Product Information

Wetlands are an important part of the natural landscape, providing provisional (food and water), regulatory (floods, droughts), supporting (soil formation, nutrient cycling), and cultural (recreational, spiritual) ecosystem services. In recent years the design of wetland monitoring programs has become more robust, with a greater emphasis on the purpose of the program and an understanding of the functions, drivers, processes and pressures operating in the wetland.

The Australian Government established the Natural Heritage Trust in 1997 and the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality in 2000 to assist communities, regional bodies and governments in undertaking environmental and natural resource management projects.

Resource condition indicators were developed as a tool under the National NRM Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (NM&EF) to assist regional bodies and community groups in assessing the efficacy of their regional plans. As part of an ongoing process, these indicators are undergoing review.

This project is addressing the Indicator Headings of Wetland Ecosystem Extent and Distribution, and Wetland Ecosystem Condition under the ‘Matter for Target’ Inland Aquatic Ecosystem Integrity.