have continued the work of locating and describing important wetlands and wildlife. However, what was lacking until very recent times was a methodology for describing the values of wetlands and for identifying those which are of conservation value. The EPA made an attempt to do this through the work of Dr Jenny Arnold and this resulted in the publication of EPA Bulletins 277 (EPA 1986) and 374 (EPA 1990b). This was a considerable advance on an earlier publication (Bulletin 27, DCE 1977) which described the values of wetlands but failed to develop a methodology for evaluating them. In more recent times the EPA has extended and updated Bulletin 374 (EPA 1993b) and published a rather confused strategy for wetland conservation (EPA 1993d). The EPA under Barry Carbon took a strong interest in wetland conservation and a series of important policy documents were prepared. The most important were the Swan Coastal Plain Lakes EPP (EPA 1992a) and the Peel-Harvey Catchment EPP (EPA 1990a). Policies were also released on important wetlands like Lakes Clifton and Pinjar (EPA 1992b) and some work was done on a strategy for the Ramsar-listed Vasse-Wonnerup estuary (EPA 1989). More recently the EPA has released draft EPPs for the wetlands of the south-west agricultural district and for the protection of the habitat of the western swamp tortoise (EPA 1993a and EPA 1994a). Both have run into serious criticisms from rura1landowners and their future is still in doubt. CALM has done very little to develop policies for wetland conservation. It prepared the Ramsar nominations which were submitted in 1989 and it helped to prepare a draft State Wetlands Policy which was released for public review in 1992 but has still not been finalised (W A Govt 1992). An important paper on wetland buffer zones has encountered opposition from developers but was eventually released in 1995 (Davies and Lane 1995). CALM has also prepared management plans for Thomsons and Forrestdale Lakes but it has not fully implemented them. Because there is no specific Government agency with primary responsibility for wetland conservation, there have been a variety of responses from different agencies. While the EPA has clearly been the most active of all Government agencies, some others have also made significant contributions. In addition to CALM, the Water Authority of WA has taken a leading role in wetland classification and mapping and it sponsored the publication of a set of volumes on wetland management (WAWA 1993-4). The Water Authority has used the - 159 ~ I

methodology developed by Chris Semeniuk (Semeniuk 1987) to classify wetlands accorcling to their geomorphological characteristics and water quality. This approach has been applied to most of the Swan Coastal Plain and it has become a valuable basis for conservation efforts. 1 The Waters and Rivers Commission is responsible for the management of the State's major estuaries and through the Swan River Trust and the Peel and Leschenault Inlet Management Authorities, it has had an important influence on the conservation of these major wildlife habitats. The Ministry for Planning has been the principal agent of wetland conservation in the Metropolitan Area through its planning policies and its purchase of important wetlands using funds from the Metropolitan Region Improvement Fund. Because of the failure of CALM and MFP to reach agreement on the management of Regional Parks the latter has retained responsibility for managing most of the important wetlands in the Metropolitan Area. It has carried out this task very efficiently. The Universities have contributed to wetland conservation through their research and education programs. All four public Universities in W A have an interest in wetlands and have assisted Government authorities to develop inventories of wetlands and management plans for wetland reserves. The work of Frank Murray and Jenny Davis at Murdoch University has been particularly valuable in promoting the development of improved methods of wetland management. In recent years the private sector has also responded to public pressure for wetland conservation and several large companies have created artificial wetlands from disused mine pits. The most impressive of these is the ALCOA Wetlands Centre at Wellard, near Kwinana (Nichols 1992). This site was originally used for clay extraction and after decommissioning it was carefully landscaped and replanted. After a few years it has already become an attractive and useful habitat for wildlife. ALCOA also purchased the Spectacles Swamps in Kwinana for use as a tailings pond but fortunately they were persuaded to conserve and restore this diverse and important site. Now they are a wildlife sanctuary, jointly managed by CALM and ALCOA as part of the Beeliar Regional Park. In the south west of the State the multinational mining company, Rennison Goldfields Consolidated, has converted its disused mineral sands pits, near Capel, into a chain of artificial wetlands (Nicholls and Doyle 1992). There have been some problems with water quality in these lakes but they have now been overcome and these artificial wetlands may eventually become a valuable wildlife sanctuary in an area where more than 90% of the original wetlands have been destroyed. More artificial wetlands are planned and these are generally welcomed by conservationists because so much habitat has been lost. However, it is important that such wetlands are carefully designed to meet habitat requirements and to avoid water quality problems.

Some Achievements of the Past Decade (1985-94) Since the Star Swamp campaign in 1982 and the Farrington Road dispute in 1984 a major effort has been mounted by the voluntary conservation movement for wetland conservation in W A. This effort has met with many successes but these should be seen in the context of

See for example W AW A 1994, plus similar volumes for other municipalities. See also WAW A 1993-94.

160 continuing wetland loss through salinity, eutrophication and urban expansion. The key issues are certainly clearer today than they were a decade or so ago and we have begun to tackle them. However, we have still not succeeded in halting the decline or in reversing the damage done by previous generations. It is impossible to cover all of the achievements of the wetlands campaign over the past decade within such a short article. However, some of the major milestones are listed below: 1. New Wetland Reserves - an effort is underway to create a string of wetland reserves along the western flyway between Geraldton and Busselton. Most of the major lakes will be incorporated into Regional Parks as recommended by the EPA in the System Six Red Book in 1983. The Canning River Regional Park was established in 1988 and the Yellagonga Regional Park in 1992 and planning for the Beeliar, Gnanagara, Peel, Rockingham and Jandakot Regional Parks is well advanced. Other important wetlands such as Star Swamp, Owingup Swamp and Herdsman Lake have been protected as a result of community action. 2. Improved management of Wetlands - CALM and the EPA have devoted resources to wetland management, especially to overcoming insect problems and reducing eutrophication. Wetland rehabilitation has been undertaken in several areas and wetland education centres also have been established at Herdsman Lake, Bibra Lake and Big Swamp. Others are planned at Lake Joondalup and the Spectacles. CALM has developed management plans for some of its wetland reserves and DPUD and Murdoch University have developed plans for others. Several local authorities including the Cities of Cockburn, Melville, Gosnells and South Perth have prepared management pl'ans for their wetland reserves. 3. Wetland protection policies - the EPA has developed environmental protection policies for lakes on the Swan Coastal Plain and a draft policy for wetlands in the South-West Agricultural area has been released. Other policies are in preparation. There is still some resistance from developers and agricultural users who wish to use wetlands for drainage or summer pasture. CALM began to develop a State Wetlands Policy but this has not been completed. 4. International Agreements - Australia was one of the first nations to sign the Ramsar Agreement in 1971 and it has consistently promoted wetland conservation for more than 20 years. It has also negotiated treaties with China and Japan to protect international migratory water birds and their habitat. The Australian Nature Conservation Agency has produced some very useful educational materials on wetland conservation. 5. Ban on Duck Shooting - a major achievement by the conservation movement was the ban on recreational duck shooting in 1992. The brutal practice of killing wildlife for sport symbolised the uncaring attitude of many people to wetlands. Duck hunters used to drive through wetland reserves to stalk their prey and often hundreds of protected birds were shot by 'accident'. The shooters left litter and broken vegetation behind and polluted the swamps with lead pellets. After five years of lobbying the State Parliament finally banned the practice of recreational duck shooting in 1992. Although the current conservative Government has relaxed the ban slightly, the wholesale slaughter carried out in earlier years has disappeared from our wetlands.

161 ~ I

A huge change in social attitudes to wetland conservation has occurred since 1980. It is no longer acceptable to most people to destroy wetlands in the name of progress. Many firms, individuals and Government departments have accepted the need to protect wetlands and gradually the destruction is subsiding. In the years ahead we many be able to reverse some of the damage we have done.

Disappointments and Setbacks Despite our more enlightened attitudes to wetland conservation today there are still many areas of concern. Rare wetlands are still being destroyed for housing and agriculture. The Port Kennedy, Ellenbrook and Secret Harbour developments have destroyed some of the most unusual and precious wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain. This is occurring because Governments do not have the courage to admit that they made errors in the past and that they should redress them. Meanwhile, the Creery wetlands at Mandurah are still threatened by development despite overwhelming support from the people of Mandurah for the conservation of these rich samphire marshes and development adjacent to Lake Clifton is threatening the rare stromatolite formations in this Ramsar-listed wetland. Many of the Ramsar-listed wetlands in the north of the State are unprotected and some are being badly managed due to the lack of management plans. 2 At the policy level, progress is very slow in developing wetland protection proposals. This is partly due to opposition from vested interest groups and partly to the low priority which most Governments assign to conservation issues. The State still does not have a wetland conservation policy in place and progress in implementing the EPA Red Books has been particularly slow. Land-use conflicts in the densely-settled parts of the State have made it very difficult to conserve wetlands. As a result we still do not have a representative set of wetlands in the conservation estate and the current system of wetland reserves may be inadequate to support the survival of some waterbird species. For the present, further Ramsar nominations or extensions are stalled by the State Government which is intent on challenging any moves by the Federal Government to extend its influence over environmental issues.

Challenges Ahead I Wetland conservation has really come of age over the past decade. It is clear now that it , I depends on a variety of factors including adequate research and education which leads to awareness. This provides the basis for policies and funding which lead to conservation (Diagram B). It is not possible to achieve our objectives in wetland conservation without these foundations in place. It is important therefore to work at different levels and in different ways to promote research and education, to assist rehabilitation and to lobby for funding and policy development. At the present time all of the elements required for wetland conservation are in place, or under development, but they have not been integrated effectively. This is partly a result of the failure of CALM to take over leadership in wetland conservation and also the low priority which governments have given to policy development and funding of wetland research.

See 'Ramsar Convention Wetlands in the Kimberley' and· 'Ramsar Convention Wetlands in the South-West' above.

162 Oearly the highest priority for the next decade is to put wetland protection policies and strategies in place as soon as possible. This will depend on the completion of CALM's State Wetlands Policy. It should include proposals for funding and management of the wetland reserve system. Further research is needed to identify important wetlands and to develop techniques for managing them. Funds must be provided to raise public awareness about wetland conservation and to coordinate public assistance with wetland management. There are some signs that Governments and industry are now prepared to assist community groups to manage wetlands. At the local level there is still a lack of expertise in wetland management in many local government authorities. Some have begun to appoint environmental officers with appropriate qualifications but most will not be able to justify or afford them. CALM and the Waters and Rivers Commission should be prepared to assist Local Government Authorities to manage their wetlands effectively. Conservation groups will need to put a considerable effort into wetland education to ensure that public attitudes become more enlightened and that the public appreciates the· central ecological role of wetlands. Political support for wetlands conservation will depend, to a large extent, on how successful the community groups are in promoting the case for conservation. We have come a long way in recent years but there is still a tendency, even amongst scientists, to focus on protecting a few showpiece wetlands, rather than the whole system. Conservationists still have to convince the community that all wetlands have values and we cannot afford to destroy any more of them. Today most people can appreciate the value of a large lake but very few yet appreciate the beauty and ecological value of seasonal damplands. At the international level there is need for the Commonwealth and the States to honour their responsibilities to protect Ramsar-listcd wetlands and the habitat of migratory species. This means that real financial assistance must be given to the States to manage important wetlands according to an agreed management plan. The Ramsar-listed wetlands should be given the highest priority for management plans. There are at least ten other wetland systems in Western Australia which should be Ramsar-listed. These include Lake Gregory, Lake Muir and the Becher wetlands. Several existing Ramsar-listed areas should be extended by including adjacent areas which enhance the value and security of the sites (Watkins 1993). Obvious extensions include the Creery wetlands (Peel-Yalgorup), the Broadwater (Vasse­ Wonnerup) and Lakes Kogolup and Banganup (Thomsons Lake). The Commonwealth should also attempt to secure migratory bird routes by negotiating bilateral agreements with other countries (such as Russia) and by encouraging the states to nominate important wetlands for Ramsar listing. In the South-West and in the Kimberley there is a need to resolve land use conflicts affecting wetlands. This should be done by developing environmental protection policies for wetlands and through the reservation of important wetlands as nature reserves or regional parks. This process has begun but it will require considerable effort and public support to bring it to fruition. These are a few of the challenges for the decade ahead. Wetland conservation is still an unfinished task. We have made a belated start and there is a need to maintain the effort for at least another decade to ensure that the policy and funding framework is completed and implemented.

I 163 L Bibliography

Davies, P. M. and J. A. K. Lane, Guidelines for Design of Effective Buffers for Wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain, Report to the Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Canberra, 1995. DCE, Guidelines for the Conservation and Management of Wetlands in WA, Bulletin 27, Perth: Department of Conservation and Environment, 1977. Wetlands of the Darling System: Wetland Reserves and their Management, Bulletin 62, Perth: Department of Conservation and Environment, 1979. Conservation Reserves for Western Australia as Recommended by the EPA: The Darling System-System 6, Perth: Department of Conservation and Environment, 1983. EPA, Draft Guidelines for Wetland Conservation in the Perth Metropolitan Area, Bulletin 227, Perth: Environmental Protection Authority, 1986. A State Conservation Strategy for Western Australia, Bulletin 270, Perth: Environmental Protection Authority, 1987. The Environmental Condition of the Vasse-Wonnerup Wetland System and a Discussion of Management Options, Technical Series 31, Perth: Environmental Protection Authority, 1989. Environmental Protection Peel-Harvey Catchment Policy, Perth: Environmental Protection Authority, 1990a. A Guide to Identifying Wetland Management Objectives in the Perth Metropolitan Area, Bulletin 374, Perth: Environmental Protection Authority, 1990b. Reflections on Twenty Years, Perth: Environmental Protection Authority, 1991. Environmental Protection Swan Coastal Plain Lakes Policy, Perth: Environmental Protection Authority, l992a. Special Rural Rezoning, Subdivision and Development, Mariginiup, Bulletin 491, Perth: Environmental Protection Authority, 1992b. State of the Environment Report, Perth: Environmental Protection Authority, 1992c. Draft Environmental Protection Policy for Lakes and Swamps of the South West Agricultural Zone, Perth: Environmental Protection Authority, 1993a. A Guide to Wetland Management in the Perth and Near Perth Swan Coastal Plain Area, Bulletin 686, Perth: Environmental Protection Authority, 1993b. Red Book Status Report on the Implementation of Conservation Reserves for WA as Recommended by the EPA 1976-1984, Perth: Environmental Protection Authority, 1993c. Strategy for the Protection of Lakes and Wetlands of the Swan Coastal Plain, Bulletin 685, Perth: Environmental Protection Authority, 1993d. Draft Environmental Protection Policy for the Habitat of the Western Swamp Tortoise, Perth: Environmental Protection Authority, 1994a. Draft Environmental Protection Policy for the Wetlands of the South West Agricultural Area, Perth: Environmental Protection Authority, 1994b.

164 DIAGRAM B. The Basis of Conservation

CONSERVATION

Management I -Policy~

I Awaren~s ·1

Research Edt;tcation

165 Fisheries and Wildlife, Department of, Wetlands of the South-West of Western Australia with Special Reference to the Busselton Area, Perth, 1978. Jennings, P. J. 'A Message From Farrington Road', Environment WA, 7, 1, 1985. Nicholls, F., and F. Doyle, 'Creating Wetlands Following Sand Mining', A Guide to Wetland Management on the Swan Coastal Plain, (ed.) N. Godfrey, P. Jennings and 0. Nichols, Wetlands Conservation Society, 1992. Nichols, 0. 'Creating Wetlands Following Clay Extraction', A Guide to Wetland Management on the Swan Coastal Plain, (ed.) N. Godfrey, P. Jennings and 0. Nichols, Wetlands Conservation Society, 1992. Semeniuk, C. A. 'Wetlands of the Darling System- A Geomorphic Approach to Habitat Classification', Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 69, 1987, pp. 95-112. WA Govt, Draft Wetland Conservation Policy for Western Australia, Perth: Western Australian Government, 1992. Watkins, D. A National Plan for Shorebird Conservation in Australia, Report 90, Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, 1993. WAWA, Draft Management Proposals for Wetlands in the City of Armadale, Perth: Water Authority of Western Australia, 1994. Wetlands of the Swan Coastal Plain, Volumes 1-7, (ed.) by Shirley Balla, Perth: Water Authority of Western Australia, 1993-94.

166