River lovers around the world will unite this World Rivers Day, Sunday 28 September, and West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (CMA) is taking the opportunity to highlight their beauty and importance and give them a special ‘thank you’ for working so hard to allow us the quality of life we all enjoy. 

“West Gippsland’s rivers give us water to drink and use, support agricultural productivity and enrich our lifestyles,” said Martin Fuller, CEO of West Gippsland CMA. 

“Rivers are also living entities filled with life and cultural significance. Our work at the CMA aims to give back to the catchment by restoring and reconnecting rivers to transform them from working rivers to healthy rivers where the natural cycles are working again.” 

Restoring rivers requires a planned and long term approach working along their course from their source in the mountains to where they enter the sea. West Gippsland CMA cares for 40,000 kilometres of waterways that flow into Bass Strait, the Southern Ocean and Gippsland Lakes.  

“The CMA team follows the lead and knowledge of Traditional Owners and works with landholders, partners and community. Our vision is of a healthy catchment where native fish and wildlife can thrive, agriculture is productive and sustainable and the community can enjoy and contribute to river health in their own area of the catchment.” 

Across the world, rivers need help and the unique model of Victoria’s Catchment Management Authorities allows teams to be on the ground delivering dedicated works towards river health. In 2024-25, working on programs funded by the Australian and Victorian governments, West Gippsland CMA delivered: 

• 204 hectares of revegetation
• 1,194 hectares of weed control
• 312,084 hectares of pest animal control
• events attended by 2,330 people.

The CMA also celebrated 20 years of allocating water specifically to help the environment in the Carran Carran (Thomson River) and a quarter of a century of sustainable irrigation initiatives in the Macalister Irrigation District with over 1,200 irrigation improvement projects across 94% of the district. 

“We love rivers and are proud to be working for them in West Gippsland. We hope you’ll join us in caring for the waterway in your local patch,” Martin concluded. 

World Rivers Day is a celebration of the world’s waterways. It highlights the many values of our rivers, strives to increase public awareness, and encourages the improved stewardship of all rivers around the world.  Rivers in virtually every country face an array of threats, and only through our active involvement can we ensure their health in the years ahead.   

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About the river lovers at West Gippsland CMA

With a focus on rivers and their catchments, the CMA works every day to improve catchment health through a range of programs and projects spanning from working towards self determination for Traditional Owners, partnering with legends like Landcare, Trust for Nature and Greening Australia and building relationships with the amazing landholders and community who are willing to work for river and catchment health.  

The CMA delivers programs for rivers to remove weeds, fence and revegetate waterways, recover from floods, deliver water for the environment to bring rivers back towards their natural flows, restore wetlands and work with farmers to be at the forefront of sustainable agriculture.  

This work ultimately flows onto a more healthy and resilient home for wildlife and the West Gippsland community.