Management Plan for the Riverland Ramsar Site A Plan for Wise Use 2010 - 2015 Woolenook Bend The Riverland Ramsar Site Management Plan 2010-2015 For further information please contact: Department for Environment and Heritage Phone Information Line (08) 8204 1910, or see SA White Pages for your local Department for Environment and Heritage office. Online information available at: http://www.environment.sa.gov.au Restrictive Licence © State of South Australia through the Department for Environment and Heritage. Apart from fair dealings and other uses permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), no part of this publication may be reproduced, published, communicated, transmitted, modified or commercialised without the prior written approval of the Department for Environment and Heritage. Written requests for permission should be addressed to: Design and Production Manager Department for Environment and Heritage GPO Box 1047 Adelaide SA 5001 Disclaimer While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the contents of this publication are factually correct, the Department of Environment and Heritage makes no representations and accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or fitness for any particular purpose of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of or reliance on the contents of this publication. Reference to any company, product or service in this publication should not be taken as a Departmental endorsement of the company, product or service. Photography: © Department for Environment and Heritage ISBN 2 The Riverland Ramsar Site Management Plan 2010-2015 Executive Summary The Riverland Ramsar Site is loc ated in South Australia within the Murra y-Darling Basin c atc hment. It is on the floodplain of the lower River Murra y, lying along a n 80km sec tion of the River Murra y between Renmark and the Vic torian and New South Wales bord er. It was first listed as a Wetland of International Importanc e in 1987 under the Ramsar Convention. This segment of the lower River Murra y floodplain c onsists of the main river c hannel and a diversity of wetland habitats inc luding a series of c reeks, c hannels, la goons, billabongs, swamps and lakes. Between the water-bodies are extensive areas of low-lying floodplain that are flooded d uring high river levels with rec eding floodwaters being retained in temporary wetlands. The Site supports many aquatic fauna and waterbirds, some of which are migratory and also providesimportant habitat for many terrestrial fauna species, including refuge for wildlife during the dry season. The Site has multiple land tenures, inc luding lease arra ngements and both private and government land ownership . Land uses inc lude pastoral, ec o-tourism, and conservation. The Riverland Ramsar Site Management Plan 2010 2015 provides a synthesis of c urrent and past knowledge; d escribing the environmental, c ultural and wise use values of the Site. An Ecologic al Charac ter Description (ECD) was c ompleted for the Site in 2009 describing the c harac ter of the site (c omponents, proc esses and servic es) a t the time of Listing. The ECD describes a dec lining trend in the vegetation health within the site; a trend that was evident prior to Listing. Overbank flooding from the River Murray channel drivesthe floodplain ecology. However, due to river regulation and water extrac tion for irrigation and human needs, the c hanges in flood freq uenc y, duration and extent have had a d etrimental impac t ac ross the floodplain. Altered flow regimes are c onsidered the most signific ant fac tor in deterioration of the ec ologic al c harac ter of the Site, followed c losely b y salinisation of the landscape. Rec ent vegetation health surveying (DEH 2009) ha s identified that the dec line in vegetation health has c ontinued beyond natural thresholds and the limits of acceptable change, indicating a possible change in the site s ec ologic al c harac ter. The d evelopment of the Riverland Ramsar Site Management Plan 2010 2015 has been written to set direc tions for the future management of the Site, identifying strategies and ac tions needed to protec t, restore and maintain the diverse values and ec ologic al c harac ter of the Site. Some ac tions are rec ognised as ongoing, while others are rec ognised for development and implementation within the life of this plan, and others rec ognised as longer-term projec ts being developed and implemented over ten years. Given the drying c limate and limited availability of environmental water, the development of a Watering Plan was given the highest ranking of 1 , whic h is described as being essential, and when implemented , will ac hieve the greatest gains for the maintenanc e a nd restoration of ec ologic al character. Development and implementation of the Watering Plan will help sustain the ecological character of the Site under low flow regimes, although it can not address the watering needs for the entire Site. While ec ologic al benefits that c an be ac hieved for eac h wetland will be an important c onsideration in developing the 3 The Riverland Ramsar Site Management Plan 2010-2015 Watering Plan, there are some prac tic alities and fac tors that also need to be c onsidered suc h as, c urrent health status and ability to get water to the site. Development of the Watering Plan need s to be an inc lusive proc ess, involving government agenc ies, landhold ers and c ommunity. A basis for plan development has been initiated within this doc ument and c an be found in Ap pendix 6. It is expec ted , onc e this dra ft has been endorsed , foc us will c entre upon the completion and implementation of the Watering Plan. 4 The Riverland Ramsar Site Management Plan 2010-2015 Acknowledgements The Department for Environment and Heritage developed the Riverland Ramsar Site Management Plan 2010 2015 in conjunction with the Riverland Ramsar Site Management Plan Steering Committee. The Riverland Ramsar Site Management Plan Steering Committee membership c onsisted of landowner representatives and a rep resentative from the following organisations: Depa rtment of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (Australian Government), Dep artment for Environment and Heritage (South Australian Government), Renmark Paringa Distric t Counc il, Field and Game Association, The Dep artment of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation (later became the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board), and Renmark to the Border Local Action Planning Committee. Committee members, past and present included: Tony Sharley (Chairman) Phil Heading Ryan Breen Tony Herbert Peter Cale Phil Reddy Deborah Callister Jock Robertson Benita Dillon John Rover Sonia Dominelli Max Schmidt Allan Eckerman Mark Stoeckel Jody Gates Peter Teakle Jacqueline Giles Peter Waanders Richard Hamley Andrew Weigall Mike Harper Neville Whitehead Peter Haslett Grant Whiteman Most of the mapsin thisreport were kindly produced by the GISTechnical Officers- Benno Curth (DEH) and Jacqui Oates (DEH), and the Management Principles for the Riverland Ramsar Site Management Plan were developed b y Jenny Bourne (now Department of Health). The Mana gement Plan was developed with funding rec eived from the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, (Ramsar Management Planning Program). Previous drafts were developed with funding from the National Ac tion Plan for Salinity and Water Quality, a nd the Integrated Natural Resourc e Management Group for the SA Murray-Darling Basin Inc. 5 The Riverland Ramsar Site Management Plan 2010-2015 Acronyms and Abbreviations JAMBA Japan-Australia Migratory Birds Agreement CAMBA China-Australia Migratory Birds Agreement ROKAMBA Republic of Korea Australia Migratory Birds Agreement CRCFE Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology DEH Department for Environment and Heritage DEET Department of Employment, Education and Training DEH CFS Department of Environment and Heritage Country Fire Service DEWHA Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts DWLBC Department for Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation DNR (NSW) Department of Natural Resources (NSW) ECD Ecological Character Description MDBA Murray-Darling Basin Authority RBLAP Renmark to the Border Local Action Planning ORS SA Office for Recreation & Sport SA PIRSA Primary Industries and Resources South Australia SA MDB NRM South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Board Board SA MDB South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Aboriginal Natural Resources Aboriginal Management Group NRM Group SARDI South Australian Research and Development Institution TSA Tourism South Australia UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation 6 The Riverland Ramsar Site Management Plan 2010-2015 CONTENTS Executive Summary .................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... 5 Acronyms and Abbreviations..................................................................................... 6 CONTENTS .............................................................................................................. 7 List of Figures............................................................................................................ 9 List of tables .............................................................................................................