Since 2008, Terrain NRM has partnered with hundreds of farmers across the Wet Tropics to reduce the runoff of nutrients, pesticides, and sediment into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.
A major turning point came in 2017 with the establishment of a specialist Water Quality Science Team as part of the Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project. The team addressed a lack of trust in reef water quality science among farmers by conducting localised monitoring in the Tully and Johnstone catchments and providing practical, timely, and actionable insights. Farmers now have clear evidence of how their land management practices impact local waterways, enabling them to adopt more sustainable practices.
The program has proven transformative—fostering trust in science, improving understanding of the science, encouraging behaviour change, and improving reef water quality. Beyond farm-level outcomes, the team has supported Indigenous partnerships such as the Mamu Aboriginal Corporation’s Healthy Waterways program. It also contributes to advancing scientific knowledge on constructed wetlands and vegetated drains as effective nutrient and sediment treatment systems.
This integrated, science-driven approach demonstrates how targeted investment in water quality monitoring delivers measurable environmental, social, and community benefits.
The Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project was funded by the Queensland Government’s Queensland Reef Water Quality Program.
