Wetlands in Sydney were considered mere swamps twenty years ago. They were used and in some cases are still being used as cheap land for development.

But they will receive far greater protection with the release early this year of a Model Development Control Plan (DCP) called "Sydney's Wetlands". Senior Research Consultant Kendall Banfield of the Institute for Sustainable Futures is the plan's project manager.

Commissioned by the Sydney Coastal Councils Group, he has worked with the Group and the Protecting Wetlands Steering Committee to design policies that ensure the preservation of the wetlands as part of Sydney's natural heritage.

The project signals the first time that a coordinated approach has been made to protect Sydney's wetlands. Current coastal wetlands policies administered by the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning (DUAP) do not apply to the Sydney area "Unless we have something coordinated in place we may lose the few we have left, so protecting wetlands in Sydney becomes all the more important," said Mr Banfield.

The aim of the project is to encourage local councils to adopt the recommendations of the Model DCP to protect wetlands. According to Mr Banfield "the other component is that there would be some provision inserted into the next level - Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) in order to give the DCP extra statutory weight".

The plan will recommend that there is a set of objectives for good wetlands practice management. To meet these objectives, Sydney's wetlands are being mapped by the Sydney Coastal Councils Group, with the assistance of DUAP; resulting in the definition of wetland zones.

Included in the new zones will be a one hundred-metre buffer zone surrounding all wetlands to provide extra protection. "Development proposed in the buffer zone will require the submission of additional information and developments proposed in the wetlands area would need to supply even more information to prove they are not threatening the wetlands themselves," said Mr Banfield.