ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES

Many key natural features, habitats, flora and fauna of Australian significance are found in the MDB. Some significant facts about the MDB environment are:

• The Darling (2,740 km), Murray (2,530 km) and Murrumbidgee (1,690 km) are Australia's three longest rivers (MDBC 2006).
• At the time of European settlement, about 28% of Australia's mammal species, 48% of its birds, and 19% of its reptiles were found in the MDB (DEWHA 2008a).
• The MDB has at least 35 endangered bird species and 16 endangered mammal species with 20 mammal species now extinct (MDBC 2006).
• Several migratory bird species, including the Regent Honeyeater and the Swift Parrot, are reliant on habitats in the MDB (DEWHA 2007a).
• There are 11 introduced species of fish in the Basin (MDBC 2006).
• It is estimated that there are more than 30,000 wetlands in the MDB (MDBC 2006).
• 16 of Australia's 65 internationally-listed wetlands are in the Basin, including the Currawinya Lakes in Queensland, Macquarie Marshes in New South Wales, Gunbower and Barmah Forests in Victoria, and the Coorong in South Australia. These are also known as Ramsar Wetlands, after the Iranian town of Ramsar, where the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance was signed in 1971 (DEWHA 2008b).

Significant water assets in the Basin, including major rivers, water bodies, and internationally-listed (Ramsar) wetlands are shown in map 1.16 (sourced from the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts). Areas of significant irrigation activity (Irrigation Areas) are shown to indicate their proximity to Ramsar wetlands and other environmental water assets. As can be seen from the map, some of the Ramsar wetlands are located very close to large irrigation areas, especially along the Murray River.


Number of Threatened Species and Communities

Map 1.17 shows the number and location of threatened and migratory species, and ecological communities listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The information in map 1.17 has been modelled by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts using a combination of actual sightings, likely sightings, habitat and climatic conditions suitable to each species or community in the MDB.

Areas shown on the map with a higher number of species and communities are typified by significant areas of remnant vegetation and related species diversity, many of which are under pressure from various sources and processes. These include the Great Dividing Range, stretching from Toowoomba in Queensland south into New South Wales, box gum woodland in the vicinity of Canberra, mallee woodland on the New South Wales-Victoria border around Mildura, the Grampians in central-west Victoria, and the Coorong wetlands at the mouth of the Murray River in South Australia.

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