RIPARIAN EXTENT
38km
17km
INSHORE MARINE CONDITION
RIPARIAN EXTENT
2025 catchment management target :
The extent of riparian vegetation is increased .
There was poor progress towards the region ’ s target , with 0.56 percent ( 10,602 hectares ) of riparian woody vegetation lost between 2018 and 2021 .
The loss of riparian woody vegetation is primarily caused by lawful land clearing , often for agricultural use . Losses predominantly occured in the Belyando , Suttor , Don and Ross sub-catchments .
Since 2018 , clearing of all native vegetation has been regulated within 50 metres of an identified watercourse or drainage feature in all Great Barrier Reef catchments .
This was in addition to clearing protections provided by the vegetation management framework for Category B areas ( regulated remnant vegetation ) and Category C areas ( high value regrowth ).
The majority ( approximately 94 per cent ) of detected clearing is lawful clearing of regulated vegetation or is re-clearing of areas where vegetation was previously lawfully cleared ( Category X areas ).
Result is based on the 2018 – 2021 result .
What ’ s been done
38km
of streambanks fenced to restrict cattle access through the Australian Government ’ s Reef Trust Partnership Reef Alliance Project Phase 2 .
17km
Of streambanks fenced to restrict cattle access through the Queensland Government ’ s Burdekin Major Integrated Project ( also known as the Landholders Driving Change project ).
INSHORE MARINE CONDITION
Inshore marine environments are affected by the quality of water flowing from the catchments .
The overall condition of the Burdekin inshore marine environment remained moderate .
The condition of seagrass meadows improved from poor to moderate .
The Burdekin region experienced its highest thermal stress in the 2021 – 22 monitoring year , with sea-surface temperatures well above average . Inshore areas around Townsville had the highest heat stress accumulation , with some areas reaching temperatures close to three degrees Celsius above average and accumulating up to 140-degree heating days .
Inshore coral condition was surveyed at 15 sites on eight reefs . Coral condition remained moderate . These coral communities continue to recover from the impact of Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi in 2011 . A slight decline in condition , though still within moderate range , was attributed to the legacy of the 2020 thermal stress event and to low juvenile coral and high macroalgae cover .
Inshore seagrass meadow condition was monitored at four locations and condition improved from poor to moderate . Seagrass meadows have shown high resilience particularly through their capacity to recover from disturbances such as the large flood event in 2019 and strong winds that dominate the region .
Inshore water quality declined from good to moderate condition . Annual discharge in 2021 – 22 from the combined Burdekin and Haughton basins was approximately 1.2 times greater than the long-term median . Two Haughton basin flood events occurred in April and May 2022 , after a very low discharge year in 2020 – 21 .
Note : Mid and outer shelf reef condition are less directly influenced by water quality from the catchments and are not reported here .