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(John Esdaile): Development earth works, draining and water extraction can all ruin a wetland.
Some wetlands are not healthy anymore and are losing their animals and plants while others are not working properly
because of the way the water flows in or through them.
The good news is that a wetland with these problems can still be valuable if it is carefully rehabilitated.
Much worse is losing a wetland altogether. Once a wetland is drained or built on, it is gone forever.
(Pip Russel): Wetlands are so important to life that in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar, representatives of 18 nations,
including Australia, signed The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance
to stop the loss of wetlands across the world and conserve and manage remaining wetlands.
(John Esdaile): The Ramsar Convention is a treaty which provides a framework for management and
international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
Migratory shorebirds use many of these wetlands.
The convention promotes the wise use of all wetlands and lists wetlands that are so valuable
they’re considered international treasures.
These wetlands support rare and threatened species; all have unique and precious landscapes.
Queensland only has 5 of the 65 Ramsar sites in Australia but they’re all extensive in area and biodiversity.
The Moreton Bay Ramsar site was listed in 1993.
It covers over 113 000 hectares and includes large sections of the bay and surrounding sand islands.
Also in 1993, the bay was declared a marine park, with the subsequent zoning plan for the park
ensuring that the Queensland government manages the wetlands of the area wisely.
As well as protecting shorebirds, the zoning plan and Ramsar status also helps protect
the significant numbers of reptiles, amphibians, fish and mammals found here.
(Pip Russel): In addition to Ramsar, Australia has increased protection of shorebirds by signing migratory bird agreements
with flyway partners, beginning in 1974 with Japan, then China and the Republic of Korea.
Known as Jamba, Kamba and Rokamba, they protect birds from disturbance and hunting,
and also preserve their breeding, feeding and resting sites from reduction and destruction.
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