Project Description
A project funded by the Caring for our Country Community Action Grants.
Mangroves and tidal saltmarshes are amongst the most endangered marine wetland habitats worldwide. Mangrove Watch is a programme that has been established to address the urgent need to preserve and protect threatened todal wetland ecosystems as well as addressing both scientific and environmental management needs.
This new monitoring programme targets estuarine and coastal systems where there are mangroves, saltmarsh and saltpans. The programme uses partnerships between community volunteers and scientists (www.mangrovewatch.com.au).
The Noosa River Mangrove Watch was officially launched on the 16th April 2011, when University of Queensland mangrove experts, Dr Norm Duke and Jock McKenzie, presented to the community a special information session about mangroves, as well as the project methodology and field trials. Twenty volunteers attended the launch.
NICA, Duke and McKenzie hope that through community engagement and local knowledge, permanent visual records of the current mangrove and river bank ecosystems of the Noosa River will be used for future comparisons or land/resource planning purposes. They intend to achieve this by recording 100 km of Noosa River mangrove systems on video and still camera while aboard the NICA Noosa River Rangers patrol, followed by submission of the footage to Mangrove Watch for analysis. Upon final analysis, the scientific team at the Mangrove Watch Hub will present the Noosa River “State of the Mangroves” Report Card, expected by March 2012. Changes observed over time are expected to provide a valuable indication of the health of the mangroves and the estuary as a whole.
If you’d like to join the Mangrove Watch team or request more information please contact NICA at admin@noosariver.com.au Tel: 5449 9650