High quality water is vital to the ongoing health of
the Great Barrier Reef, the Wet Tropics rainforests, and for the
communities, industries and ecosystems that rely on these natural
ecosystems. Research within this theme will be conducted under
Program 7, which in Year 4 (2009/2010) consists of six projects
that are examining the effectiveness of management actions
implemented under the Reef Water
Quality Protection Plan (Reef Plan) and those to be taken under
the Reef Rescue Plan, and improving our understanding of how the
condition of freshwater, estuarine and marine ecosystems are linked
to terrestrial processes.
Program 7 is identifying robust indicators
for water quality in freshwater, estuarine and marine ecosystems
that will enable the development of tools to improve water quality
monitoring and determine pollutant thresholds of potential concern
for exposure of key ecosystems to sedimentation, light, nutrients
and herbicides. In addition, improved approaches for the estimation
of end-of-river loads are being developed, and catchment-specific
tracers are being used to determine the links between terrestrial
and marine water quality to identify areas of the Great Barrier
Reef lagoon that are at greatest risk of exposure to land-based
pollutants. Predictive tools incorporating the likely impacts of
changes in land use, management and climate on the flow and water
quality regimes and ecological dynamics in the wetlands and
floodplains of catchments adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef are
also being developed to identify and introduce sustainable
environmental targets and associated land use and land management
practices. The outcomes of research conducted within Program 7 will
provide valuable information to assist the evaluation of the Reef
Rescue Plan. Water quality is a key issue for North Queensland's
environmental assets. Water quality is vital to the ongoing
health of the Great Barrier Reef and its catchments, the Wet
Tropics rainforests, and for the communities, industries and
ecosystems that rely on good water quality to survive.
Theme 3 currently involves one Program:
Program 7 - Halting
and Reversing the Decline of Water Quality
