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A flood plain in the Great Barrier Reef Catchment
Floodplains of the Great Barrier Reef have undergone extensive modification.

Great Barrier Reef floodplain renewal

The Water for a Healthy Country Flagship is helping to change floodplain land management to improve water quality and protect the Great Barrier Reef.

An issue of national concern

Damage to the near shore regions of the Great Barrier Reef due to declining water quality has become an issue of national concern and has led the Australian and Queensland governments to develop the Great Barrier Reef Water Quality Protection Plan.

Water for a Healthy Country research in the floodplains adjacent to the Reef is supporting the Plan’s vision of 'halting and reversing the decline in water quality entering the Reef within 10 years'.

Flagship researchers are working with regional stakeholders to ensure that local knowledge and values are taken into account.

Agriculture on the floodplains contributes to agrichemicals, nutrients and, to a lesser extent, sediments being discharged into the Great Barrier Reef. In high concentrations these have detrimental effects on coral reefs and marine habitat.

Changing land use to protect the Reef

The Flagship is investigating options for land use in floodplains that will improve water quality and protect the Great Barrier Reef from further damage.

Specifically, we aim to:

  • gain better understanding of the relationships between catchments, floodplain ecosystems and the marine environment
  • identify land management practices that improve water quality while increasing cost-effectiveness and productivity
  • develop tools for analysing economic, social and environmental impacts of changing land use in the floodplains
  • enable implementation of improved landscape management in the floodplains through regional partnerships.

Flagship researchers are working with farmers, land managers, community groups, industry and local government in the region to ensure that local knowledge and values are taken into account.

Analysis of the floodplain environment and land use will enable planning for sustainable development of the coastal plains surrounding the Great Barrier Reef.

Find out more about our Great Barrier Reef Catchments research in Great Barrier Reef catchment: safeguarding the Reef.

 

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Fast facts

  • Floodplains provide connectivity between the land and sea, and support important habitat for many commercially important fish species
  • Downstream industries in the Great Barrier Reef benefit from the ecosystem service of a healthy floodplain
  • Improving land management to improve water quality can protect the Great Barrier Reef from further damage

Contact Information

Primary Contact

Dr Jim Wallace
Senior Hydrologist
Land and Water
Phone: 61 7 4753 8519 
Fax: 61 7 4758 8600