Torres Strait - Natural Resource Management region
Regional summary
Torres Strait is a unique natural resource management (NRM) region, predominantly marine, which is crossed by an international shipping channel. It consists of the marine area between the tip of Cape York and Papua New Guinea and the 200 or so islands scattered throughout this area. The Australian Government has jurisdictional responsibility over most of the marine area while the Queensland Government retains responsibility for the islands. Most of the region's 9000 inhabitants live on 15 islands. Eighty-five percent of these residents are traditional owners who maintain a strong traditional culture.
Much of the region is also covered by the Australia-Papua New Guinea Torres Strait Treaty, which includes clauses about the management of some natural resources. Much of the land catchment for the region is also in Papua New Guinea. The region is the only Australian NRM region with an international border as one of its boundaries.
Over this reporting period alternative arrangements for the delivery of NRM activities in the region have been explored due to a change in NRM delivery agencies. Some progress was made towards the development of a natural resource management plan for the region.
Priority issues
Key natural resource management issues in the region include:
- sustainable management of dugong and turtle populations
- coastal erosion
- fresh water and waste management
- sharing resource access and management with coastal communities of Papua New Guinea
Regional plan
The Torres Strait NRM Board was responsible for developing the Torres Strait regional plan. This involved consultation with residents, leaders, government agencies and consultants. The plan was based on a whole-of-region approach and will address significant NRM issues incorporating social, environmental and economic aspects.
Once the regional plan was accredited, the Torres Strait NRM Board 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.
This consultation process builds the capacity of the board members and the wider community in their knowledge and understanding of the Torres Strait region and its NRM needs.
Current activities
The Torres Strait NRM Board represents key stakeholders including local government, community, traditional landowners, fishing interests, conservation and education interests. It sets policy and makes decisions about NRM for the Torres Strait.
The board is a point of contact for all natural resource needs and consulted widely on all issues associated with the development of the regional NRM Plan.
The Torres Strait region is being challenged to maintain and improve the ecological and environmental health of its natural resources. The key problem areas are:
- maintaining sustainable harvest levels of important species such as Tropical Rock Lobster and Finfish
- maintenance of viable populations of important species such as Dugong and Turtle
- coastal erosion, which is threatening beachfronts as well as nearby trees, buildings, cemeteries and freshwater holding infrastructure
Contacts
Further information can be obtained by contacting the Regional Facilitators for Queensland.
Region summaries
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia
You can also use your town name to find your NRM Region.
Key
Links to another web site
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