Riparian restoration
Riparian means riverbank. From an ecological perspective, riparian land adjoins, regularly influences or is influenced by a river.
Riparian land is vitally important to the health of a waterway, both in an aquatic and terrestrial sense.Since 2002, over 6000 ha of riparian land have been protected and improved through stock exclusion, weed control and revegetation.
Over 2000 km of existing riparian vegetation has been fenced, more than 750,000 riparian plants have been established, and 178 km of bank stabilisation works have been undertaken.
Partnerships with adjacent landholders who use the riparian areas have been critical to the success of riparian restoration works.
Considerable progress has been made to formalise management arrangements and responsibilities, providing better long-term protection for riparian areas.
Between 2002 and 2005, a total of 3077 landholder agreements were established, allowing for the protection of around 6000 ha of riparian areas. Predictions suggest the 2011 target of having 7000 ha under management agreements will be surpassed.