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The Australian Wetlands You Didn’t Know You Needed

Australia is famous for its beaches, deserts, and the Outback. But there’s another Australian landscape that’s equally remarkable, far more threatened, and largely invisible in our national conversation: our wetlands.

This World Wetlands Day, it’s time to celebrate the soggy, swampy, marshy places that make Australia’s ecosystems function.

Australia’s wetland diversity

When most people think of “wetland,” they picture a muddy swamp. But Australian wetlands come in an extraordinary variety, each with its own character and importance.

Coastal mangroves line tropical and subtropical shores, their tangled roots creating nurseries for fish and barriers against storm surges. Australia has about 11,500 square kilometres of mangroves – roughly 2.5% of the world’s mangrove forests.

Billabongs are the iconic wetlands of the Australian inland – oxbow lakes left behind by meandering rivers. They’re vital drought refuges for wildlife and hold deep cultural significance for Aboriginal peoples.

Salt marshes occur along temperate coastlines, dominated by salt-tolerant plants. They’re incredibly productive ecosystems that filter nutrients and provide habitat for migratory birds travelling between hemispheres.

Floodplains like those in the Murray-Darling Basin create seasonal wetlands that pulse with life when rivers flood, supporting everything from waterbirds to freshwater fish.

Alpine wetlands in the Australian Alps might seem unlikely, but these high-altitude bogs and fens are crucial water sources and carbon stores.

Peatlands exist across Australia, including extensive systems in Tasmania and alpine regions, storing thousands of years of accumulated carbon.

Cultural significance: wetlands as Country

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, wetlands are Country. They’re places of ceremony, food sources, travel routes, and deep spiritual significance.

The NSW State of the Environment 2024 report beautifully expresses this: “For First Peoples, water is a sacred source of life. The rivers are the veins of Country, carrying water to sustain all parts of our sacred landscape. The wetlands are the kidneys, filtering the water as it passes through the land.”

Aboriginal peoples have managed Australian wetlands sustainably for over 65,000 years. Many wetlands that exist today do so because of careful Indigenous management practices – practices that were disrupted by colonisation and that we’re now slowly learning to value and restore.

The threats facing Australian wetlands

Australian wetlands face pressures from multiple directions:

Water extraction for agriculture and urban use has dramatically reduced water flows to many wetlands. The Murray-Darling Basin is the poster child for this crisis, with many wetlands receiving a fraction of their natural water allocation.

Land clearing continues to impact wetland health. When native vegetation is cleared in wetland catchments, erosion increases, water quality declines, and wetland ecosystems degrade.

Climate change is intensifying droughts and floods, making it harder for wetlands to maintain the water regimes they need. Rising temperatures are also changing wetland plant and animal communities.

Pollution from urban and agricultural runoff brings excess nutrients, sediments, and chemicals into wetlands. In NSW alone, 891,000 tonnes of plastic waste was generated in 2022-23, with only 14% recycled – much of the rest potentially ending up in waterways.

Development continues to fill and drain wetlands for housing, industry, and infrastructure, despite their recognised value.

Over a century of poor land and water management has severely impacted Australian wetlands, with some states losing up to 70% of their wetland ecosystems.

Success stories worth celebrating

It’s not all bad news. There are Australian wetland conservation successes worth celebrating:

The Macquarie Marshes in NSW have benefited from environmental water allocations, bringing back breeding events for waterbirds that hadn’t occurred in years.

Kakadu National Park’s wetlands, including the internationally significant Yellow Water billabong, are protected and managed with Traditional Owners playing a central role.

Ramsar-listed sites across Australia – from the Coorong in South Australia to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon – receive international recognition and protection as wetlands of global significance.

Community restoration projects are bringing degraded urban wetlands back to life, creating green spaces that also function as vital habitat and stormwater treatment systems.

These successes show what’s possible when we prioritise wetland health.

Why city-dwellers should care

You might think wetlands are only important if you live in rural areas. But urban Australians are just as dependent on wetlands (perhaps more so).

Urban wetlands filter stormwater before it reaches beaches where you swim. They reduce flood risk in built-up areas where concrete prevents natural water absorption. They provide crucial green spaces for mental health and recreation. They cool cities during heatwaves.

And even if there’s no wetland in your suburb, your actions impact wetlands elsewhere. The soap from washing your car on the driveway travels through storm drains to wetlands. The chemicals in your sunscreen wash off at the beach and into coastal wetlands. The rubbish that blows down your street ends up in waterways and wetlands.

Urban life and wetland health are intimately connected.

What you can do

This World Wetlands Day, Conservation Volunteers Australia invites you to take action through our 7 Days to Protect Australian Wetlands Challenge.

The challenge guides you through seven simple daily actions that reduce your impact on wetlands – regardless of where you live in Australia. From responsible car washing to picking up litter, from choosing eco-friendly products to proper waste disposal, each day addresses a different pathway through which pollution reaches wetlands.

It’s designed for busy Australian lives. Each action takes just minutes but creates a lasting impact. And when thousands of Australians make these changes together, the collective impact is substantial.

Download the free guide, share your commitment on social media with #CVAWetlandChallenge, and join a growing movement of Australians protecting these national treasures.

Because Australian wetlands deserve our attention, our appreciation, and our action.

Download the guide: Get your free “7 Days to Protect Australian Wetlands” resource.

Join us in the field: Find wetland volunteering events across Australia through the CVA app

Share the challenge: Use #CVAWetlandChallenge to spread awareness this World Wetlands Day.

Conservation Volunteers Australia acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of this land, and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We recognise the deep spiritual, cultural and customary connections to Country and the important role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in caring for Australia’s wetlands.