Calling all partners for Wet Tropics Healthy Waterways Partnership

Published Tuesday, 21 June, 2016 at 11:45 AM

Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection and Minister for National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef
The Honourable Steven Miles

The Queensland Government is encouraging organisations to get involved in a newly established Wet Tropics Healthy Waterways Partnership.

Speaking in Cairns today (Tuesday), Minister for the Great Barrier Reef, Dr Steven Miles said the partnership was an action under the Australian and Queensland governments’ Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan (Reef 2050 Plan).

“The Wet Tropics Healthy Waterways Partnership will help coordinate regional and community efforts to promote the health and resilience of rivers, wetlands, estuaries, coastal and marine environments in the Wet Tropics region,” Dr Miles said.

“The Wet Tropics community places a high importance on the values of their waterways for the many benefits they provide.

“The Wet Tropics Healthy Waterways Partnership will work together in a number of ways, with a key outcome being the production of an annual waterway health report card. It will cover the Daintree, Mossman, Barron, Mulgrave, Russell, Johnstone, Tully, Murray and Herbert basins, eight estuaries, and coastal and marine environments to the eastern boundary of the Great Barrier Reef.”

The partnership is chaired by Ryan Donnelly, a Wet Tropics local who successfully maintains networks in fishery and marine industries, the Great Barrier Reef research community, government agencies and the regional economic development sector.

He said the Partnership was an important community initiative and all organisations and groups in the region were encouraged to get involved.

“All the groups that have been consulted recognise the need to work together as a community to enhance the health of the region’s waterways and help inform where expenditure is best targeted,” he said.

Dr Miles said the Wet Tropics Healthy Waterways Partnership followed similar successful healthy waterways partnership models in Queensland such as in South East Queensland, the Mackay-Whitsundays region, Gladstone Harbour and the Fitzroy Basin.

“The Queensland Government has committed to supporting the establishment of regional waterways health report cards across the reef, providing $6 million over four years for existing and new partnerships.

“We’ve committed $100,000 in seed funding for the establishment of the Wet Tropics Healthy Waterways Partnership over the last 12 months, and will commit a further $250,000 in 2016-17 to build this regional initiative.”

“These regional partnerships demonstrate our strong commitment to protecting the Great Barrier Reef and ensuring the local community is more informed.”

Dr Miles said a pilot report card for the Wet Tropics would be released within 12 months, and this would provide an insight into the environmental, economic, social and cultural health of the region’s waterways.

“We are seeking interest from organisations working in the Wet Tropics region in the areas of community, industry, tourism, agriculture, research and government.”

The report card will also link with the broader Reef 2050 Reef Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program.

Among other things, the Wet Tropics Healthy Waterways Partnership will:

integrate long-term monitoring of, and reporting on, Wet Tropics waterways to produce an annual report card on waterway health

  • engage and work with local and wider communities to improve the health of Wet Tropics waterways
  • share knowledge, initiatives, actions, monitoring and research data and information that focuses on the Wet Tropics catchment and river health and the health of the Great Barrier Reef
  • pool resources and knowledge to maximise environmental outcomes in the Wet Tropics region.

Dr Miles urged all interested Wet Tropics organisations to contact the partnership via email on info@wettropicswaterways.org.au to register their interest in playing an important role in monitoring and improving the health of the region’s waterways.

Further information on the Wet Tropics Healthy Waterways Partnership is available at http://wettropicswaterways.org.au.

ENDS

MEDIA 0422 580342