Ramsar wetlands
South Australia is home to six wetlands internationally recognised under the Ramsar Convention.
The sites provide essential refuge and important breeding habitat for waterbirds and fish as well as support diverse animal and plant species that all require water.
As a contracting party to the Ramsar Convention, Australia is required to promote the conservation of the Ramsar wetlands, and to manage sites to maintain their ecological character.
Ecological character descriptions of the sites are comprehensive reports detailing the species, communities and habitats found in the sites, and the ecological processes and systems that make them unique to Australia and the world. They also describe, where possible, the Limits of Acceptable Change to guide future monitoring and management actions.
Banrock Station Wetland Complex
Location: River Murray floodplain, opposite the township of Overland Corner, 26 km north west of Berri. Coordinates: 34°11' S 140°20'E.
Designated a Ramsar site: 21 October 2002
The site: Lies on the floodplain adjacent to the River Murray. The total area of the Ramsar site is 1,375 hectares, which includes 1,068 hectares of floodplain wetland and 307 hectares of an open mallee box woodland buffer.
It is the first internationally important wetland site to be designated in South Australia that is entirely located on private land. The management of the wetland complex is the responsibility of Accolade Wines.
Banrock swamp is a floodplain wetland that was restored in 1992. It is now one of only 20 sites in the lower River Murray that has been returned to a near-natural water cycle.
The floodplain wetlands are dominated by lignum and sedge with expanses of open water. Adjoining is an open mallee box woodland community which provides habitat for a breeding population of the state vulnerable regent parrot (Polytelis anthopeplus). Approximately 159 bird species, including several migratory species have been observed at the site.
During dry periods the swamp acts as a drought refuge.
Bool and Hacks Lagoons
Location: 393 kilometres southeast of the city of Adelaide and 24 kilometres south of the town of Naracoorte. Coordinates: 37°08'S 140°41'E.
Designated a Ramsar site: 1 November 1985
The site: Freshwater wetlands that comprise a number of semi-permanent lagoons characterised by shallow, circular swamps and creeks.
The site has an area of 3,200 hectares and is designated as a game reserve (Bool Lagoon) and conservation park (Hacks Lagoon). The wetlands act as a buffer storage basin in the regional drainage system and provide significant breeding habitat and drought refuge for waterbirds.
This Ramsar site is one of the most important wetland areas remaining in the southeast of South Australia and contains important examples of plant diversity.
It is a wetland of national importance for colonial nesting birds and hosts the largest ibis rookery in South Australia. In total, 79 species of waterbirds have been recorded in the area, including the state vulnerable Australasian bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus) and freckled duck (Stictonetta naevosa).
Coongie Lakes
Location: near the town of Innamincka, in the far northeast of South Australia. Coordinates: 27°27'S 140°00'E.
Designated a Ramsar site: 15 June 1987
The site: A mosaic of floodplain and dunefield areas approximately 1.9 million hectares in size, located on the Cooper Creek floodplain. The site meets seven of the nine Ramsar listing criteria.
Cooper Creek is recognised as one of the largest unregulated river catchments in the world. Part of the area is protected by the Coongie Lakes National Park, which sits inside the Innamincka Regional Reserve. The rest of the site is held as a pastoral lease area that is state-owned and managed by DEWNR.
The site is an extensive system of freshwater wetlands, including lakes, interdune corridors, channels, floodplains and swamps. Water for these systems most commonly comes from flooding in Queensland that sends water down the Cooper Creek via the Coongie Lakes, a cluster of five semi-permanent lakes. When wet, these incredibly productive habitats can support huge amounts of breeding birds.
Waterfowl have been known to breed in their hundreds of thousands, among them the vulnerable freckled duck (Stictonetta naevosa).
The wetland also contains an endemic species of freshwater turtle, known as the Cooper Creek turtle (Emydura macquarii emotti).
Coorong and Lakes Alexandrina and Albert Wetland
Location: near the mouth of the River Murray. Coordinates: 35°56'S 139°18'E.
Designated a Ramsar site: 11 January 1985
The site: Forms at the terminus of the longest and largest river in Australia. It incorporates 23 different types of wetlands which range from:
- freshwater to hypersaline
- dense vegetation to open water
- temporary to permanently inundated land.
The site meets eight nomination criteria specified by the Ramsar Convention. It covers an area of approximately 140,500 hectares, most of which is Crown Land and National Park.
This unique wetland supports:
- nationally and internationally threatened species, including fairy tern, orange-bellied parrot, Murray hardyhead and southern bell frog
- a mosaic of over twenty important wetland types, including two threatened ecological communities (coastal saltmarsh and swamps of Fleurieu Peninsula)
- critically endangered swamps of the Fleurieu Peninsula, the threatened gahnia sedgeland ecosystem and a number of threatened plant species such as the metallic sun-orchid
- a diverse range of waterbirds regularly visit the wetland, ncluding migratory waterbird species in summer. It is an important breeding site for the Australian pelican, crested tern, fairy tern, and the rufous night heron
- over forty species of fish, including the Yarra pygmy perch, small-mouth hardyhead, lagoon goby and Tamar goby, which are not found elsewhere within the Murray-Darling Basin
Ecological character description
- Section 1: Cover, Contents, Executive Summary and Introduction
- Section 2: Methods and key concepts applied
- Section 3: Overview of the Coorong and Lakes Ecosystem
- Section 4: Interplay of drivers, levers, components and processes within the system
- Section 5: Ramsar significant ecological communities and species - Part 5a and Part 5b
- Section 6: Primary determinants of ecological character
- Section 7: Perspectives of Indigenous and other long-term stakeholders
- Section 8: Consolidated limits of acceptable change, 'traffic light' assessments and conclusions
- Section 9: Recommended monitoring framework
- Section 10: Cited references and further reading
- Section 11: Appendices.
The Coorong and Lakes area supports many nationally and internationally significant flora and fauna. It provides habitat for nationally threatened species such as the orange-bellied parrot, Mount Lofty Ranges southern emu-wren, Murray hardyhead, hooded plover, freckled duck, southern pygmy perch, Murray cod, and southern bell frog.
Piccaninnie Ponds Karst Wetlands
Location: 32 kilometres south-east of Mount Gambier and bordered by Victoria to the east and the Southern Ocean to the south.
Designated a Ramsar site: 21 December 2012, especially as Waterfowl Habitat.
The site: Comprises the 862 hectare Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park, has extraordinary natural features and meets five of the nine Ramsar Convention listing criteria. It is an exceptional example of karst and coastal fen wetlands, with groundwater springs reaching more than 110 metres in depth. The pools are renowned for their water clarity and support aquatic vegetation up to 15 metres below the surface. It is one of the few remaining permanent freshwater wetlands in the lower south-east of South Australia.
Each year around 20,000 people visit Piccaninnie Ponds Karst Wetlands. One of the main attractions is cave diving in the crystal clear deep water. Visitors can snorkel or dive down into the underwater caverns to explore the majestic white walls of sculptured limestone.
The site supports seven nationally or internationally listed species of conservation significance, including the Yarra pygmy perch (Nannoperca obscura), dwarf galaxias (Galaxiella pusilla), orange-bellied parrot (Neophema chrysogaster), Australasian bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus), Glenelg spiny freshwater crayfish (Euastacus bispinosus), maroon-leek orchid (Prassophyllum frenchii), and wwamp greenhood (Pteostylis tenuissima).
The site also provides habitat for 79 bird species including 24 species listed under international agreements, and 50 Australian migratory or marine species. Native fish populations include seven species which are diadromous and three freshwater obligate species which rely on permanent freshwater. This site represents one of the few remaining permanent freshwater wetlands in the lower south east of South Australia and is believed to be a drought refuge.
Riverland
Location: adjacent to the Murray River between Renmark and the Victorian and New South Wales borders. Coordinates: 34°02'S 140°51'E.
Designated a Ramsar site: 23 September 1987
The Riverland Ramsar site is approximately 30,600 hectares in size. It is located in a semi-arid environment which is absolutely dependent on the River Murray, its backwaters and tributaries.
The wetlands are part of the large Murray-Darling Basin and consist of a variety of wetland types, including: channels, anabranches, billabongs, floodplains, swamps and lakes in semi-natural condition.
The lower Murray River system, including the Riverland Ramsar site, is a major centre for breeding waterbirds, including the state vulnerable regent parrot (Polytelis anthopeplus), freckled duck (Stictonetta naevosa), and Australasian bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus).
The area is also important for its unique large stands of native river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) forest, which border the creeks and backwaters, providing excellent wildlife habitat.
- Management plan - A plan for wise use
- Ecological character description: Part A and Part B
- Visit the Murray River National Park
