Conservation and Environment

Barmah Forest Ramsar Site

Wetlands home | Ramsar home

The Barmah Forest Ramsar Site is 225 kilometres directly north of Melbourne, on the Victorian side of the Murray River floodplain. It is the largest River Red Gum forest in Victoria and consists of a system of permanent and tempory wetlands that depends on regular river flooding. This site was chosen for its size and large, diverse populations of plants and animals. Key features of the Barmah Forest Ramsar Site include: More than 553 native plant and 273 native animal species. It has the largest areas of Moira Grass plains (Pseudoraphis spinescens), in Victoria, and is home to the endangered Superb Parrot (Polytelis swainsonii) A drought refuge and important feeding, nesting and breeding area for many waterbirds, including the rare Freckled Duck (Stictonetta naevosa), and Latham's Snipe (Gallinago hardwickii Plays an important function in Murray River flow regimes and contains at least 182 Aboriginal cultural sites.

Further details can be found in the following Information Sheet, Ecological Character Description, Site Management Plan and Site Map.

Barmah Forest Ramsar Site Information Sheet (PDF - 35 Kb)

Barmah Forest Ramsar Site Ecological Character Description (PDF - 1.2 MB)

Barmah Forest Ramsar Site Strategic Management Plan (PDF - 950 Kb)

Barmah Forest Ramsar Site Map (PDF - 367 Kb)