There are a number of programs underway that are helping to make changes to the way farms are managed throughout the catchments adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef.
These initiatives are helping to reduce run-off from agricultural land into waterways that flow out into the marine environment.
The quality and amount of groundwater in our region has been identified as an issue central to our region.
NQ Dry Tropics has been working with a number of organisations in the region to gather groundwater information.
What is groundwater? When rain falls to the ground, the water does not stop moving. Some of it flows along the surface to streams or lakes, some of it is used by plants, some evaporates and returns to the atmosphere, and some sinks into the ground.
NQ Dry Tropics' management area, the Burdekin Dry Tropics region, is located in north eastern Queensland. Covering an area of approximately 138,000 square kilometres (almost eight per cent of the state), the region is primarily defined by the catchment area of the Burdekin River. The region extends into marine waters and includes Magnetic Island and the Palm Islands.
The rivers and streams of the NQ Dry Tropics region drain a tremendous diversity of tropical landscapes: semi-arid dry lands, wooded grasslands, mountainous tropical rainforests, coastal plains and wetlands.
NQ Dry Tropics funds a range of environmental activities within the Burdekin dry tropics region. We currently offer funding and support for the following groups:
