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Home > Water Management > Water for the environment > Wetlands > Wetlands

Wetlands

Threats to the Wetlands of NSW

The wetlands of NSW are subject to many pressures that result in their loss or degradation. These pressures may affect them directly or indirectly and it is therefore important to consider the threats to wetlands in the context of the entire catchment. With their location at the margins between land and water, wetlands are very sensitive to changes in both water and land management. It is important to know what the major threats to wetlands are, if they are to be managed effectively.

The most common threats to the wetlands of NSW are:

• Dredging, draining and/or filling for conversion to agricultural, industrial or residential land;
• Population growth and urban development;
• River regulation and water extraction for agriculture and industry;
• Sand and gravel mining and mineral extraction activities;
• Water pollution;
• Stormwater pollution;
• Nutrient enrichment;
• Chemical treatments used for pest control (eg mosquitoes);
• Over-grazing; and
• Ignorance.

Ignorance is one of the major factors threatening wetlands. That is, ignorance of the benefits a wetland has when managed in its natural state, and ignorance of what may take place once a wetland is removed or badly degraded.

The major threats to wetlands on the coast of NSW differ from those causing the loss and degradation of wetlands in inland NSW. On the coast, urban development, flood mitigation, agriculture and acid sulfate soils present the most significant threats to wetlands. The major threats to inland wetlands (that is wetlands west of the Great Dividing Range) are changed flow patterns as a result of river regulation and water extraction, and the expansion of irrigated agriculture, in particular irrigated cotton.

These threats result in any number of the following :

• Loss and degradation of wetland habitat;
• Deterioration in the quality of water;
• Increased occurrence of algal blooms;
• Reduced supply of suitable water;
• Sedimentation;
• Loss of floodplain land;
• Reduced range of recreational opportunities;
• Loss of aesthetic values;
• Reduced abundance and diversity of native plants and animals;
• Increased abundance of weeds;
• Loss of species and shifts in species dominance;
• Mosquito problems;
• Changed hydrologic regimes – eg permanent inundation rather than a natural cycle of wet and dry periods;
• An increased occurrence of pest animal and plant species;
• Disrupted waterbird breeding cycles eg early cessation of breeding as a result of reduced flooding;
• Reduction in the frequency of breeding and migration cues for in-stream fauna;
• Loss of flood mitigation services;
• The release of sulfuric acid from acid sulfate soils;
• Increased salinity; and
• Chemical poisoning.

Some of these issues and the associated management responses are discussed in more detail in the "Some Specific Wetland Issues and Management Responses"pages of this site.

Details on the legislation, policies, planning instruments and international agreements that apply to the wetlands of NSW are discussed in more detail in the section dealing with " Protection for Wetlands in NSW ".