Arafura Swamp, Australia

Site Details
Assessment Details

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.

Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1c, B1, D1a
Year of assessment: 2009
National site name: Arafura Swamp
Central coordinates: Lat: -12.54 Long: 135.05
System: Terrestrial, Freshwater, Marine
Altitude (m): 0 to 10
Area of KBA (ha): 92,309
Protected area coverage (%): 0

Text account


Year of compilation: 2008
Site description:

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.

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA:

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

Recommended citation


Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership (2023) Key Biodiversity Areas factsheet: Arafura Swamp. Extracted from the World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas. Developed by the Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership: BirdLife International, IUCN, American Bird Conservancy, Amphibian Survival Alliance, Conservation International, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, Global Environment Facility, Re:wild, NatureServe, Rainforest Trust, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, World Wildlife Fund and Wildlife Conservation Society. Downloaded from http://www.keybiodiversityareas.org/ on 22/09/2023.