Precious wetlands in the Murray Darling Basin have largely disappeared, a sign of ecological crisis in the making in Australia.

The country has failed to deliver on its obligation under the international Ramsar Convention to protect its wetlands, says Max Finlayson, a senior wetland ecologist and environmental scientist at Charles Sturt University (CSU).

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance was the first modern inter-governmental treaty between nations aiming to conserve natural resources. The signing of the Convention on Wetlands took place during 1971 in the small Iranian town of Ramsar.

Under the Ramsar Convention a wide variety of natural and human-made habitat types, ranging from rivers to coral reefs, can be classified as wetlands. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, billabongs, lakes, salt marshes, mudflats, mangroves, coral reefs, fens, peat bogs, or bodies of water - whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary. Water within these areas can be static or flowing; fresh, brackish or saline; and can include inland rivers and coastal or marine water to a depth of six meters at low tide. There are even underground wetlands.

Countries that joined the convention had agreed to protect the ecological character of listed sites, include wetland conservation within their national land-use planning and also establish nature reserves on wetlands and promote wetland training.

Australia currently has 65 Wetlands of International Importance listed under the Ramsar Convention covering approximately 7.5 million hectares.