A NEW environmental project that aims to restore drained
wetlands to their natural state is taking shape. Cross-border
environmental group the Glenelg Nature Trust has received
federal government funding to carry out the project in the
south-west of Victoria and the south-east of South Australia and
is hoping to hear from landowners interested in having their
wetland areas restored. Project co-ordinator Lachlan Farrington
said since European settlement, wetlands across the region had
dramatically reduced. “In the south-east of South Australia,
only approximately six per cent of the original wetlands remain,
while in south-west Victoria, about 40 per cent remain,” he
said. “The reduction is a result of development, clearing and
drainage for a whole range of purposes, including agriculture.”
Mr Farrington said the region was a hotspot for wetland
biodiversity in southern Australia, with many important or
threatened plants, wildlife and habitats occurring throughout
the formerly extensive wetlands of the region.