To celebrate World Wetlands Day, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) has rolled out improved wetland kiosks in Mackay, Townsville and Ingham.

The wetland kiosks are interactive touch screens that highlight the importance of wetlands to the health of the Great Barrier Reef and they have undergone an upgrade to improve the user experience.

GBRMPA Director Coastal Ecosystems and Water Quality, Mr Hugh Yorkston said wetlands were vital to the protection of the Great Barrier Reef and the more people learnt about their importance the better it was for the Reef.

"Wetlands provide an essential link between the catchment and Reef, acting as nursery grounds for some important commercial and recreational fish species such as barramundi and mangrove jack," Mr Yorkston said.

"There are a large variety of wetlands along the Reef's catchment and each has its own unique mix of plants and animals that rely on these ecosystems staying healthy.

"Wetlands are vital to the Great Barrier Reef, they protect our coastline and have the potential to reduce flooding impacts.

"The importance of wetlands adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef cannot be overstated – without healthy wetlands the Reef would simply not be able to function."

Mr Yorkston encouraged all members of their local community to learn more about their local wetlands.

The Mackay, Townsville and Ingham communities will be the first to take advantage of the wealth of information contained in the wetland kiosks with other kiosks to be rolled out in the coming months.

The wetland kiosks were developed by the Queensland Wetlands Program, a joint initiative of the Australian and Queensland governments to protect wetlands in the Great Barrier Reef catchment and throughout Queensland.

Conservation and protection of wetlands in the Great Barrier Reef catchment is achieved by strong partnerships with the GBRMPA, the Department of Environment and Resource Management, WetlandCare Australia, Reef Guardian councils and schools, Natural Resource Management groups, and the community.

The theme for World Wetlands Day 2012 is Wetlands and tourism.

Wetland tourism has benefits both locally and nationally for people and wildlife.

These benefits include stronger economies, sustainable livelihoods, healthy people and thriving ecosystems.

World Wetlands Day is celebrated each year on 2 February and marks the anniversary of the signing of the Convention of Wetlands in Ramsar, Iran in 1971.