Barmah Forest Ramsar Site Strategic Management Plan Department of Sustainability and Environment Parks Victoria developed this Strategic Management Plan in conjunction with the Department of Sustainability and Environment and key stakeholders, and coordinated the public comment process on the draft document. This report was prepared with financial support from the National Wetlands Program, under the Natural Heritage Trust. © The State of Victoria, Department of Sustainability and Environment, 2003 This publication is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical or graphic) without the prior permission of the State of Victoria, Department of Sustainability and Environment. All requests and enquiries should be directed to the Copyright Officer, Library Information Services, Department of Sustainability and Environment, 5/250 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, Victoria 3002. Disclaimers This publication may be of assistance to you and every effort has been made to ensure that the information in the report is accurate. The Department of Sustainability and Environment does not guarantee that the report is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence, which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. The views and opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Commonwealth Government of Australia, the Federal Minister for Environment and Heritage, or the Department of the Environment and Heritage. This report is prepared without prejudice to any negotiated or litigated outcome of any Native Title Determination Application covering land or waters within the plan’s area. It is acknowledged that any future outcomes of Native Title Determination Applications may necessitate amendment of this report; and the implementation of this plan may require further notifications under the procedures in Division 3 Part 2 of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cwlth). The plan is also prepared without prejudice to any future negotiated outcomes between the Government/s and Victorian Aboriginal communities. It is acknowledged that such negotiated outcomes may necessitate amendment of this plan. Published in September 2003 by the Department of Sustainability and Environment Level 14, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne, Victoria Copies of this document are available at www.dse.vic.gov.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Victoria. Department of Sustainability and Environment. Barmah Forest Ramsar Site: Strategic Management Plan Bibliography. ISBN 1 74106 675 1 Cover: River Red Gum Forest and Dharnya Centre in Barmah State Park (Photograph: Parks Victoria Collection) Printed on recycled paper. Contents 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS STATEMENT 1 1.2 PURPOSE OF THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PLAN 1 1.3 CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK 2 2 RAMSAR SITE DESCRIPTION 3 2.1 LOCATION 3 2.2 WETLAND TYPE 3 2.3 CRITERIA MET FOR RAMSAR LISTING 3 2.4 LAND TENURE AND MANAGEMENT 3 2.5 ADJACENT LAND USE 6 2.6 CATCHMENT SETTING 6 2.7 LOCAL GOVERNMENT 6 3 POLICY FRAMEWORK 8 3.1 STRATEGIES 8 3.2 MUNICIPAL STRATEGIC STATEMENTS, ZONING AND OVERLAYS 9 4 VALUES 10 4.1 WETLAND REPRESENTATIVENESS 10 4.2 FLORA AND FAUNA 10 4.3 WATERBIRDS 11 4.4 NATURAL FUNCTION 11 4.5 CULTURAL HERITAGE 11 4.6 SCENIC 12 4.7 ECONOMIC 12 4.8 EDUCATION AND INTERPRETATION 12 4.9 RECREATION AND TOURISM 12 4.10 SCIENTIFIC 12 4.11 CONDITION 12 5 MANAGEMENT OF RISKS 14 5.1 ALTERED WATER REGIMES 14 5.2 POLLUTION 16 5.3 PEST PLANTS AND ANIMALS 16 5.4 RESOURCE UTILISATION 17 5.5 RECREATION 19 5.6 EROSION 20 5.7 FIRE 20 5.8 LEVEL OF RISK TO RAMSAR VALUES 20 6 SITE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 22 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE BARMAH FOREST RAMSAR SITE PAGE I REFERENCES 27 APPENDIX 1 LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS 30 APPENDIX 2 RESOURCE LIST 31 APPENDIX 3 THREATENED STATUS OF FLORA 33 APPENDIX 4 THREATENED STATUS OF FAUNA 35 APPENDIX 5 JAMBA, CAMBA AND BONN SPECIES 37 APPENDIX 6 KEY STAKEHOLDERS REPRESENTED ON THE MURRAY-DARLING BASIN COMMISSION’S BARMAH-MILLEWA FORUM 38 APPENDIX 7 BARMAH FOREST RAMSAR INFORMATION SHEET 39 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE BARMAH FOREST RAMSAR SITE PAGE II 1 Introduction The Strategic Management Plan for the Barmah 5. Manage resource utilisation on a sustainable Forest Ramsar site is an integral component of a basis. program to develop a comprehensive management 6. Protect, and where appropriate enhance, framework for Victoria’s Wetlands of International ecosystem processes, habitats and species. Importance (or ‘Ramsar sites’) listed under the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971). The 7. Encourage strong partnerships between primary goal of the management framework is to management agencies. maintain the ecological character of Victoria’s 8. Promote community awareness and Ramsar sites through conservation and wise use. understanding and provide opportunities for involvement in management. 1.1 Strategic Directions Statement 9. Ensure recreational use is consistent with the The Strategic Directions Statement establishes protection of natural and cultural values. Management Objectives for Victoria’s Ramsar sites and Statewide Management Strategies to achieve 10. Develop ongoing consistent programs to monitor these objectives. The Strategic Management Plans ecological character. for the individual Victorian Ramsar sites apply the The Strategic Directions Statement also provides Management Objectives and Statewide Management background information on the suite of relevant Strategies, promoting a range of specific Site international conventions, as well as related Management Strategies that will maintain, and in Commonwealth and State policy and legislation, some cases restore, the ecological character of the which directs and supports the management of sites. Individual plans cover 10 of Victoria’s 11 Ramsar sites. The Strategic Directions Statement Ramsar sites. Victoria’s eleventh Ramsar site, the and Strategic Management Plans are therefore Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands, was listed in 2001 and intended to be read as complementary documents. is covered by a separate management plan. A diagram of the framework and related documents is 1.2 Purpose of the Strategic shown below in Figure 1.1. Management Plan The Strategic Directions Statement provides the The primary purpose of the Strategic Management overarching policy framework for managing Ramsar Plan (SMP) for the Barmah Forest Ramsar site is to sites in Victoria. It establishes Management facilitate conservation and wise use of the site so as Objectives for Ramsar site management across the to maintain, and where practical restore, the State, which are then translated to the site-specific ecological values for which it is recognised as a level by each of the Strategic Management Plans. Ramsar wetland. This will be achieved by The Management Objectives outlined by the implementing site-specific management strategies Strategic Directions Statement are as follows: under each of the key objectives (derived from the 1. Increase the scientific understanding of wetland Strategic Directions Statement). ecosystems and their management requirements. The SMP for the Barmah Forest Ramsar site provides management agencies and stakeholders 2. Maintain or seek to restore appropriate water with an appropriate management framework and the regimes. necessary information to ensure that decisions 3. Address adverse processes and activities. regarding land use and development, and ongoing management are made with full regard for wetland 4. Manage Ramsar sites within an integrated values in environmental, social and economic terms. catchment management framework. Figure 1.1 Framework for the strategic management of Victoria’s Ramsar sites STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS STATEMENT FOR VICTORIA’S RAMSAR SITES HATTAH- WESTERN BARMAH CORNER GIPPSLAND GUNBOWER KERANG LAKE PORT WESTERN KULKYNE DISTRICT FOREST INLET LAKES FOREST WETLANDS ALBACUTYA PHILLIP BAY PORT LAKES LAKES STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE BARMAH FOREST RAMSAR SITE PAGE 1 The SMP has been structured in order to: staff from regional and central offices of Parks Victoria and the Departments of Sustainability and · provide a comprehensive site description; Environment and Primary Industries. Throughout · examine the legislation, policy and any related the process members of a Local Reference Group management instruments which direct or and key local stakeholders have provided input otherwise influence management both within (see Figure 1.2). and adjacent to the site; · clarify the roles and responsibilities of The SMP is a public document that has been management agencies; formalised through a government approval process. As such, the SMP was subject to a public · identify the values for which the site is comment phase commensurate with State recognised as a Ramsar site; Government consultative processes. All comments · assess threats to these values through received during the public consultation phase were systematic analysis of both current and considered in finalising the document. potential risks; and · give priority to Site Management Strategies The SMP is intended to operate over a six-year that minimise and, where possible, eliminate time frame and will be reviewed every three