caring for our country Achievements Report COASTAL ENVIRONMENTS AND CRITICAL AQUATIC HABITATS 2008 –2013 Coastwest, community seagrass monitoring project, Roebuck Bay, Broome, Western Australia. Source: Environs Kimberley Coastal Environments and Critical Aquatic Habitats Coastal Environments and Critical Aquatic Habitats Fragile ecosystems are being protected and rehabilitated by improving water quality, protecting Ramsar wetlands and delivering the Great Barrier Reef Rescue package. Coastwest, community seagrass monitoring project, Roebuck Bay, Broome, Western Australia. Source: Environs Kimberley 3 Table of contents Introduction 6 Reef Rescue outcomes 9 Outcome 1 Reduce the discharge of dissolved nutrients and chemicals from agricultural lands to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon by 25 per cent. 9 Outcome 2 Reduce the discharge of sediments and nutrients from agricultural lands to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon by 10 per cent 9 Case study: Minimal soil disturbance in cane farming—Tully/Murray catchment, Queensland 10 Case study: Repairing bank erosion in the Upper Johnstone catchment, Queensland 12 Case study: Sugar cane partnerships, Mackay Whitsunday region, Queensland 13 Case study: Horticulturalists nurturing the reef, Mackay Whitsunday region, Queensland 14 Case study: Land and Sea Country Indigenous Partnerships Program, Queensland 15 Outcome 3.1 Deliver actions that sustain the environmental values of priority sites in the Ramsar estate, particularly sites in northern and remote Australia. 17 Case study: Currawinya Lakes Ramsar wetland, Queensland 18 Case study: Macquarie Marshes Ramsar wetland, New South Wales 22 Case study: Interlaken Ramsar wetland, Tasmania 23 Case study: Peel–Yalgorup System Ramsar wetland, Western Australia 25 Outcome 3.2 Deliver actions that sustain the environmental values of an additional 25 per cent of (non-Ramsar) priority coastal and inland high conservation value aquatic ecosystems [now known as high ecological value aquatic ecosystems] including, as a priority, sites in the Murray–Darling Basin. 26 Case study: Lower Ovens River System high ecological value aquatic ecosystem, Victoria 27 Case study: Derwent Estuary high ecological value aquatic ecosystem, Tasmania 28 Case study: Anson Bay high ecological value aquatic ecosystem, Northern Territory 30 Outcome 4 Improve the water quality management in the Gippsland Lakes in Victoria, the Tuggerah Lakes Estuary in New South Wales and in all priority coastal hotspots. 31 Case study: Corner Inlet coastal hotspot, Victoria 31 Case study: Gippsland Lakes, Victoria 33 Case study: Tuggerah Lakes Estuary, New South Wales 35 Case study: Botany Bay coastal hotspot, New South Wales 37 Case study: Hunter River Estuary coastal hotspot, New South Wales 38 Case study: Swan Canning Estuary System coastal hotspot, Western Australia 39 Case study: Vasse Wonnerup and Geographe Bay coastal hotspot, Western Australia 40 Outcome 5 Increase the community’s participation in protecting and rehabilitating coastal environments and critical aquatic habitats 42 Case study: Glenelg Alliance, Victoria 43 Case study: Coastal communities protecting beach-nesting birds, Victoria 44 Case study: Catchment to coast—managing and restoring environmental values in the Cygnet River, South Australia 46 Case study: Water quality improvements in the Great Lakes—a community partnership, New South Wales 47 Case study: Partnerships protecting sea turtles, Queensland 48 Case study: Coastwest/Coastcare: engaging communities in caring for the coast, Western Australia 49 Case study: Caring for our Coast, New South Wales 50 Coastal Environments and Critical Aquatic Habitats Case study: Filling the gaps for Coastcare communities in southern Tasmania 51 Continued investment in Australia’s urban and coastal aquatic habitats – Phase II Caring for our Country 2013—2018 52 References 54 5 improving water quality in coastal hotspots and Introduction increasing community participation in coastal and aquatic restoration. Funded projects aimed to Australia’s coasts and critical aquatic habitats are ensure that these sites are sustained into the future. significant environmental assets which are also Caring for our Country investments focused on particular fundamentally important to the Australian lifestyle and approaches for achieving a number of strategic five-year economy. These environments support ecosystems outcomes. These approaches included: and provide habitat for threatened, marine and » providing incentives for improved land management migratory species and they also have cultural and practices to reduce sediment, nutrients and recreational values and support livelihoods. chemical discharges from agricultural lands The Caring for our Country initiative recognised the » allocating funding for planning and on-ground importance of these ecosystem services by providing activities to conserve these environments targeted investments to protect the Great Barrier Reef, Ramsar wetlands, high ecological value aquatic » investing in research and practices to improve ecosystems and priority coastal hotspots. water quality. The Great Barrier Reef is an internationally significant An essential aspect of these strategies was to build coral reef ecosystem that requires special protection the capacity of communities and land managers, as a World Heritage area and matter of national including Indigenous communities, to implement environmental significance under the Environment activities that improve coastal and aquatic assets. Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 Community organisations played an important role (EPBC Act). All of these coastal and aquatic assets face in mitigating the challenges of climate change, a range of pressures, including declining water quality, population growth and degradation of coastal climate change, dune erosion, habitat loss from urban environments. Funding was provided to deliver training development, land clearing and increased traffic and knowledge and enhance the capacity and skills from ports and marinas. of local communities to take actions to rehabilitate coastal waterways and wetlands, prevent coastal Identified priorities for the national priority area included erosion and protect important migratory bird sites. reducing sediment and nutrient discharge to the Great Indigenous communities were supported to reduce Barrier Reef lagoon, protecting and restoring Ramsar coastal and marine debris to protect threatened wetlands and high ecological value aquatic ecosystems, species such as turtles and dugongs. Tropical fish, Great Barrier Reef. Source: A. Heaney, DSEWPaC Coastal Environments and Critical Aquatic Habitats Water testing at a banana plantation, Innisfail, Queensland. Source: A. Heaney, DSEWPaC 7 In order to address the issues and challenges of the Various projects were funded to achieve the theme area, funding was targeted to achieve five five-year outcomes and long-term objective for outcomes by 2013: coastal environments and critical aquatic habitats. These projects, which aimed to improve environmental » reduce the discharge of dissolved nutrients and conditions and reverse the impact of threats to these chemicals from agricultural lands to the Great Barrier assets, included: Reef lagoon by 25 per cent » reduce the discharge of sediment and nutrients » establishing stewardship arrangements to from agricultural lands to the Great Barrier Reef protect high conservation value areas lagoon by 10 per cent » establishing buffer zones and fencing to » deliver actions that sustain the environmental protect water bodies from stock values of: » improving the application of chemical fertiliser » priority sites in the Ramsar estate, particularly sites and herbicide in northern and remote Australia, and » reducing and managing acid sulfate soils and – an additional 25 per cent of (non-Ramsar) salinity priority coastal and inland high ecological value » restoring wetlands and coastal areas aquatic ecosystems including, as a priority, » revegetating and managing weeds in major sites in the Murray–Darling Basin waterways and remnant bushland – improve the water quality management in the » developing Indigenous land and sea country Gippsland Lakes in Victoria, the Tuggerah management projects Lakes Estuary in New South Wales and all priority coastal hotspots » working with Indigenous communities to record and pass on traditional ecological knowledge and » increase the community’s participation in protect culturally important landscapes protecting and rehabilitating coastal environments and critical aquatic habitats. » trialling new technologies or techniques to improve water quality » expanding water quality monitoring programs. The achievement of five-year outcomes for this theme area assisted with reversing the impact of threats facing the Great Barrier Reef, Australia’s Ramsar wetlands and other high-value aquatic and coastal environments, while ensuring that local communities had the information and support to effectively address local threats to these environments. Ongoing efforts and investments are required to continue the successful management of priority coastal and aquatic sites. Reef Rescue outcomes1 Outcome 1 Reduce the discharge of dissolved nutrients Great Barrier Reef and chemicals from agricultural lands to the World Heritage area Great Barrier Reef lagoon by 25 per cent. Outcome 2 Reduce the discharge of sediments and nutrients from agricultural lands to the QLD Great Barrier Reef lagoon by 10 per cent. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef extends