NQ Dry Tropics is embarking on its most ambitious project to undertake landscape repair in the Burdekin Dry Tropics.
The Burdekin Landscape Repair project focuses on reducing fine sediment from Dry Tropics catchments by 41,000 tonnes each year. This six-year project will achieve this through targeted gully and streambank repairs and improved land management practices.
The Burdekin Dry Tropics region is a critical part of North Queensland’s landscape, but it also faces significant challenges in terms of sediment runoff, particularly into the Great Barrier Reef.
This runoff, driven by factors such as eroding gullies, erosion, and seasonal rains, can have devastating impacts on the health of the reef ecosystem by smothering coral, reducing water quality, and harming marine life.
Addressing these issues requires a coordinated effort to repair and manage the landscape more sustainably. By implementing landscape restoration actions in key areas across the Burdekin Dry Tropics, we can reduce sediment loads entering the river systems and eventually making their way to the reef.
Key actions include:
- Erosion Control — Restoring groundcover and vegetation, and addressing eroded areas to help stabilise soil and prevent erosion.
- Gully Rehabilitation — Repairing eroded gullies to reduce sediment transport.
- Streambank Management — Enhancing buffer zones, including vegetation around waterways, to reduce and filter sediment.
- Sustainable Grazing Practices — Implementing best-practice grazing management to protect soil, improve ground cover, and reduce runoff.
- Community and stakeholder Involvement — Working at scale with landholders, Indigenous groups, environmental and engineering specialists, and scientists, to ensure tailored, sustainable solutions achieve long-term economic, social and environmental benefits for the Burdekin communities.
This collaboration will increase the region’s capacity to support land management, interventions, and monitoring aligned with the Australian and Queensland governments’ Water Quality Improvement Plan (WQIP) 2050 targets.
These actions will enhance land condition and significantly reduce sediment runoff into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, thereby protecting this vital ecosystem.
NQ Dry Tropics, as the Regional Delivery Partner of the Burdekin Landscape Repair project, plays a key role in coordinating regional collaboration and overseeing the project’s operational delivery through a collaborative approach.
We’ve been down this road before
The Burdekin Landscape Repair project builds on past NQ Dry Tropics initiatives and emphasises collaboration across the community to improve landscape management and reduce erosion.
By focusing on key areas such as grazing land management, gully and streambank remediation, Traditional Owner participation, and grassroots governance, the project benefits from NQ Dry Tropics’ experience garnered across more than 20 years of natural resource management to help ensure future success.
Click on any of the areas below to understand the goals and intention of the project. Links within each category show examples of similar work NQ Dry Tropics has completed in previous projects.
MANAGING
GRAZING LAND
The diverse perspectives and circumstances of graziers will be considered. Strategies will be specifically tailored to the unique situations of individual landholders to ensure solutions are practical, effective, and sustainable for each property, and to encourage community-driven progress in landscape management.
GULLY, STREAMBANK
REMEDIATION
To effectively mitigate the impact of sediment loads on the river systems and the Great Barrier Reef, landscape restoration initiatives are being implemented in specific areas within the Burdekin Dry Tropics region. These efforts encompass gully rehabilitation and streambank repair and management.
FIRST NATIONS
PARTICIPATION
This project is committed to enhancing collaboration with Traditional Owners through the respectful observance of cultural protocols and the cultivation of mutually respectful relationships. The focus is on increasing engagement, promoting participation, and fostering job creation opportunities.
GOVERNANCE
AND GUIDANCE
The project is managed within a framework to guarantee efficient planning, execution, and oversight. This framework includes NQ Dry Tropics serving as the Regional Delivery Provider, a Regional Steering Committee, a Regional Working Group, an Independent Technical Expert, and a Tender Evaluation Panel.
