WA's Ramsar sites |
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 Lake Gore Ramsar Site, photo taken by Gareth Watkins  Peel-Yalgorup, photo taken by Kim Wilson Of the 64 listed Ramsar wetlands in Australia, 12 sites occur in Western Australia. The benefits of nominating wetlands for inclusion on the list include increased recognition of WA's most important wetlands, and increased management attention to these wetlands by relevant authorities and community groups. The Department of Environment and Conservation has the lead role in recommending suitable wetlands in Western Australia to the State government for nomination for inclusion on the List of Wetlands of International Importance. This is a detailed process that involves consultation with key stakeholders and the preparation of nomination documents containing details of the values and other features of each wetland including site maps. The State Government of Western Australia decides which WA wetlands are nominated to the Commonwealth government and the Ramsar Bureau for inclusion on the List of Wetlands of International Importance.
The most recent Western Australian nominations to the List of Wetlands of International Importance were made in 2000, when the State Government nominated the Becher Point Wetlands, Lake Gore and the Muir-Byenup System. At the same time it also nominated twelve extensions to four existing Ramsar sites: the Ord River Floodplain, Peel-Yalgorup System, Toolibin Lake and Vasse-Wonnerup System. These sites and extensions were added to the list in 2001. Eight new sites are currently being investigated for nomination in WA and three sites are also being examined for possible extension in the future. |
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