Posted on September, 01 2004

Brisbane, Australia - The Australian Tropical Rivers Group, convened by WWF-Australia, is launching its vision for protection of these precious rivers, Securing the North: Australia’s Tropical Rivers, at the International River Symposium 2004, being held in Brisbane, Australia from 31 August – 3 September.

Australia’s tropical rivers and their wetlands, floodplains, and estuaries are the most biologically diverse and healthy aquatic ecosystems in Australia today.
 
These rivers, which hold 70 per cent of Australia’s available fresh water, face significant pressures for extraction and agricultural development. 
 
River systems winding across the north of Australia, roughly between Rockhampton and Broome, span over eighty major river basins covering approximately 150 million hectares.
 
Rivers in approximately 80 per cent of these catchments flow freely without dams or significant water resource development, and drain mainly uncleared catchments that largely retain their ecological integrity and species diversity.
 
Australia’s tropical rivers support over 100 species of freshwater fish and millions of waterbirds that feed in wetlands and estuaries during their southward migration from the northern hemisphere. 

For more information:
Andy Ridley
Senior Communications Manager, WWF-Australia
Tel: +61 2 9281 5515

Note:

The Australian Tropical Rivers Group includes: 
 
Professor Angela Arthington
Centre for Riverine Landscapes, Griffith University, Brisbane 
 
Dr Stuart Blanch
Freshwater Manager with WWF Australia and Convenor of the Australian Tropical Rivers Group 
 
Professor Stuart Bunn
Director, Centre for Riverine Landscapes, Griffith University, Brisbane 
 
Dr Max Finlayson
National Centre for Tropical Wetlands Research, Darwin 
 
Professor Stephen Garnett
Professor of Tropical Knowledge, Charles Darwin University, Darwin 
 
Professor Arthur Georges
Director, Applied Ecology Research Group, University of Canberra 
 
Dr Richard Kingsford
Principal Research Scientist, NSW Department of Environment and Conservation, Sydney 
 
Professor Richard Pearson
School of Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville 
 
Professor Robert Wasson
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin 
 
Dr John Williams
Former Chief, CSIRO Land and Water, and Member of The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists