Environment Centre NT has launched a dedicated website called cottonkillsrivers.org.au.

"The proposals being put forward are to establish large-scale cotton in the Territory, including clearing tens of thousands of hectares of bushland, and increasing large-scale irrigation," Jason Fowler from the Environment Centre NT said.

NT Farmers has backed a proposal to build a cotton gin in Katherine to boost plans for more cotton planting in the NT.

Farmers insist almost all crops would be rain-fed and not rely on irrigation and agree rivers need to be protected.

Territory Alliance has already stated it would "co-fund" the $30 million cotton gin to the tune of about $10 million to see the industry develop.

"This could have disastrous impacts on our landscapes, rivers, wildlife and way of life," Mr Fowler said.

"It's extremely concerning to consider the threat to our water supply. A recent consultant's report flagged the industry wants to create nearly 150,000 hectares of cotton, including 22,000 hectares of irrigated cotton.

"Around the world and in Australia there have been consistently disastrous outcomes for rivers, lakes and wetlands when large scale cotton becomes established.

"Our tropical rivers are more sensitive to change than rivers in southern Australia because of the climate in northern Australia.

"We have a long and extreme Dry season every year - one of the longest in the world. Irrigation systems take water that would be part of natural flows, resulting in rivers drying out prematurely in the Dry, and reducing beneficial floods in the Wet that fish like Barra and prawns depend on for breeding."

"An independent assessment by the prestigious Australian Academy of Science assessed that the horrific mass fish kills along the Darling River last year were caused by over-extraction of water by irrigation upstream, stripping water from the river which was already impacted by drought.

"Many of these fish were decades old, and had obviously survived previous droughts.

"We can't let our iconic rivers like the Daly, Douglas and Roper be degraded and destroyed as has happened to the Darling River, and other rivers in southern Australia.

"Until the cotton industry can make the Darling and Murray Rivers healthy again they shouldn't be allowed to move into our rivers in the Territory."

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