Reasons for the loss and degradation of Australian wetlands

Wetland conservation and management in Australia is not supported by a comprehensive information base. A national inventory has not been compiled and we have very little information on the areal extent and loss of wetlands. Further, we have little information on the values and benefits (products, functions and attributes) derived from wetlands and how these have been degraded or lost. We do know, however, that in some areas at least, wetland loss and degradation has been severe and may even be still occurring. Much of the scientific attention to wetland management has been directed towards the apparent (or ecological) reasons for wetland loss and degradation – changes to the water regime, physical modification of the habitat, eutrophication and other pollution, and invasion by exotic pest species. Lists of threats to wetlands have been compiled, but these rarely address the non-ecological reasons that have resulted in so many wetlands being lost or degraded. In this paper we summarize the key points made from a number of case studies of Australian wetlands that highlight the non-ecological causes of wetland loss and degradation. From this analysis we conclude that awareness and understanding about the non-ecological causes of wetland loss and degradation need to be as well understood as the ecological causes. Foremost amongst these we highlight greater attention to the following issues: economic development in wetlands, bureaucratic obstacles, lack of information or poor access to information, and poor general awareness of the values and benefits derived from wetlands. We further conclude that wetland loss and degradation does not need to happen – our wetlands are valuable and already severely degraded. For this situation to be rectified we need to ensure that the knowledge and expertise of wetland scientists is heard and heeded by decision-makers and wetland users and owners.