Redlands Coast celebrates home of critically endangered species

All eyes are on the beautiful Redlands Coast and its protected wetlands regions as people gather to celebrate World Wetlands Day today.

The beauty and importance of the Redlands Coast will be celebrated across the region today as part of World Wetlands Day.

Greens Senator for Queensland Larissa Waters, who visited the Redlands Coast this week, said “our wetlands are not only important habitat, but are the kidneys or filters for our marine areas”.

She said the Redlands Coast Ramsar Convention protected wetlands region was home to the critically endangered Eastern Curlew and Great Knot and the vulnerable Bar-tailed Godwit.

“Nature matters,” she said.

“We have already seen twenty percent of mammals species globally become extinct in recent decades.”

“There are almost 2,000 animals on the federal threatened species list, likewise there is a local population of koalas, which are now vulnerable to extinction in South East Queensland.”

She said Moreton Bay’s unique coral reefs, seagrass beds and marine and bird species continued to be at risk of being affected by development and pollution.

The theme for World Wetlands Day 2019 is Wetlands and Climate Change.

North Stradbroke, Moreton Islands in bid for World Heritage listing

Migrating birds flock to Moreton Bay

Moreton Bay’s vulnerable bar-tailed godwit.

Queensland Museum Biodiversity Program Collection Manager Heather Janetzki told visitors to the 2018 Brisbane Science Festival that migratory birds, visiting Brisbane’s coasts, spent summer in Australia feeding and roosting in coastal and freshwater wetlands.

“The weight they gain provides the energy to make an extraordinary migration north travelling through East Asia to Siberia or Alaska to breed during the northern hemisphere’s arctic summer,” she said.

“They then make the return journey back to us again before the onset of the harsh northern winter. It is a round trip of some 29,000km and one female Bar-tailed Godwit was satellite tracked travelling non-stop for over 11,000km.”

“These species could not exist without the co-operation of many countries along this East Asian-Australasian Flyway providing safe feeding, roosting and breeding sites.”

FOLLOW REDLANDS COMMUNITY NEWS

FACEBOOK

COMMUNITY CHAT GROUP

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

The waterways and wetlands of Redlands Coast will be celebrated as part of World Wetlands Day - Picture: Richard Walker

To mark World Wetlands Day Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said Council was committed to improving Redlands Coast waterways.

She said Council’s Annual Waterways Report Card highlighted Council’s investments in wetlands preservation and she was a strong supporter of the regional approach taken by the southeast Queensland Queensland Council of Mayors’ Resilient Rivers initiative.

Migratory shore birds call the Redlands Coast home. Picture: Renae Droop

“Resilient Rivers recognises that rivers across the south east connect to one another and what goes in one river may end up in another river or ultimately our beautiful bay,” Cr Williams said.

“As the ‘end of the line’ in regards to the region’s river system, this is of particular interest to Redlands Coast so I want to ensure it is on top of the agenda for councils across the region, as well as the State Government.”

She said Council had also endorsed the southeast Queensland Council of Mayors’ Lower Brisbane and Redlands Coastal Catchment Action Plan (CAP) in October 2018.

“This has a principal focus of addressing the impacts of stormwater run-off (primarily sediments, nutrients, hydrocarbons and metals) from urbanised areas – both existing, and those under development – on our creeks and Moreton Bay,” Cr Williams said.

“Council is using the CAP as the basis for a more co-ordinated approach to enhance the values of our local creeks and Moreton Bay.”

World Wetlands Day (Feb. 2) will celebrate the Ramsar listed Redlands Coast.

According to Conservation Volunteers Australia website, the goal of Ramsar is “to slow, reverse and ultimately stop wetland loss”.

“The reason is simple. Rivers, their floodplains and estuaries meet a host of our needs including water supply, food production, transport corridors and recreation as a result, many of our rivers are in poor condition (and) as storm and flood events increase due to climate change, healthy riparian vegetation will be critical to prevent erosion and protect water quality,” the website says.

World Wetlands Day (WWD) Facts

• WWD is celebrated every year on February 2
• The day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on February 2, 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea
• Australia entered into convention on December 21, 1975
• Australia has 66 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar sites) with a surface area of 8,307,329 hectares.

Source: Ramsar

Moreton Bay Ramsar facts

• extensive intertidal areas of seagrass, mangroves and saltmarsh supporting extremely high species diversity
• supported significant numbers of reptiles, amphibians and mammals either rare, vulnerable or endangered
• over 50,000 migratory waterbirds during wintering and staging
• up to one million tonnes of sub-fossil coral

Source: Ramsar

Upcoming event

16 March, 9.30am -12.30pm at Hilliards Creek, Fellmonger Park, Wellington Point

Interactive Workshop: What native Fish are found in your Waterways?

Booking: required, for more information please phone [phone].

Other information about Council’s environmental initiatives and events – including media releases – can be found at www.indigiscapes.com.au.

Follow IndigiScapes on Facebook

Source: Redland City Council.