Paddock to Reef
Written by Fiona Barron   
The Paddock to Reef Program (P2R) is a reef-wide integrated monitoring, modelling and reporting program. This work is fundamental to monitoring evaluation and reporting on the outcomes of the Reef Plan activities and forms a component of the overall Reef Plan monitoring and evaluation strategy (see link below). The project will contribute data on management practice adoption, quantify the water quality benefits of improved practices and evaluate progress toward Reef Plan targets. P2R aims to provide information that will support farmers and graziers involved in improving land management practices for water quality.

The work links to;

Reef-wide Integrated Monitoring Modelling and Reporting program elements including;
  • Catchment modelling
  • End of catchments load monitoring
  • Marine monitoring program
  • Reef Plan reporting
  • Economic monitoring and modelling
  • Reef protection package
  • Reef Rescue
  • Water Quality Improvement Plans?Healthy waters Management Plans
  • QPI&F Future Cane/Smut and Demonstration Farms

The program commenced on-ground site preparations in January 2010 in partnership with industry, landholders, state government, community and research organisations. The Terrain Paddock Monitoring Program has monitoring sites at;

  • two cane properties in the Upper Murray catchment in the Tully-Murray basin,
  • a cane property near Ingham in the Herbert catchment and
  • two banana sites at the South Johnstone research Station in the Johnstone catchment.

Project delivery partners include The Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM), The Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research (ACTFR), The Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI), and BSES Ltd.

The information gathered from the monitoring will:

  • quantify water quality outcomes for B and C land management practices in cane and bananas
  • provide information regarding pollutants (sediments, nutrients and pesticides)
  • provide regional information for the Reef Report Card, (a communication product that will be published each year with information for all the reef regions).

 

Demo Farm updates


  • Herbert
  • Tully

Wet Tropics results

 

Report cards

The Reef Water Quality Protection Plan (Reef Plan) First Report Card sets a baseline against which progress towards achieving  targets will be measured. The report card presents results up to 2009 and therefore does not include the more recent flood events which will be presented in subsequent reports.

Wet Tropics First Report Card

Wet Tropics Detailed Technical Report  

http://www.reefplan.qld.gov.au/measuring-success/report-cards/first-report-card.aspx

The Performance Outlook shows the extent of on-ground changes occuring in all catchments adjacent to the reef since the introduction of the Reef Plan

Reef Plan Performance Outlook .


Links

Paddock to Reef Program (P2R)

Reef Plan