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Mackay Whitsunday - Natural Resource Management region

Regional summary

The Mackay Whitsunday region covers a land-based area of 10,785 square kilometres and an ocean-based area of 49,616 square kilometres. The regional boundaries include the Pioneer-O'Connell and Proserpine catchments, which drain into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. Sub-regions include the Mackay, Sarina and Whitsundays. There are significant biodiversity areas throughout the region, mainly in national parks and state lands, including significant marine parks.

The region has relatively high rainfall, particularly in the coastal areas, and high temperatures and humidity. Population pressures are increasing, particularly in the Mackay City, Whitsunday and Sarina areas where coastal village and rural residential development is placing pressure on good quality agricultural land.

The dominant land use in the region is sugar cane production but grazing, tourism and aquaculture are significant regional industries. Coal mining is the largest export earner for the region but is not a significant land use compared with other primary industries.

The Mackay Whitsunday Natural Resource Management (NRM) Group secured foundation funding and priority action project support in 2003-04. The Group's NRM plan and regional investment strategy were endorsed by ministers in July 2005 with funding of $2.54 million. A major priority project to eradicate Mimosa pigra was effective in preventing a weed of national significance from becoming a major threat to land condition throughout the state. The investment strategy also included funding to combat Mimosa pigra.

Priority issues

Key natural resource management issues in the region include:

• reef protection, specifically improving water quality and sustainable land management practice
• biodiversity protection and improvement in both the terrestrial and marine environments
• invasive pest species, specifically Mimosa pigra

Regional plan

The Mackay Whitsunday Regional Strategy Group Inc was established in March 1998 to improve the links between the community and the government regarding NRM.

The group was responsible for developing the Mackay Whitsunday regional plan, in consultation with the local community. This plan was based on a whole-of-region approach and addresses significant NRM issues incorporating social, environmental and economic aspects. The plan was submitted for accreditation in late 2004.

The Mackay Whitsunday Regional Strategy Group was responsible for developing the regional investment strategy. This is essentially the business plan that attracts investment from the Australian and state governments and details the specific actions, costs and timeframes required to implement the regional plan.

The Regional Strategy Group liased extensively with Sarina, Pioneer and Whitsunday catchment communities through their Integrated Catchment Management Associations. Contributions from Landcare groups, River Improvement Trusts, Local Government Planning Schemes, and State Agency Strategic Plans were also captured in the regional plan.

• Mackay Whitsunday plan  - accredited May 2005

Current activities

NRM priority	Activities addressing the priority
Land planning, development and management	develop policy which achieves an integrated use of land, water and related natural resources development of guidelines for sustainable land management practices farming including voluntary codes of practice and benchmarks implement property management planning to assist achieve agricultural production which is sustainable and economically viable encourage control of pests on both state and private lands
Water management	develop a riparian zone management plan for the region develop water management plans for the region that effectively address environmental flow requirements develop a Water Quality Protection and Improvement Plan that incorporates water quality objectives for catchments and set end of catchment targets
Coastal and marine management	establish a monitoring programme to determine the effects of catchment activities on downstream estuarine and marine areas, including fish habitat, inshore fringing reefs and seagrass habitat
Vegetation management	develop action plans to restore and rehabilitate areas important to biodiversity conservation

Contacts

Further information can be obtained by contacting the Regional Facilitators for Queensland.