Statement on climate change and wetlands by the Head of the Australian Ramsar Administrative Authority
Summary
Australia’s Ramsar listed wetlands and other water-dependent ecosystems are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Changes to inflows associated with increasing temperatures, more variable rainfall and more extremes are affecting rivers and wetlands nationally. Sea level rise and storm surge are impacting coastal wetlands.
As these impacts continue to manifest, we face a significant and increasing challenge to effectively manage and protect our much-valued wetlands. We are actively managing these risks by increasing our own capacity and the capacity of other wetland managers across Australia to understand and adapt to the changing climate.
Statement
Australia is a party to the Ramsar Convention and is committed to promoting the conservation of its Ramsar listed wetlands, and as far as possible the wise use of other wetlands in Australia.
Australia’s climate has warmed by more than an average of 1.4°C since national records began in 1910 leading to an increased frequency of extreme heat events (CSIRO/BOM State of the Climate 2020). Further increases in temperature are projected, with more extremely hot days and fewer extremely cool days expected. Changes to rainfall patterns including the amount, seasonality and intensity are also occurring because of climate change. Dangerous fire weather has become more frequent, and this is likely to continue. These changes are superimposed on Australia’s already highly variable climate.
Wetlands are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. As temperatures rise, rainfall patterns change, evapotranspiration increases and water regimes are altered. Many permanent wetlands are likely to become seasonal and seasonal wetlands ephemeral. The composition of species in alpine wetlands will change as temperatures rise and snow melts. As sea levels rise, intertidal wetlands are expected to migrate inland, where this is possible. Frequent, high intensity fires will damage wetlands including valuable peat systems.
Climate change impacts are likely to interact with existing land use. Wetlands already subject to impacts from water regulation and extraction, agricultural land clearing and urban, industrial and port development are less resilient and more likely to be significantly affected. Climate change will also interact with natural variability and climate extremes such as drought and hot days or high tides and storm surges.
Australia’s 66 Ramsar sites occur across the arid inland, monsoonal north, coasts and shallow marine zones, high mountains and underground. Most of our wetlands are likely to be at risk of changes to their critical components, processes and services as climate change progresses. These include alpine fens, coastal lagoons, estuaries, intertidal marshes, coral reefs, paperbark swamps, peatlands, claypans, salt lakes, karst, and mound springs. Some wetlands have already been severely affected – including the drying and acidification of peatlands in Western Australia where rainfall has significantly reduced since the1970s.
Australia, through its international engagement in the processes of the Ramsar Convention, and national cooperative partnerships between Australian, State and Territory government wetland management agencies, is developing new approaches and tools to address challenges magnified by climate change. These include:
- Promoting restoration of wetlands including coastal blue carbon systems
- Initiating a national wetlands inventory
- Publishing national guidance and information on wetlands and climate change
- Developing and supporting the implementation of a climate change vulnerability assessment method for Ramsar wetlands
- Supporting adaptation planning for Ramsar wetlands
- Encouraging research for better wetland management under a changing climate.
We will continue to develop tools and approaches to wetland management iteratively as our understanding of climate change and wetlands evolves and improves.
How will wetlands be impacted by climate change, and what role can they play in mitigating and adapting to climate change?
Wetlands can be vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including changes in rainfall, temperature, sea levels and extreme weather events. Wetlands can also play an important role in our responses to a changing climate, through capturing and storing carbon to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and through moderating the impact of hazards such as flooding, storm surge and sea level rise.
Ramsar Convention climate change resources
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands recognises the value of wetlands for both climate change mitigation and adaptation, and has produced a number of resources on these issues:
- Statement to UNFCCC COP23 by Ramsar Secretary General (2017)
- Resolution X.24 – Climate change and wetlands (2008)
- Briefing Note 10 – Wetland restoration for climate change resilience (2018)
- Wetland Ecosystem Services Factsheet 10 – Climate change mitigation and adaptation (2011)
- Global Wetland Outlook
Vulnerability and impacts
There are a number of tools and studies which assist wetland managers to understand likely future trends, identify risks and impacts and take appropriate action.
- Australia’s Changing Climate
- CoastAdapt – a website with information and tools on climate change, assessing risks and impacts, understanding adaptation, undertaking adaptation and connecting with the community
- Methodology for analysing the vulnerability to climate change of Ramsar wetlands sites (2019)
- Ramsar Scientific and Technical Review Panel – Ramsar Technical Report 5 – A framework for assessing the vulnerability of wetlands to climate change
- Vulnerability of the Gippsland Lakes Ramsar site and its catchment to bushfire and climate change
Wetlands and the carbon cycle
The role of wetlands in capturing and storing carbon is often underestimated. Wetlands are among the most effective carbon sinks on earth. Globally, wetlands are estimated to store over a third of the world’s terrestrial carbon – their destruction often results in major releases of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
Adaptation and management
Inland wetlands, such as floodplains, rivers, lakes and swamps, function like sponges, absorbing and storing excess rainfall and reducing flood surges. During dry seasons in arid regions, wetlands release stored water, delaying the onset of droughts and minimising water shortages. Wetlands also provide vital resources for people and wildlife in times of drought.
Coastal wetlands, such as mangroves, saltmarshes, seagrass beds and coral reefs act like shock absorbers. They reduce the intensity of waves and storm surges, shielding the coastline from flooding, property damage and loss of life. The roots of wetland plants also stabilise shorelines and reduce erosion.
Maintaining wetland networks and corridors will help wetland-dependent plants and animals to adapt by moving to new areas in response to changing climatic conditions.
- Adapting to climate change – the Department’s webpage addressing adaptation, including the National Climate Resilience and Adaptation Strategy
- CoastAdapt – a website with information and tools on climate change, assessing risks and impacts, understanding adaptation, undertaking adaptation and connecting with the community
- AdaptNRM The NRM adaptation checklist
- Climate change in Australia - 2016 Impacts and adaptation information
- Climate change adaptation guidelines for arid zone aquatic ecosystems and freshwater biodiversity
- The Climate Change Adaptation Catchment Assessment Framework
- Wetlands Australia Feb 2017 chapter - articles on how wetlands can lessen the impacts of climatic events (including floods, droughts and storms) on communities, built infrastructure and other ecosystems
- NCCARF summary reports - Practical knowledge for adaptation – heatwaves, floods, cyclones and windstorms, bushfire, community vulnerability and resilience, terrestrial ecosystems, marine biodiversity, infrastructure; Briefing notes for specific sectors/decision-makers
- NCCARF (2013) - Adaptive Management Framework for Ramsar wetlands
- Climate change – Key management responses by Parks Australia
Blue Carbon
Coastal blue carbon ecosystems include mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrasses. They play an important role in adaptation, mitigation and biodiversity conservation.
- Fact Sheet: Coastal wetlands – mangroves and saltmarshes
- International Partnership for Blue Carbon – being led by Australia, the Partnership brings together governments, research institutions and nongovernment organisations to build awareness, share knowledge and accelerate action to protect and restore coastal blue carbon ecosystems for climate change mitigation and adaptation
- TERN Mangrove Data Portal – provides access to robust scientific datasets on extent of and change in mangroves in Australia
- Australian forest profile on Mangroves – ABARES description and map of Australian mangrove forests
- Ozcoasts - information on coastal wetland habitats eg. seagrasses and their extent
Case studies
- NCCARF report (2011) – Limits to climate change adaptation in floodplain wetlands: the Macquarie Marshes
- NCCARF (2013) - Adaptive Management Framework for Ramsar wetlands – Macquarie Marshes
- GBRMPA (2007) – Vulnerability of mangroves and tidal wetland of the Great Barrier Reef to climate change
- CSIRO’s ECOS magazine Issue 250 (2018) – Kakadu’s wetlands will be partly under salt water in just over 50 years
- CSIRO’s ECOS magazine Issue 250 (2018) – Indigenous icon at risk from sea level rise