Flourishing Rivers
The Northern Territory is home to some of the world’s last free-flowing rivers, largely unimpeded by dams and weirs.
Territory rivers like the Daly, Roper, Adelaide and Victoria remain in good shape – they haven’t been dammed, over-extracted and polluted like rivers down south.
Cared for by Traditional Owners for millennia, the Territory’s rivers are still governed by seasons rather than irrigators.
But right now, these rivers are at risk from unprecedented industrial scale agriculture, fracking and weak environmental laws.
Save Our Springs
Despite fierce opposition from Traditional Owners, tourism and environment groups, the Finocchiaro government approved the Mataranka Water Allocation Plan in December 2024.
That’s why the Environment Centre NT, represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, has launched a legal challenge to protect the iconic Mataranka Springs and Roper River ecosystems. We've asked the Northern Territory Supreme Court to rule the plan is invalid and are awaiting judgment.
Learn more about the Save our Springs campaign.
Traditional Owner-led governance on the Roper
Traditional Owners along the Roper River have made their voices clear – they want formal roles in the planning and protection of rivers.
We support the landmark Ropa Woda Governance Council - which is calling for a complete ban on all future water extraction licenses in the Roper catchment, legal protection for environmental and Indigenous cultural values, and inclusion of the new Ropa Woda Governance Council in ALL water decision-making.
This isn't just about one river – it's about setting a precedent for Traditional Owner-led river governance across Australia.
Cotton kills rivers
In total, up to 100,000 hectares of cotton development is planned across the NT, including as part of Keep Plains Development Area.
Environment Centre NT fears the recent Ord 3 clearing application (at Sprit Hills Station) is another sign that the cotton industry from the Murray Darling basin is moving north to clear thousands of hectares of savanna and extract billions of litres of water from some of the world’s last free-flowing rivers.
Territorians know that cotton kills rivers because we've seen what's happened to the Murray River system.
Stop the deforestation crisis
The Territory is home to the world's largest intact savanna woodland. but it's being bulldozed at an alarming rate.
Environment Centre NT is spotlighting the bulldozing of critical habitat at other pastoral stations across the Territory, which make up 45% of the Northern Territory's land mass.
The Pastoral Land Board has waved through nearly 100,000 ha of bulldozing on NT pastoral leases in just the last six years.
Unlike every other jurisdiction, the NT does not have specific land clearing laws. This means deforestation proposals are being waved through by the Pastoral Land Board, which is set up to promote industry interests, not protect our nature.
Save Lee Point
Because of an extraordinary community effort led by Larrakia Traditional Owners, Lee Point/ Binybara is still standing.
But right now, the only thing standing in the way of Defence Housing Australia bulldozing Darwin’s last biodiversity corridor for its controversial housing development is environmental offsets.
Developers call this “offsetting, but let's call it what it is: a pay to destroy scheme.
To continue destroying this precious place, DHA needs to ‘find’ habitat somewhere else for the threatened species that live at Lee Point. The bad news is there’s little evidence that offsetting equals a better outcome for threatened species.
Sign the petition to stop the offsets and save Lee Point: Minister Watt, you can't offset Lee Point/Binybara
What can you do to support our campaigns?
We work closely with First Nations organisations, activists, Traditional Owners as well as non-indigenous community stakeholders to act as your watchdog for the Territory's Nature.
Find out more on our volunteers page.