The sand spit off the coast south-east of Townsville that we call Cape Bowling Green has the important job of sheltering the Ramsar-listed (internationally important) wetlands of Bowling Green Bay National Park and the communities of Cungulla and Jerona from the forces of the open ocean.

Frighteningly, that long, thin sandy cape is currently under threat of being washed away entirely - and the Burdekin Falls Dam could be partly to blame.

Confusing concept? Using the research of Dr Eric Wolanski and imagery from John Connell and Chris Hopper, this article will help you wrap your head around this important local issue.

In Townsville, we marked World Wetlands Day by inviting organisations involved in wetland conservation to share their work with interested members of the community. We are so grateful for the contributions of NQ Dry Tropics, Coastal Dry Tropics Landcare, Wongaloo Conservation Park and the Townsville Dry Tropics Partnership for Healthy Waters, whose representatives volunteered their time to share valuable relevant information with us.

This is a guest post written by Chelsea Broad, who attended the World Wetlands Day event put on by NQ Dry Tropics on Thursday 2nd Feb 2017. The views expressed in this post are the author's and not necessarily those of NQCC.

AIMS - photo: Chelsea Broad

World Wetlands Day works to educate the community on the issues facing the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and inspire the community to take action to protect the GBR and associated wetlands. More than 50 community members participated in educational lectures from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and tours of ReefHQ and AIMS, including the world class scientific laboratory, SeaSim, within the Townsville region.

Did you know that keeping inland wetlands healthy is crucial for protecting the GBR?