The wetlands component of Reef Rescue will not be funded in
Round 2. However, a number of successful projects were carrried out
in Round 1.
The wetlands component of Reef Rescue in Round 1 provided
technical support and financial incentives to land managers to
improve the health of wetlands draining from intensive agricultural
land.
It was delivered through an integrated approach which includes
the development of wetlands management plans, the payment of
incentives directly to land managers to undertake
wetlands-sensitive land management practices, and securing
long-term management through maintenance agreements.
The wetlands program focussed on coastal
wetlands draining the intensive agricultural areas of the
Burdekin-Bowen coastal plain.
What did the grants fund?
Funding was available to
rehabilitate wetlands which improved water quality reaching the
Great Barrier Reef inshore lagoon. This involved activities that
kept a wetland healthy and functional, for instance:
·
managing aquatic and riparian weeds, and ponded-pastures;
·
revegetation with native species;
·
removal of weed chokes in wetlands to restore habitat;
and
·
increasing the habitat values of recycle pits.
The focus of these management practices was on retaining
and/or restoring healthy ecological conditions which, in turn,
provided significant water quality improvement.
