Griffith Wetlands (Australia) IBA | Details

Griffith Wetlands

Current view: Details

IBA Justification

The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2009 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('key species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Australasian Bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus	VU	breeding (2006–2008)	4 individuals	A1

IBA Conservation

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2009. The most recent assessment (2018) is shown below.

IBA conservation status
Year of assessment	State	Pressure	Response
2018	favourable	low	low
Whole site assessed?	State assessed by	Accuracy of information
yes	habitat	medium

State (condition of the key species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Wetlands (inland)	good (>90%)	good (>90%)	favourable

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Natural system modifications	happening now	few individuals/small area (<10%)	no deterioration (<1% over 3 generations)	low
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happening now	few individuals/small area (<10%)	no deterioration (<1% over 3 generations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Little/none of site covered (<10%)	A management plan exists, but it is out of date or not comprehensive	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	low

Habitats

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	major (>10)	Other artificial wetlands
Wetlands (inland)	major (>10)	Ephemeral; Freshwater lakes & pools; Permanent herbaceous swamps & bogs

Land use

Land use	% of IBA
rangeland/pastureland	major (>10)
water management	major (>10)
not utilised	major (>10)
nature conservation and research	minor (<10)
urban/industrial/transport	minor (<10)

Land ownership

Murrumbidgee Irrigation (Barren Box Swamp) and Griffith City Council (sewage treatment works, trust manager for the Lake Wyangan Wetlands).

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Griffith Wetlands (Australia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/griffith-wetlands-iba-australia on 13/01/2025.