Coastlines are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. More extreme and changing patterns of storms, floods and cyclones, and underlying patterns of sea level rise, place our coastlines at risk of erosion and repeated inundation.
Tidal blue carbon ecosystems have the capacity to deliver both mitigation and adaptation for climate change. Restoring these systems increases their carbon storage capacity, while protecting coastlines and delivering many benefits for the local region.
Tidal blue carbon ecosystems, including saltmarsh, are productive coastal ecosystems with capacity to store carbon within plants and in the sediment below.
Saltmarshes contribute to coastal resilience by providing protection from erosion during storms, flood events, and cyclones. They may act as a buffer under rising sea levels, attenuating inundation and reducing erosion.
They also filter nutrient runoff and sediments to maintain water quality and contribute organic materials to estuaries.
In 2022, NRM South in Tasmania was awarded one of the five demonstration projects under the Australian Government’s Blue Carbon Ecosystem Restoration Grant. The project leverages an existing saltmarsh restoration project at the same site, which NRM South began in 2021 under the Australian Government’s Fisheries Habitat Restoration Program.
The wetland is adjacent to the Ramsar-listed Pitt Water-Orielton Lagoon wetland and nature reserve.
The high carbon sequestration capacity of saltmarsh sediments is a key focus of the Blue Carbon project.
In addition, the project is anticipated to reduce the impacts of climate change through providing a buffer against coastal erosion and inundation, and deliver diverse environmental, social and economic benefits for the local region.
At the project site, decades of modification have seen saltmarsh stranded to allow stock grazing. The existing Fish Habitat Restoration project involves removing a levee to restore the natural tidal flow to a 65ha area of saltmarsh near Richmond, north-east of Hobart.
It also aims to protect and enhance the saltmarsh ecological community through fencing, weed control, and revegetation.
Building on this, the Blue Carbon Ecosystem Restoration project expands the on-ground works, adds erosion control, and includes post-intervention monitoring of broader biogeochemical and social parameters and over a longer timeframe.
Baseline flora, fauna, and water quality monitoring is complete, along with initial on-ground actions, including the levee removal.
The novel nature of the project means that navigating the various approval processes has yielded valuable lessons. NRM South will share learnings from the project and the ERF registration process with other regional NRM organisations across Tasmania, as well as a wide stakeholder network including land holders, First Nations people, and the scientific community.
NRM South will work alongside a service provider engaged through open tender by the Australian Government, who will measure the diverse benefits achieved through restoration, and present this data in environmental economic accounts.
Multiple community and stakeholder field days and engagement activities are planned to showcase the project.
The project runs until March 2025.
The project area intends to be a demonstration site for the Tidal Restoration of Blue Carbon Ecosystems method, and should be eligible for registration under the Emissions Reduction Fund.
It will also deliver multiple benefits for climate adaptation, protecting the coastline against erosion, storms, floods and inundation.
In addition, the project is anticipated to have benefits for the ecology of the whole system, including the neighbouring Ramsar-listed wetland and nature reserve.
It will support the local Traditional Owners, the muwinina people, to reconnect on Country, and is expected to improve the micro-climate on the farm.
The project will:
This project is delivered by NRM South through funding from the Australian Government’s Blue Carbon Ecosystem Restoration Grant. Project partners include the University of Tasmania, Blue Carbon Services, OzFish Unlimited, and the property owner.
MORE INFORMATION
Grace Isdale, Senior Project Officer – Marine
0439 088 564
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