Darwin Harbour- Mangroves or the Gold Coast?
The Elizabeth River- the NT Government want to dam the river just upstream of the bridge.
The Harbour- Darwin Harbour is a unique tropical estuary that contains the Northern Territory’s largest stand of mangroves. The Harbour covers approximately 450 square kilometres including 23 square kilometres of inter-tidal mangrove and saltmarsh communities. Darwin is one of the few cities in the world with such a precious marine and coastal environment on its doorstep.
For more on the ecological values of Darwin Harbour click here
Threats to the Harbour- Darwin Harbour is threatened by incremental urban and rural development in the absence of a management plan and a system of protected areas for the Harbour. Despite continued pressure from the community the NT Government has failed to develop a management plan for the Harbour or legislate to protect the Harbour’s valuable mangroves. New residential developments like Bayview Haven and Cullen Bay have seen mangrove communities destroyed and the integrity of the Harbour damaged.
Potential future threats to the Harbour are massive- the NT Government has plans for marina developments and dams that would destroy over 30% of the Harbour’s mangroves and seriously impact upon the Harbour’s ecological values. These threats can be avoided but we need to act now.
The campaign- since its inception in 1983 the Environment Centre has been campaigning for the protection of Darwin Harbour’s natural and cultural values. In 1994 ECNT and a number of community groups were successful in preventing the Darwin South marina development. Three years later the NT Government declared Charles Darwin National Park during an election campaign in response to Environment Centre and community campaigning.
Despite these victories the Harbour still needs a management plan and the mangroves need legislative protection. Over the past few years the Environment Centre has been working with the Darwin community to achieve these objectives. In 1998 ECNT and the Larrakia Nation jointly nominated Darwin Harbour to the Register of the National Estate, while in 1999 ECNT played a central role in the formation of the Darwin Harbour Alliance, a group which has developed a vision for the future of Darwin Harbour. Campaigning on the Harbour will continue until this fantastic environment is protected.
To download the Darwin Harbour Alliance publication ‘Mangroves or the Gold Coast’ click here. This publication includes maps of the NT Government’s plans to destroy Darwin Harbour and the Darwin Harbour Alliance’s alternative vision. It takes around 90 seconds to download. (Note: this is a PDF file- you will need Acrobat Reader to read this file. Acrobat Reader is a free and extremely useful program available from http:www.adobe.com/acrobat)
Your actions can help us protect the Harbour. To take action to protect the Harbour click here.