THE VICTORIAN COASTAL WETLAND RESTORATION PROGRAM
The #VicWetlandRehab is a multi-disciplinary program– comprising Academia, Government, Industry, and Traditional Owners – guiding and undertaking the restoration of critical wetland habitat on both private and public land, helping to facilitate the recovery of some of Victoria’s most endangered birds, frogs and other threatened plants and animals.
This program allows Victorians to strategically invest in the health of our coast with respect to biodiversity enhancement, coastal and shoreline protection, marine life and fish habitat, and carbon sequestration – all of which are critical to our health, prosperity, and very existence.
Coastal wetlands have seen loss of 9,000 ha, or roughly 25% of their pre-European extent, and continue to face a range of human impacts. The loss of, or disturbance to these ecosystems has had drastic negative impacts on Victoria’s biodiversity, particularly resident or migratory birds.
Victoria’s new Climate Change Act 2017 and the proposed Marine and Coastal Bill 2017 offer significant opportunities to develop systems to improve the management and protection of Victoria’s coastal and marine areas, of which coastal wetlands represent a critical but degraded asset.
Our project targets several threatened, high-priority conservation areas along the Victorian coast, spanning Port Phillip Bay, Western Port Bay, and the Gippsland Lakes. Coastal wetlands in each of these locations have been highly degraded. Port Phillip Bay, for example, has lost ~50% (1700 ha) of its coastal saltmarsh due to agricultural development, anthropogenic modifications to tidal flow, and urban development.
The preservation of wetlands provides us with the opportunity to test research solutions for helping mitigate climate change and improve natural capital whilst simultaneously contributing to economic growth, capacity building alongside land managers, and community wellbeing in Victoria.
The Victorian Coastal Wetland Restoration program incorporates the following objectives:
Develop and test a wetland restoration and conservation strategy at a former salt works that will improve the existing ecological features while minimizing the need and cost for active site management and pumping.
Undertake on-ground restoration to repair threatened saltmarsh and wetland habitat using low cost, but high impact protection activities such as fencing.
Working with Traditional Owners to perform remedial work at a culturally significant coastal site containing the largest cluster of coastal Aboriginal cultural heritage sites within Port Phillip Bay.
Engaging local communities where restoration work is being completed to learn and help with the monitoring of the restoration works – thanks to a DELWP Community Climate Change Adaptation grant.
Through the Biodiversity Response Planning (BRP)– a new area-based planning approach to biodiversity conservation in Victoria, the Blue Carbon Lab has the opportunity to put years of science into on-ground action. To learn more about the on-ground actions, and research being done as part of this program you can explore the StoryMap.
Follow #VicWetlandRehab on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram for on-going project updates.
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The Blue Carbon Lab is excited to announce a new 200+ ha restoration project that will demonstrate the potential of fencing toRead more
Two different groups of citizen scientists, staff members from Intrepid Travel and students from Holmesglen TAFE, have joined a team of researchersRead more
The finalists for the 2021 Premier’s Sustainability Awards have been announced, and the Victoria Coastal Wetland Rehabilitation Program is on the list!Read more
The Victorian Coastal Wetland Restoration Program, funded by the Victorian Government, Deakin University and The Nature Conservancy, was a finalist in theRead more
The Blue Carbon Lab is all about using cutting-edge blue carbon research to mitigate climate change, while supporting aquatic biodiversity, economic growth,Read more
The Blue Carbon Lab has received funding from the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation to “Build the Blue Carbon Business Case: Cost-benefit analysisRead more
This project will build on the previous work achieved through the Victorian Coastal Wetland Restoration Program, in which the Blue Carbon Lab,Read more
Truganina Swamp is a 175-ha wetland of Biodiversity Significance, providing critical habitat for threatened and protected fauna as well as threatened saltmarshRead more
Historically natural coastal wetlands were converted to pastureland to maximize available farming area along Victoria’s coast. However, these coastal pastures limited theRead more
The Blue Carbon Lab has received $200,000 of funding from the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust for the Victorian Coastal Wetland Restoration Program. This funding will be used to build uponRead more
This week is NAIDOC week, where we celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year’s theme is Heal Country, whichRead more
It is with great sadness the unexpected passing of David Rhodes (November 19, 1958 – December 5, 2020). Dave was the directorRead more
Back in October 2020, Chase Aghan – Project Officer (Forest, Fire and Parks) for Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and Dr BradRead more
The Australian Ethical Foundation has invested funding through their strategic grant into a 3-year PhD scholarship for the Blue Carbon Lab toRead more
Training and pre-restoration vegetation surveys are underway! In partnership with Coastcare Victoria and the Arthur Rylah Institute (ARI) we hosted a vegetationRead more
12 months of greenhouse gas and vegetation data collection completed! With the easing of some COVID-19 restrictions, the Blue Carbon Lab wasRead more
Thanks to project cost savings we’ve been able to install additional protection of Saltmarsh Habitat in Western Port! After the completion ofRead more
Time for tea! Exploring rates of carbon decomposition in different saltmarsh community types. As part of the Victorian Coastal Wetland Restoration Program,Read more
As part of the Victorian Coastal Wetland Restoration program, works are underway on our Gippsland Lakes saltmarsh site with vegetation monitoring andRead more
The Victorian Coastal Wetland Restoration Program (#VicWetlandRehab) targets several threatened, high-priority conservation areas (including RAMSAR-listed wetlands that are critical for migratory andRead more
<< Scroll to the left and right to access all the posts >>
Crofts, R., Coate, T., Davey, T., and Wartman, M., 2025. Coastal Wetland Vegetation ID Guide: Victoria, Australia. Deakin University, Burwood.
Gulliver, A., Carnell, P.E., Trevathan-Tackett, S.M., Duarte de Paula Costa, M., Masqué, P. and Macreadie, P.I., 2020. Estimating the Potential Blue Carbon Gains From Tidal Marsh Rehabilitation: A Case Study From South Eastern Australia. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, p.403.
Restoration Handbook (V1 | 2025)
Newsletter (5 edition | Feb 2021)
Newsletter (4 edition | June 2020)
Newsletter (3 edition | Dec 2019)
Newsletter (2 edition | Sept 2019)
This program was initially funded by the Victorian Government’s Biodiversity Response Planning (BRP) program. Partial funding support was provided by Deakin University and The Nature Conservancy (including a contribution from Dow Australia).
