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Central West - Natural Resource Management region

Regional summary

The Central West region covers 92,200 square kilometres from the central tablelands around Oberon, Bathurst and Rylstone to the western plains around Nyngan, Brewarrina and Coonamble. Biophysically the region covers a wide diversity of landforms, vegetation species and communities. Soil types throughout the region also vary considerably, ranging from robust durable soils to very fragile soils. This creates significant management issues for erosion control, nutrient management and salinity management.

Agriculturally, the region is highly diverse, which adds to the complexity of natural resource management issues. Grazing industries dominate the eastern highlands and western plains, and there is extensive winter cropping on the central west slopes and inner plains; intensive viticulture and horticulture around Mudgee, Orange and on the Bell River floodplain; and irrigated cotton and other summer crops on the Macquarie River floodplain. Forestry industries based on softwood plantations in the eastern highlands and native hardwood stands (mainly white cypress) on the plains are also important. Mining activities are carried out in the eastern highlands (gold, copper, coal) and on the western margin (copper, gold, base metals).

Priority issues

Key natural resource management issues in the region include:

• dryland salinity
• declining surface water quality
• declining health and extent of native vegetation
• degradation of river and wetland ecosystems
• deterioration of soils

Regional plan

The former Central West Catchment Management Board - predecessor to the current Central West Catchment Management Authority - prepared an integrated natural resource management plan (NRM), the blueprint, for what is now the Central West region, incorporating social, economic and environmental elements of NRM. This blueprint is based on a whole-of-catchment approach and sets 10-year catchment condition targets for the priority NRM issues of the region. It outlines the tasks that need to be accomplished to achieve these targets.

This blueprint forms the basis for the development of an Investment Strategy that is used to attract funding from the Australian and state sovernments, and from other sources, for the specific actions identified in the Investment Strategy.

The region is the state's second largest and recognises the importance of effective NRM for a sustainable future, and a clear understanding of the challenges it faces. The Central West Catchment Blueprint details a programme of activities to achieve specific outcomes. This document will provide direction for NRM within the region, including for water and native vegetation management plans.

Current activities

NRM priority	Activities addressing the priority
People and community	providing strategically placed coordination and support to natural resource management community groups and to implement priority actions within identified sub-catchments
Water quality	managing buffer strips and drainage lines that reduce transfer of nutrients into the riparian zone stabilising gully heads to reduce sediment contributions to streams
Salinity	increasing areas of well-managed perennials that minimise water table recharge retaining and managing remnant vegetation in saline landscapes to control water table accessions and saline outbreaks developing effective interception plantings to control recharge for salinity management increasing water use efficiency on cropped landscapes
Vegetation and biodiversity	managing, revegetating and reconstructing high conservation value and significant communities Mmnaging public lands to integrate management plans that optimise nature conservation
Soils and land use	managing croplands using best management practices to protect soil health. managing sodic soils to reduce the impact on their soil structure and to restore productive vegetative cover developing new and innovative agricultural systems
Indigenous engagement	establishing reference groups with the appropriate members of the Aboriginal community to ensure involvement in natural resource management decision-making increasing knowledge and understanding of the traditional practices of the Aboriginal community in sustainable land management

Contacts

Further information can be obtained by contacting the Regional Facilitators for New South Wales.