The Australian Government is providing $4.86 million for five organisations to work with landholders to address the vast issue of gully erosion in the Great Barrier Reef catchments.
Under the Reef Trust Gully Erosion Control Program, five organisations will undertake projects in six priority catchments to reduce the erosion of sediment into the Great Barrier Reef by supporting activities such as fencing off gully areas, revegetation, adoption of improved land management practices, and gully reshaping where appropriate.
The successful projects will be delivered in high risk areas within the Cape York, Burdekin, Fitzroy and Burnett-Mary natural resource management regions and will be delivered in partnership with private landholders to address gully erosion on their land.
This is the first targeted investment under the Reef Trust that addresses the considerable challenge that gully erosion presents to the Great Barrier Reef. Sediment erosion causes the highest amounts of fine sediment runoff to the Great Barrier Reef, which directly affects seagrass and corals.
In addition to funding from the Australian Government, projects have identified significant in-kind contributions, including labor (such as fencing, stock removal and revegetation), materials and machinery from landholders, to deliver cost-effective and long-term reductions in sediment runoff entering the waters of the Great Barrier Reef.