Climate Experience:

Citizen has noticed a reduction in brolga numbers.

Scientific Explanation:

  • Changes in water flow regimes and the drying of the region impacts waterbirds that need wetlands for food supply or breeding habitat.[1]
  • Stream flow has decreased in southern Australia since the 70s.[2]
  • The Grampians region is getting drier, 13 of the last 15 years have been below average rainfall.[3]
  • Waterbirds are under pressure across the east coast, a 2015 survey found that abundance is at the second lowest on record.[4]

Ramifications:

  • As Victoria continues to become drier there will be a negative impact on water bird populations.[5]

What can be done?

  • Email your local MP and tell them that action on climate is important to you and explain the impacts being felt in your area. One email might not feel like much but most politicians consider it to be representative of 100 citizens.
  • Help support the Act on Climate collective by donatingwe are leading the charge for climate action. Your donation helps in advancing policies that prevent climate change from getting worse, we aim to empower communities and build a strong pro-climate-action constituency that governments can’t ignore, and as an added bonus it’s tax-deductable.
  • Get involved with Act on Climate. We meet every Monday at 6pm (upstairs at 312 Smith St, Collingwood) and welcome all newcomers to join in the fight for climate justice. If you are unable to attend, follow us on Facebook, Twitterand Instagram to keep up with the latest campaign.

* We aim to keep our material as accurate and as relevant as possible. Working with climate science, a field that is being constantly updated, keeps us on our toes. Information on this site was gathered on June 1 2019; if you notice information that needs updating please let us know. For the full reference list please see the following.

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[1]Anthony C Scott, Relationships between Waterbird Ecology and River Flows in the Murray-Darling Basin(CSIRO Land and Water Canberra, 1997).3.

[2]CSIRO, “State of the Climate.”9.

[3]“Australian Climate Change Site Data – Drung Drung”, Bureau of Meteorology, access April 23 2019, http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/hqsites/site_data.cgi?variable=rain&area=aus&station=079010&dtype=anom&period=annual&ave_yr=0

[4]Porter, Kingsford, and Brandis, “Aerial Survey of Wetland Birds in Eastern Australia–October 2016 Annual Summary Report.”2.

[5]Scott, Relationships between Waterbird Ecology and River Flows in the Murray-Darling Basin.11.