WetlandUpdate February 2023

World Wetlands Day 2023 - Focus on restoration

World Wetlands Day is a global awareness campaign celebrated every year on 2 February to highlight the value of wetlands. This day also marks the anniversary of the Convention on Wetlands, an intergovernmental treaty adopted in 1971 and which now has a global membership of 172 countries, officially known as Contracting Parties.

This year’s theme highlights the urgent need to prioritise wetland restoration, and calls on an entire generation to take steps to revive and restore degraded wetlands. The theme builds on - and contributes to the efforts to heal the planet as championed by the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. This global initiative which runs from 2021-2030 is leading and providing inspiration for restoring ecosystems around the world.

DES has recently completed the Aquatic Ecosystem Rehabilitation Process and the Queensland River Rehabilitation Management Guideline (QRRMG) with a focus on wetland rehabilitation.

For more information, see the materials provided on the World Wetlands Day website.

Aquatic Conservation Assessment of the Great Barrier Reef connecting catchments (GBRCC) for riverine and nonriverine wetlands (v2.1)

In 2022, the Queensland Department of Environment and Science has commenced an update of the Queensland Great Barrier Reef connecting catchments (GBRCC) Aquatic Conservation Assessment (ACA) using the Aquatic Biodiversity Assessment and Mapping Methodology (AquaBAMM). For more information, see the Information Sheet.

ACAs for the GBRCC were previously completed from 2009 to 2011. This project will incorporate updated expert panel decisions, special feature mapping, aquatic species lists using current species sightings, Queensland Wetlands mapping, Regional Ecosystem mapping and other relevant contemporary ecological datasets.

Updates

Updated Wetland Projects Search Tool

Additional projects have been added to the wetland projects search tool from Burnett Mary Regional Group for Natural Resource Management Ltd. (BMRG).

Additional links

• Wetlands save thousands, worth billions has been added to the Disaster Management page.
• Valuation of disaster risk reduction ecosystem services of Australia’s coastal wetlands: review and recommendations has been added to the Disaster Management page.

WetlandUpdate

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WetlandInfo feature species

Orange mangrove (Bruguiera gymnorhiza). Photo by Gary Cranitch © Queensland Museum

The feature species for February is the Large-Leaved Orange Mangrove (Bruguiera gymnorhiza).

This mangrove is a member of the Rhizophoraceae family. It is found across northern Australia, extending from along the east coast in the Clarence River in New South Wales to Cape York, and as far west as Darwin in the Northern Territory. It grows from the Western Pacific across Indian Ocean coastlines to Cape Province in South Africa.

This species is commonly found on firm, well drained muddy soils, with few high tides a month. It is often the most landward of mangroves and common to areas that have freshwater influence, such as brackish tidal waterways.

The species can reach heights up to 20m, with knobbly, knee-shaped pneumatophores. The bark is rough, fissured and grey-brown in colour. The leaf stalk is tinged with red and flowers appear at the base of the leaves.

The timber from the orange mangrove is commonly used overseas in the construction of houses, boats and fish traps.

Additional information

• Species profile
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Department of Agriculture and Fisheries - Orange Mangrove

This section is updated regularly, so stay tuned for more!

Last updated: 2 February 2023