Threats to Wetlands
Wetlands are some of the most valuable and vulnerable ecosystems on Earth - and here in Australia, they’re in trouble. Since colonisation, we’ve lost more than half of our wetlands. Those that remain are under increasing pressure from human activity, development, pollution, and climate change.
These threats are often interconnected, compounding the damage and making it harder for wetlands — and the species that rely on them — to recover. Understanding these threats is the first step toward protecting what’s left and restoring what’s been lost.
🏗️ Land Clearing and Development
Wetlands are often drained or filled in to make way for agriculture, housing, roads, or industry. Once altered, their ecological function is difficult - sometimes impossible - to fully restore.
💧 Water Regulation and Diversion
Dams, levees, irrigation and channelisation can stop natural flooding cycles that wetlands depend on. Altered water flows dry out wetlands, reduce breeding conditions for wildlife, and change plant communities.
☠️ Pollution and Runoff
Fertilisers, pesticides, sewage and industrial waste can enter wetlands through stormwater or agricultural runoff. This leads to algal blooms, poor water quality, and harm to aquatic life.
🌱 Invasive Species
Weeds like willows and introduced animals like feral pigs, carp and cane toads damage wetland ecosystems by outcompeting native species, disturbing water quality, and destroying habitat.
🌡️ Climate Change
More intense droughts, heatwaves, and rising sea levels threaten both inland and coastal wetlands. Climate change also disrupts the timing and frequency of rainfall and flooding, impacting wildlife breeding cycles.
🏞️ Fragmentation and Isolation
As wetlands are cleared or degraded, the remaining patches become isolated. This makes it harder for wildlife to move, feed, breed and recover, reducing genetic diversity and resilience.
⚠️ Lack of Legal Protection
Many wetlands in Australia have no formal protection or are managed inconsistently. Without strong laws and long-term investment, even wetlands of high environmental and cultural value remain at risk.
🎣 Recreational Pressure and Disturbance
Unregulated fishing, boating, off-road vehicles, and poorly managed tourism can disturb wildlife, erode banks, introduce weeds, and pollute wetland areas.
🔥 Inappropriate Fire Regimes
While some wetlands naturally experience fire, changing fire patterns, especially those that burn too hot, too often or at the wrong time - can harm wetland vegetation and fauna.