environment.gov.au/wetlands AUSTRALIA’S RAMSAR SITES The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (the Ramsar Convention) was signed in Ramsar, Iran on 2 February 1971. The Ramsar Convention aims to halt the worldwide loss of wetlands and to conserve, through wise use and management, those that remain. The Convention encourages member countries to nominate sites containing representative, rare or unique wetlands, or that are important for conserving biological diversity, to the List of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar List). Australia was one of the first countries to become a Contracting Party to the Convention and designated the world’s first Ramsar site, Cobourg Peninsula, in 1974. Australia’s 65 Ramsar sites cover more than 8.3 million hectares, forming an impressive estate of diverse wetland types; freshwater and marine; permanent and ephemeral; in every climatic zone. More information on Australia’s wetlands and the Ramsar Convention in Australia is available from www.environment. gov.au/wetlands or the Ramsar Convention website at www.ramsar.org. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 9 8 7 6 5 2 1 65 64 63 62 61 60 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 34 33 32 31 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 17 16 15 13 12 11 4 3 35 18 10 14 66
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environment.gov.au/wetlands
AUSTRALIA’S RAMSAR SITESThe Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (the Ramsar Convention) was signed in Ramsar, Iran on 2 February 1971. The Ramsar Convention aims to halt the worldwide loss of wetlands and to conserve, through wise use and management, those that remain. The Convention encourages member countries to nominate sites containing representative, rare or unique wetlands, or that are important for conserving biological diversity, to the List of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar List). Australia was one of the first countries to become a Contracting
Party to the Convention and designated the world’s first Ramsar site, Cobourg Peninsula, in 1974.
Australia’s 65 Ramsar sites cover more than 8.3 million hectares, forming an impressive estate of diverse wetland types; freshwater and marine; permanent and ephemeral; in every climatic zone. More information on Australia’s wetlands and the Ramsar Convention in Australia is available from www.environment.gov.au/wetlands or the Ramsar Convention website at www.ramsar.org.
1. Cobourg Peninsula 220 7002. Kakadu National Park 1 979 7663. Moulting Lagoon 4 5074. Logan Lagoon 2 2575. Lavinia 7 0346. Pitt Water-Orielton Lagoon 3 3347. Apsley Marshes 8808. East Coast Cape Barren Island Lagoons 4 4739. Flood Plain Lower Ringarooma River 3 51910. Jocks Lagoon 1911. Interlaken 51712. Little Waterhouse Lake 5613. Corner Inlet 67 18614. Barmah Forest 28 51515. Gunbower Forest 19 93116. Hattah-Kulkyne Lakes 95517. Kerang Wetlands 9 41918. Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and
Bellarine Peninsula 22 64519. Western Port 59 29720. Western District Lakes 32 89821. Gippsland Lakes 60 01522. Lake Albacutya 5 73123. Towra Point Nature Reserve 60424. Hunter Estuary Wetlands 2 96925. The Coorong and Lakes Alexandrina and
Albert 140 50026. Bool and Hacks Lagoon 320027. Coongie Lakes 2 178 95228. The Macquarie Marshes 19 85029. ‘Riverland’ 30 64030. There is no site with this number* 31. Ord River Floodplain 141 45332. Lakes Argyle and Kununurra 117 49533. Roebuck Bay 34 119
Ramsar site Area (ha)34. Eighty-mile Beach 175 48735. Forrestdale and Thomsons Lakes 78436. Peel-Yalgorup System 26 53037. Toolibin Lake 49338. Vasse-Wonnerup System 1 11539. Lake Warden System 1 99940. Hosnies Spring 20241. Moreton Bay 113 31442. Bowling Green Bay 35 50043. Currawinya Lakes
(Currawinya National Park) 151 30044. Shoalwater and Corio Bays (Shoalwater
Bay Training Area, in part – Corio Bay) 239 10045. Ginini Flats Wetland Complex 36846. Pulu Keeling National Park 2 60247. Little Llangothlin Nature Reserve 25848. Blue Lake 33849. Lake Pinaroo (Fort Grey Basin) 80050. Gwydir Wetlands: (Gingham and Lower
Gwydir (Big Leather) Watercourses) 82351. Great Sandy Strait 93 16052. Myall Lakes 44 61253. Narran Lake Nature Reserve 5 53154. Becher Point Wetlands 67755. Lake Gore 4 01756. Muir-Byenup System 10 63157. Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands 26158. Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve 58 30059. Coral Sea Reserves (Coringa-Herald and
Lihou Reefs and Cays) 1 728 92060. Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine
National Nature Reserve 187 72661. The Dales 58362. Fivebough and Tuckerbil Swamps 68963. Banrock Station Wetland Complex 1 37564. NSW Central Murray State Forests 84 02865. Paroo River Wetlands 138 30466. Piccaninnie Ponds Karst Wetlands 862
Total area (ha) 8 314 125
* In May 2010, two separate Ramsar sites in Kakadu National Park were expanded and merged to form the Kakadu National Park Ramsar site. See site 2.
Photo credits: : R. Thorn, J. Mollison, B. Furby, S. Stuart-Smith, J. Muirhead
