Tools to support the management of internationally important wetlands

Despite the Ramsar Convention requirement to maintain the ecological character of wetlands listed as internationally important, there is little guidance for wetland managers to actually do this, let alone plan for and implement adaptation to climate change.

Research led by Charles Sturt’s Gayle Partridge and Adjunct Professor Max Finlayson, focusing on the Muir–Byenup System Ramsar wetland located in south-west Western Australia, applied a participatory research approach to better understand the ecological impacts of climate change and develop a climate change adaptation plan.

The study found that planning for climate change adaptation had not been widely undertaken for Ramsar sites and, where it had, managers mainly planned information gathering activities and “no regrets” actions rather than innovative or transformative approaches. New management approaches and policy settings that encompass the dynamic nature of wetlands are needed because maintaining wetlands in their current state will be difficult under climate change.