The boundary of the Wet Tropics region follows the edge of nine catchments. Each catchment collects and redirects water across the landscape through many thousands of waterways.
Current Initiatives
Wet Tropics Waterways Partnership
http://wettropicswaterways.org.au/
Wet Tropics Waterways is a partnership of 20+ organisations that are working together to improve the health of our waterways and the quality of water flowing to the Great Barrier Reef. Each year the partnership releases an annual Wet Tropics Waterway Health Report Card that assesses the condition of freshwater basins, estuaries, inshore and offshore marine zones from the Daintree to the Herbert.
The partnership also publishes an annual Reef & Rivers Magazine which highlights stewardship activities happening around the region to improve waterway health.
Wet Tropics Waters
The dumping rains in the wet season race down the escarpment, keeping streams flowing, flooding low lying areas and draining into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.
It is the exceptionally high rainfall that provides this region with its life and diversity; but the name ‘Wet Tropics’ can be deceiving.
One third of our region, the upper west rangelands, receives less than 800mm of rain a year. This vast area is just as important to the region as the wetter environments.
Wet Tropics Water Quality
Good quality water is important for all living things. The precious forests and wetlands of the Wet Tropics region depend on good quality water, but are also an extremely important part of the water cycle for drinking, draining and filtering water. Without healthy natural ecosystems, we will no longer have healthy water.
A healthy environment = clean water and water connects places, processes and species.
Water is also cultural, with many rivers and streams having deep significance for the Traditional Owners of the region. They are ‘story waters’.
Wetlands are an important part of our landscape. WetlandInfo is a particularly good source of wetlands information for Queensland.
Our actions have a major impact on our water
Water supports people, agriculture, animals and plants and it is central to the health of the whole ecosystem. But in the Wet Tropics, it can be taken for granted and our lifestyles and livelihoods can have an enormous impact on the waterways.
A combination of urban development and modern agriculture has resulted in pollution being dispensed into many of our waterways. Drainage infrastructure in many catchments has changed the way the water flows.
These human actions affect how clean and clear the water is and also how alive the waterways are with plants and animals. Natural processes such as the recharging of underground water have also been modified.
It needs to be noted that many farmers in the Wet Tropics and other regions are doing a great job to make sure that their farming practices are the best they can be and have the least impact possible on the quality of the water flowing from their land.