Ramsar Wetlands

##### ﻿Abstract National dataset of Australia's Ramsar Wetlands. The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (the Ramsar Convention) was signed in Ramsar, Iran on 2 February 1971. The Ramsar Convention aims to halt the worldwide loss of wetlands and to conserve, through wise use and management, those that remain. The Convention encourages member countries to nominate sites containing representative, rare or unique wetlands, or that are important for conserving biological diversity, to the List of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar sites). Australia was one of the first countries to become a Contracting Party to the Convention and designated the world's first Ramsar site, Cobourg Peninsula, in 1974. This project was initiated by the Wetlands Section of the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Spatial data was sourced from the relevant State and Territory agencies and compiled into a single national coverage. Participating Agencies: * ACT Government, Environment and Planning Directorate, * NSW Office of the Environment and Heritage, * NT Department of Land Resource Management, * Qld Department of Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, * SA Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, * Tas Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, * Vic Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, * WA Department of Environment and Conservation. ##### Currency Date modified: 29 January 2026 Modification frequency: As needed ##### Data extent Spatial extent North: -10.466231° South: -42.828841° East: 159.233333° West: 96.799917° Temporal extent From 20 November 2002 to Present ##### Source information This dataset is provided by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water * [Online Map Server] * [Online Metadata] * [Australian Ramsar Wetlands Public listing] ##### Lineage statement This dataset is a polygon dataset which amalgamates spatial boundaries provided by data custodians to produce a national dataset. Data received from each State or Territory were compiled by ERIN and verified by the Wetlands Section of the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. The boundaries are supplied by the custodian States and Territories, no alterations have been made to boundaries except for datum/projection transformations. Note: The data in the final coverage contains data captured from different sources including Satellite imagery, orthophoto, digitising 1:100 000 maps and smaller scale. SOURCE field contains general description of input data source. Data were compiled using ArcGIS software. Update February 2016 to include revised Narran Lake Nature Reserve. Update February 2019 to include changes to Moreton Bay site. Update March 2019 to include changes Towra Point Nature Reserve, Macquarie Marshes, Hunter Estuary Wetlands, NSW Central Murray Forest. Alias changed for GAZETTED_AREA_HA, AREA_HA and TOTAL_SITE_AREA_HA to clarify meanings. Update January 2020 to remove duplicate entries. ##### Data dictionary All layers ──────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Attribute name │Description ──────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── REFCODE │Australian Ramsar site number ──────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── RAMSAR_NAME │Official name of the Ramsar listing ──────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── WETLAND_NAME │Name of the wetland - a listing entry can contain several wetland areas ──────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── STATE │State (or Territory) in which the listed area is located ──────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── JURISDICTION │The authority that manages the Protected Area ──────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── DESIGNATION_DATE │Date of listing for location ──────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── TOTAL_SITE_AREA_HA│Total enclosed area of the listed location in hectares ──────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── AREA_HA │Enclosed area of the listed wetland in hectares ──────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── GAZETTED_AREA_HA │Total area added by this Ramsar listing ──────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── SOURCE │Title of Original source document ──────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Metadata_URL │Link to webpage ──────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── WetlandsDB_URL │Link to webpage ──────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ##### Contact Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, [GeoSpatial@dcceew.gov.au]