TIMELINE OF REEF WATER QUALITY PROJECTS

    Wet Tropics Waterways Partnership

    2024
    July 2024
    Daintree Wetlands Project
    • Focus: Remediation of eroded riverbank
    • Catchment: Daintree catchment
    • Investment: $2 million
    • Funder: Australian Government
    • Delivery partners: Terrain NRM
    2022
    September 2022
    Traditional Owner Projects
    • Focus: Range of activities including water quality monitoring, wetlands restoration and preserving cultural knowledge
    • Catchment: Several
    • Funder: Great Barrier Reef Foundation and Australian Government's Reef Trust
    • Delivery partners: 14 Traditional Owner groups
    2021
    December 2021
    Mossman & Murray Water Quality Project

    Mossman & Murray Water Quality Project 2021-2023 

    • Focus: Reduction in runoff of dissolved inorganic nitrogen from cane farms through provision of extension support
    • Catchments: Mossman & Murray catchments
    • Investment: $5 million
    • Funder: Australian Government's Reef Trust Phase VII
    • Delivery Partners: Terrain NRM, Mossman Agricultural Services, Canegrowers Tully
    July 2021
    Upper Herbert Sediment Reduction Project
    • Focus: Reduction of fine sediment runoff from erosion
    • Catchment: Herbert catchment
    • Investment: $3.25 million
    • Funder: Great Barrier Reef Foundation and Australian Government's Reef Trust
    • Delivery partners: Terrain NRM
    March 2021
    Tully & Johnstone Water Quality Project

    Tully & Johnstone Water Quality Project 2021-2024 

    • Focus: Reduction in DIN runoff from cane farms
    • Catchments: Tully & Johnstone catchments
    • Investment: $11.6 million
    • Funder: Great Barrier Reef Foundation & Australian Government's Reef Trust
    • Delivery Partners: Terrain NRM, Innisfail Canegrowers, JCU's TropWater, CSIRO, Liquaforce
    March 2021
    Russell-Mulgrave Water Quality Project

    Russell-Mulgrave Water Quality Project 2021-2024 

    • Focus: Reduction in DIN runoff from cane farms
    • Catchments: Russell-Mulgrave catchment
    • Investment: $6.2 million
    • Funder: Great Barrier Reef Foundation & Australian Government's Reef Trust
    • Delivery Partners: Reef & Rainforest Research Centre (RRRC) and Canegrowers Cairns
    March 2021
    Upper Herbert Water Quality Project

    Upper Herbert Water Quality Project 2021-2023 

    • Focus: Reduction in fine sediment by remediating gully and streambank erosion hotspots with engineered solutions and revegetation. Program also includes educational workshops in land management and natural grazing.
    • Catchments: Herbert catchment
    • Investment: $3.5 million
    • Funder: Great Barrier Reef Foundation & Australian Government's Reef Trust
    • Delivery Partners: Terrain NRM
    2020
    December 2020
    Fish Homes and Highways

    Fish Homes & Highways 2020-2023 

    • Focus: Improvement in coastal ecosystems through wetland restoration and improvement of fish habitat connectivity
    • Catchments: Murray, Lower Herbert
    • Investment: $5 million
    • Funder: Australian Government's Reef Trust Phase VII
    • Delivery Partners: Terrain NRM
    November 2020
    Reef Assist

    Reef Assist 2020-2021 

    • Focus: Boost in jobs and rural economic activity through investment in on-ground projects such as riparian revegetation.
    • Catchments: Mossman, Russell-Mulgrave, Johnstone, Tully
    • Funder: Queensland Government (OGBR)
    • Investment: $4 million
    • Delivery Partners: Wet Tropics Management Authority, Terrain NRM (Johnstone Landcare & JRCMA), Douglas Shire Council, Jarragun
    November 2020
    End of WTSIP

    After the end of Reef Trust III and the GBRF extension in Nov 2020, the WTSIP (Wet Tropics Sugar Industry Partnership) partners agreed to end their arrangement since GBRF's investment strategy is focused on catchment by catchment projects rather than a collaborative regional approach.

    January 2020
    Lower Herbert Water Quality Project

    Lower Herbert Water Quality Project 2020-2023 

    • Focus: Reduction in DIN runoff from cane farms
    • Catchments: Herbert catchment
    • Investment: $16.2 million
    • Funder: Reef Trust Partnership (Great Barrier Reef Foundation & Australian Government's Reef Trust)
    • Delivery Partners: Canegrowers Herbert, HCPSL, Liquaforce, Catchment Solutions, Agro Group
    2019
    May 2019
    Cane to Creek 2.0

    Cane to Creek 2.0 2019-2022  

    • Focus: Assisting cane growers to achieve nutrient management best practice
    • Catchments: Russell-Mulgrave, Mossman, Johnstone, Murray, Herbert
    • Funder: Reef Trust Partnership (Great Barrier Reef Foundation and Australian Government)
    • Investment: $2.2 million
    • Delivery Partner: SRA
    April 2019
    RP161C Complete Nutrient Management Planning for Cane Farming

    RP161C Complete Nutrient Management Planning for Cane Farming Project 2019-2022

    • Focus: Extension support for cane growers on whole farm nutrient management planning
    • Catchments: Russell-Mulgrave
    • Investment: $7.08 million
    • Funder: Australian and Queensland Governments
    • Delivery Partners: Sugar Research Australia, Farmacist
    2018
    June 2018
    Mossman Integrated Project

    Mossman Integrated Catchment Project 2018-2022

    • Focus: Strengthening stream banks to prevent soil loss during floods with a combination of engineered solutions and revegetation
    • Catchments: Mossman
    • Investment: $1 million
    • Funder: Queensland Government
    • Delivery partners: Terrain NRM
    June 2018
    Upper Johnstone Integrated Project

    Upper Johnstone Integrated Project 2018-2022

    • Focus: Reduction of fine sediment by repairing erosion hotspots with engineered solutions and revegetation. The program is also supporting landholders with natural grazing educational workshops
    • Catchments: Upper Johnstone
    • Investment: $2.3 million
    • Funder: Queensland Government
    • Delivery partners: Terrain NRM
    May 2018
    Reef Credits

    Reef Credits was launched in June 2018 by Green Collar, Terrain NRM, Dry Tropics NRM and the Queensland Government. It is Australia's first market-based system for paying landholders to make changes to reduce nutrient, pesticide and sediment runoff to the Reef.

    Listen to our Reef & Rivers podcast for more information.

    April 2018
    Reef Trust Partnership
    Reef Trust Partnership

    In April 2018 the Australian Government provided $444 million to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to coordinate reef program investment.

    2017
    October 2017
    Reef Trust 4 Gully & Grazing

    Reef Trust 4 Gully & Grazing 2017-2022

    • Focus: Reduction in fine sediment runoff by remediating gully and streambank erosion on grazing properties
    • Catchments: Upper Herbert
    • Investment: $3 million
    • Funder: Australian Government’s Reef Trust IV program
    • Delivery Partner: Terrain NRM
    • Listen to the Reef & Rivers podcast for more information
    September 2017
    Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project

    Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project: 2017-2021

    • Focus: Whole of catchment approach with comprehensive local scale monitoring, farm services and trial of new catchment repair systems inc. bioreactors, high efficiency sediment basins, constructed wetlands and vegetated drains.
    • Catchments: Johnstone and Tully
    • Investment: $15 million
    • Funder: Queensland Government
    • Delivery Partners: Terrain NRM, Canegrowers, Australian Banana Growers Council
    • Listen to the Reef & Rivers podcast for more information
    May 2017
    Enhanced Extension Coordination Project

    Enhanced Extension Coordination Project 2017-2021 

    • Focus: Increased adoption of land management practices by through improved coordination and collaboration across agricultural industry extension networks. Program also included funding for small projects to enhance extension and peer-to-peer learning.
    • Catchments: All catchments
    • Investment:
    • Funder: Queensland Government Reef Water Quality Program
    • Delivery Partners: DAF, Terrain NRM, Cape York NRM
    May 2017
    Reef Aid Projects

    Figtree Lagoon/Palm Creek 2017-2021  

    • Focus: Restore priority wetlands adjacent to the reef to improve coastal ecosystem ecological processes and connectivity
    • Catchments: Russell-Mulgrave, Herbert
    • Funder: Australian Government through Reef Trust Phase 5 and Greening Australia's Reef Aid
    • Investment: $10 million
    • Delivery Partners: Greening Australia and Mulgrave Landcare
    April 2017
    RP163 Protecting our chemicals

    RP163 Protecting our chemicals for the future (2017-2020)

    • Focus: Helping cane growers understand water quality implications of chemicals and how they’re used
    • Catchments: Tully, Johnstone, Russell-Mulgrave, Barron
    • Investment:
    • Funder: Australian and Queensland Governments
    • Delivery Partners: Sugar Research Australia
    April 2017
    Reef Trust Repeated Tenders

    Reef Trust Repeated Tenders (Phase 4) 2017-2022

    • Focus: Reduction in DIN runoff from cane farms using new nutrient management practices. Funds allocated to 39 cane growers through a competitive market-based program.
    • Catchments: Herbert, Murray, Tully, Johnstone, Russell-Mulgrave
    • Investment: $5 million
    • Funder: Australian Government
    • Delivery partners: Terrain NRM, Wet Tropics Sugar Industry Partnership
    February 2017
    Cane Changer

    Cane Changer 2016-2020

    • Focus: Behaviour science program to accelerate adoption of sugar cane farm practices with lower risk to water quality
    • Catchments: Herbert, Tully, Johnstone, Russell-Mulgrave, Mossman
    • Investment: $2 million
    • Funder: Queensland Government
    • Delivery Partner: Behaviour Innovation, Canegrowers
    2016
    December 2016
    Pilot Report card
    Pilot Report card
    November 2016
    Project Uplift

    Project Uplift 2016-2019

    • Focus: Grants to support cane farmers to adopt SRA's Farming Systems (6 Easy Steps)
    • Catchments:
    • Investment: $17.3 million
    • Funder: Australian Government (Reef Trust Phase 5), sugar industry
    • Delivery Partner: MSF Sugar
    October 2016
    Reef Trust 3: Growing a Great Barrier Reef

    Reef Trust 3: Growing a Great Barrier Reef 2016-2019

    • Focus: Reduction in nutrient and pesticides through provision of agricultural extension programs with a focus on nutrient management planning
    • Catchments: All
    • Investment: $10 million sugarcane
    • Funder: Australian Government’s Reef Trust
    • Delivery partners: Terrain NRM, Wet Tropics Sugar Industry Partnership (17 organisations), Australian Banana Growers Council, Barron Catchment Care
    • The sugarcane component of this project was extended to the end of 2020 by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
    October 2016
    Wet Tropics Sugar Industry Partnership
    Wet Tropics Sugar Industry Partnership

    The Wet Tropics Sugar Industry Partnership was expanded in 2016 to include all 17 organisations in the oversight and delivery of the Reef Trust 3 cane targets. This was in response to the GBR Water Science Taskforce recommendation for greater coordination and collaboration across reef projects. Read more  

    August 2016
    Project 25

    Project 25 2016-2020

    • Focus: Local scale water quality monitoring on cane farms
    • Catchments: Russell-Mulgrave
    • Investment:
    • Funder: National Environmental Science Program
    • Delivery Partner: Canegrowers Cairns, Reef & Rainforest Research Centre
    • Listen to our Reef & Rivers podcast to find out more.
    May 2016
    Cane to Creek Project

    Cane to Creek 2016-2019  

    • Focus: Assisting cane growers to achieve nutrient management best practice
    • Catchments: Russell-Mulgrave
    • Funder: Queensland Government
    • Delivery Partner: SRA
    May 2016
    GBR Water Science Taskforce
    GBR Water Science Taskforce

    In May 2015 the Queensland Government established the Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce to advise on how to invest $90 million over 5 years to achieve ambitious water quality targets. The final report was published in May 2016. 

     

    2014
    April 2014
    Reef Trust Phase 1 Tenders

    Reef Trust Phase 1 Tenders 2014-2018

    • Focus: Reduction in dissolved inorganic nitrogen runoff from cane farms. Funding allocated to 14 cane farmers through a market-based competitive tender process who trialled the new nutrient management practices.
    • Catchments: Participants mostly located in Tully, Murray and Herbert
    • Investment: $1.7 million
    • Funder: Australian Government
    • Delivery partners: Terrain NRM
    April 2014
    Project Catalyst

    Project Catalyst 2014 – ongoing

    • Focus: Development of a network of cane farmers who are trialling innovative cane farming practices
    • Catchments: All
    • Funder: Australian Government’s Reef Trust, Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Coca Cola
    • Delivery partners: Terrain NRM/Catchment Solutions
    • Go to www.projectcatalyst.net.au to find out more

     

    January 2014
    SmartCane BMP

    SmartCane BMP 2014- to date 

    • Focus: Accreditation program for cane farmers to record and verify practice changes
    • Catchments: Herbert, Tully, Johnstone, Russell-Mulgrave, Mossman
    • Funder: Queensland Government
    • Delivery Partner: Canegrowers
    • More information: www.smartcane.com.au
    2008
    April 2008
    Reef Rescue 2008-2016

    Reef Rescue (Reef Programme) 2008-2016

    • Focus: Incentive grants, training and extension services to facilitate change in farming practices in cane, bananas, grazing, dairy, pawpaw and multi-crop.
    • Catchments: All
    • Investment: $65 million
    • Funder: Australian Government
    • Delivery partners: Terrain NRM in partnership with agricultural industries