A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (DIWA) is a list of
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...
s of national importance to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
published by the governmental agency
Environment Australia
Environment most often refers to:
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* Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally
* Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism o ...
. Intended to augment the list of wetlands of international importance under the
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It ...
, it was formerly published in report form, but is now essentially an online publication. Wetlands that appear in the ''Directory'' are commonly referred to as "DIWA wetlands" or "Directory wetlands".
Criteria for determining wetland importance
Using criteria agreed in 1994, a wetland can be considered “nationally important” if it satisfies at least one of the following criteria:
# It is a good example of a wetland type occurring within a biogeographic region in Australia.
# It is a wetland which plays an important ecological or hydrological role in the natural functioning of a major wetland system/complex.
# It is a wetland which is important as the habitat for animal taxa at a vulnerable stage in their life cycles, or provides a refuge when adverse conditions such as drought prevail.
# The wetland supports 1% or more of the national populations of any native plant or animal taxa.
# The wetland supports native plant or animal taxa or communities which are considered endangered or vulnerable at the national level.
# The wetland is of outstanding historical or cultural significance.
Types of wetlands
The directory uses a classification system consisting of the following three categories (i.e. A, B and C) which are further sub-divided into a total of 40 different wetland types:
[
*A. Marine and Coastal Zone wetlands, which consists of 12 wetland types
*B. Inland wetlands, which consists of 19 wetland types
*C. Human-made wetlands, which consists of 9 wetland types.
]
See also
* List of Ramsar sites in Australia
This is a list of wetlands in Australia that are designated by the Ramsar Convention as sites of international importance. Under the convention, the wetlands are considered as being of significant value not only for the Australian community, b ...
*Wetland classification Classification of wetlands has been a problematical task, with the commonly accepted definition of what constitutes a wetland being among the major difficulties. A number of national wetland classifications exist. In the 1970s, the Ramsar Conventio ...
References
External links
*
Online databases
*
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