Caring for our Country - Reef Rescue
Reef Rescue is a key component of Caring for our Country, the Australian Government's $2.25 billion, initiative to restore the health of Australia's environment and improve land management practices. It represents a new, coordinated approach to environmental management in Australia that is built on transparent and consistent national targets.
Queensland farmers, agricultural, tourism, fishing and aquaculture industries, Indigenous communities, conservation groups, research organisers and most importantly, the Great Barrier Reef, will benefit from Reef Rescue's investment of $200 million over five years in actions that protect one of the world's great natural wonders.
Reef Rescue's objective is to improve the water quality of the Great Barrier Reef lagoon by increasing the adoption of land management practices that reduce the run-off of nutrients, pesticides and sediments from agricultural land.
Specific targets and five-year outcomes from Caring for our Country, including the Reef Rescue component, can be found in the Caring for our Country business plan.
Reef Rescue is made up of five integrated components that will work together to achieve the above objective:
- Water Quality Grants ($146 million over five years)
- Reef Partnerships ($12 million over five years)
- Land and Sea Country Indigenous Partnerships ($10 million over five years)
- Reef Water Quality Research and Development ($10 million over five years)
- Water Quality Monitoring and Reporting, including the publication of an annual Great Barrier Reef Water Quality Report Card ($22 million over five years)
The Water Quality Grants component will provide funds to land owners and managers to implement improved land management practices to reduce the amount of nutrients, chemicals and sediments leaving their farms and impacting on Reef water quality.
The Reef Partnerships component will provide assistance for extending information to, and help to build relevant skills in land owners and managers. This may include assistance for group activities, on-site risk assessments, the development of farm management systems and property plans, and industry and community wide environmental management and awareness programs.
During the first year of Reef Rescue, the Water Quality Grants and Reef Partnerships components are being rolled out through collaborative action by Queensland coastal regional natural resource management bodies and peak agricultural industry bodies. Through their existing natural resource management planning activities addressing water quality, these groups are well positioned to deliver on first year Reef Rescue investments.
For more information on the implementation of Land and Sea Country Indigenous Partnerships, Reef Water Quality Research and Development, and Water Quality Monitoring and Reporting components please refer to the Caring for our Country business plan 2009-10.
Call for Reef Rescue Registrations of Interest under the Caring for our Country Business Plan 2009-10
The Australian Government has commenced work with key partners to deliver the first phase of Reef Rescue. These key partners include: regional bodies located within the Great Barrier Reef catchment, the Queensland Regional Groups' Collective, the Queensland Farmers' Federation, Growcom, Canegrowers, the Queensland Dairy Organisation, Cotton Australia, AgForce, the World Wildlife Fund, the Queensland Government and various research organisations. The roles of these key partners vary, and range from the provision of on-ground services where work is undertaken with primary producers to improve on-farm practices - through to the provision of scientific and policy advice.
The 2009-10 Caring for our Country business plan provides an opportunity for the Australian Government to refine and enhance the delivery of Reef Rescue for subsequent years through engaging stakeholders in a Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA). As part of this process the Australian Government Land and Coasts team will be working with the CSIRO, the Bureau of Rural Sciences and identified stakeholders to identify areas within the reef's catchment where the quality of water entering the reef lagoon can be improved with the assistance of Reef Rescue investment. This MCA process will take place between 15 December 2008 and 1 March 2009.
Registrations of interest are now invited from organisations wishing to participate in the MCA. The MCA will outline the process for accessing Reef Rescue funds and work towards setting the priorities for Australian Government investment in 2009-13. Priorities for Australian Government investment will be considered in the context of Reef Rescue's objective, which is to improve the water quality of the Great Barrier Reef lagoon by increasing the adoption of land management practices that reduce the run-off of nutrients, pesticides and sediments from agricultural land.
Organisations with skills and experience to enhance the MCA process and complement the skills of the previously identified key partners are encouraged to register. Note: new registrations of interest are not required from the previously identified key partners listed above.
Completed registration of interest forms will need to be submitted by email by 5pm (EDST) on 11 December 2008 to:
Mr Peter Cotsell
Director - Reef Rescue
peter.cotsell@nrm.gov.au
or by faxing to (02) 6272 5282. If submitting your registration of interest by fax, please confirm receipt of fax by telephoning Peter Cotsell on (02) 6272 5125.
Other sources of funding
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