On World Rivers Day, which was marked on Sunday, the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority reflected on the importance of rivers and how it was working with the community to protect and enhance them.
WGCMA chief executive Martin Fuller said the organisation was proud to be tasked with protecting, enhancing and advocating for more than 40,000 kilometres of designated waterways across the West Gippsland catchment, which stretches from Warragul and Wonthaggi to Lake Wellington.
“All these waterways flow to the Victorian coast, discharging through the world renowned Gippsland Lakes, or directly into Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean,” Mr Fuller said.
Every river in West Gippsland is unique from the short and sharp Agnes River near Toora in South Gippsland that supports dairy farms, forest and agriculture and flows into the world recognised Corner Inlet Ramsar site to one of Victoria’s iconic rivers the Latrobe River.
More than 260km long and running through the Latrobe Valley and into the Gippsland Lakes, the Latrobe supports plants and animals of major conservation importance, and is also a freshwater source for towns, industry, power generation and agriculture.
With a focus on rivers and their catchments, the CMA works every day to improve catchment health through a range of programs and projects spanning from working towards self determination for Traditional Owners, partnering with legends like Landcare, Trust for Nature and Greening Australia and building relationships with the amazing landholders and community who are willing to work for river and catchment health.
The CMA delivers programs for rivers to remove weeds, fence and revegetate rivers, recover from floods, deliver water for the environment to bring rivers back towards their natural flows, restore wetlands and work with farmers to be at the forefront of sustainable agriculture.
During the 2023-24 financial year, the WGCMA fenced 50km along West Gippsland’s rivers to protect them and prepare for planting the banks; planted more than 104,050 trees over 152 hectares to restore rivers and provide shade and shelter for stock and wildlife; treated 993 hectares of weeds to restore biodiversity, and delivered 34,476 megalitres of water for the environment to restore natural flows for native fish and replenish wetlands.
World Rivers Day is a celebration of the world’s waterways. It highlights the many values of rivers, strives to increase public awareness, and encourages the improved stewardship of all rivers around the world.
