50 years ago today, the international treaty for the protection of internationally significant wetlands came into effect. The RAMSAR convention was to support populations of migratory birds, endangered species, purify drinking water, and sink carbon. 

Take Action Today to support wetlands!

Environmental approvals and public consultations are underway for the development of 9 Victorian Floodplain infrastructure projects.   

The Victorian Murray Floodplain Restoration Project (VMFRP) consists of 9 subsidiary projects,
proposed by the Victorian government, that have been included as supply measures under the SDL
Adjustment Mechanism (SDLAM) in the Basin Plan. They are infrastructure projects, involving
regulators, levee banks and pump stations, and are intended to water small areas of floodplain
forest and wetlands.

A NSW Upper House inquiry is underway into the impacts of dams in the Murray Darling fast tracked by NSW Government.

The Murray-Darling supports RAMSAR wetlands and critical ecosystems for endangered fish & migratory birds and supplies food for millions. So whether you live near a project, downstream or elsewhere in Australia these projects effect you! 

Make a Submission Today!

Friends of the Earth podcast history series made in collaboration with 3CR 855 AM community radio show Acting Up!    Monday 2.00pm.  Ratbags, peaceniks and agents of change, resistance radio that explores the movements that made us.

45 years of Acting Up!  Friends of the Earth Barmah-Millewa Collective audio episode

Listen up mp3
Presenter: Megan Williams.
Guests: Aunty Monica Morgan (Yorta Yorta), Jono La Nauze, Indira Narayan.

River Red Gum forest and wetlands (photo: Environment Victoria)

Follow the mighty Murray River 200km north of Melbourne to where the Barmah-Millewa forest grows.  This ancient expanse of woodlands and vital wetlands is the largest River Red Gum forest in the world.  In 1998 Yorta Yorta leaders, the Indigenous custodians, asked Friends of the Earth to join them in a campaign to protect Barmah-Millewa and re-establish their right to manage their river country, forming the Barmah-Millewa Collective in 2000.  Listen and learn how 12 years of resistance, resilience and activist alliances led to the creation of Barmah-Millewa National Parks and Protected Areas in Victoria and NSW, to be returned and co-managed by Traditional Owners.  Read on to find out how you can help Friends of the Earth to protect rivers and forests in 2020 into the future.

It's been a year like no other, pandemics and uprisings dominate the news, but River Country is hard at work adapting to keep up the fight for our rivers.

See this year's news on community events, protests, and how we're collaborating with allies to have an impact in 2020. 

Water beginning to trickle down the lower Darling has come as a saving grace in a moment of global crisis. 

The first flush down the Darling-Barka in 3 years was always going to bring joy and hope to towns like Menindee, but as Australia braces for the potential public health crisis of COVID-19, the importance of this water cannot be understated.

The first river flows in 3 years are making their way down the Darling Barka, but its a bittersweet sight for communities excited to see the first flows but outraged to see them disappear into private dams.

The headwaters haven't even run the course of the river, but NSW Water Minister has allowed pumps to be turned on across the catchment.

Thats not right, its time to Flood The Minister!

The Murray Darling Basin Plan is fraught with mismanagement, lies and misinformation. With so much conflicting information circulating about our river systems it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. That's why we've gone and busted some of the harmful myths that are out there.

The truth behind keeping our river alive is simpler than you think. Healthy rivers need water, we need truth and integrity in the Murray Darling Basin.

Get ready, this Monday ABC's Q&A program will be all about our rivers!

Featuring Federal Water Minister David Littleproud, Shadow Agriculture Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, NFF President Fiona Simon, Senior Researcher at the Australia Institute Maryanne Slattery and Kate McBride from Tolarno Station to talk all things water.

Now is our chance to put the hard questions to the politicians! Ask a question here