Arafura Swamp, Australia
Site Overview
KBA status: confirmed
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Text account
This IBA includes the Arafura swamp, 450 km east of Darwin, and the coastal saline flats of Castlereagh Bay west to Milingimbi, but not the tropical savanna in the surrounding catchment. The north-west boundary opposite the island of Milingimbi and the north-east boundary at the mouth of the swamp are based on the shorebird surveys of Chatto (2003). The site is in the wet tropics with an average of 1600 mm of rain along the coast during December to March. The swamp is fed by the Goyder and Gulbuwangay Rivers which terminate at the southern end of the swamp where the water disperses across a broad floodplain which narrows at the coast where it is constricted by bedrock. The swamp receives and retains water throughout the year and the Goyder River has the second-highest dry-season flow of any river in the Northern Territory. During the wet season there are extensive floods across the coastal plain where the swamp empties into the sea.
The cattle at the north of the swamp must be fenced away from the fragile banks and waterways separating the tidal and freshwater sections. Community ranger weed management programs should be supported to continue and strengthen their quarantine, awareness and surveillance activities whilst maintaining their control of Mimosa pigra and other weeds.
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage level | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Forest | - | ; | |
| 5. Wetlands (inland) | - | ; |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Climate change & severe weather | 11.4 Storms & flooding | Only in the future | Affects the minority of the population (<50%) | Causing or likely to cause relatively slow but significant declines (<20% over 10 years or three generations; whichever is the longer) | Medium | |
| 8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | 8.1 Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | 8.1.2 Named species | Ongoing | Affects the minority of the population (<50%) | Causing or likely to cause relatively slow but significant declines (<20% over 10 years or three generations; whichever is the longer) | Medium |
| 11 Climate change & severe weather | 11.4 Storms & flooding | Only in the future | Affects the minority of the population (<50%) | Causing or likely to cause relatively slow but significant declines (<20% over 10 years or three generations; whichever is the longer) | Medium | |
| 8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | 8.1 Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | 8.1.2 Named species | Ongoing | Affects the minority of the population (<50%) | Causing or likely to cause relatively slow but significant declines (<20% over 10 years or three generations; whichever is the longer) | Medium |
