• Change text size
• Skip to content

Caring for our Country

What is NRM?

• About us
• Contact us

Search:

Home

• What is Natural Resource Management (NRM)?
  • What's an NRM region?
  • What's an NRM plan?
  • Who manages NRM?
  • Policies, agreements and frameworks
• What can I do?
  • Building capacity
  • Engaging communities
  • For landholders
  • Find a facilitator
  • Indigenous communities and NRM
  • NRM discussion forum
  • Volunteer
• Business plan 2009-10
  • Information sheets
  • Information sessions
  • Priority coastal hotspots
  • Planning your project
  • FAQs
• Funding
  • 2008 funding
  • A-Z list
• Funded projects
  • Community Coastcare announcement
  • Open Grants announcement
  • NSW
  • Vic
  • Qld
  • SA
  • WA
  • Tas
  • NT
  • ACT
• Data, maps and research
  • Atlases
  • Spatial data
  • Reporting tools
  • Managing data
• Monitoring and evaluation
  • Setting and reporting on targets
  • Measuring performance through indicators
  • National and regional evaluations
• Publications
  • Agreements
  • Annual reports
  • Books and reports
  • Brochures
  • Case studies
  • Fact sheets
  • Frameworks
  • Guidelines
  • Legislation
  • Links
  • Logos
  • Media releases
  • Newsletters
  • Policies
  • Strategies

Mallee - Natural Resource Management region

Regional summary

The Mallee region covers 3,925,584 hectares of the northwest corner of Victoria and is home to 61,100 people. It is characterised by diverse land systems and unique vegetation types. The Mallee region is agriculturally diverse, covering key irrigation areas and extensive dryland cropping and grazing areas. The irrigated area around Mildura is one of the richest agricultural areas in Australia, producing wine, dried fruits, olives, citrus fruits and vegetables.

The Mallee is sparsely populated in outlying areas, making it difficult to source labour for regenerative activities. In addition, the area of land under irrigation is continuing to expand due to water trading.

This requires careful management to ensure it does not contribute to the problems of rising saline groundwater, which can threaten the integrity of nationally and internationally important environmental assets such as the Ramsar-listed Hattah-Kulkyne Lakes.

Aquatic and riparian (riverbank) biota, such as the Murray Cod and River Red Gums, continue to suffer from altered flooding regimes and decreased water quality. Wind erosion is a major concern and efforts to alter land management techniques and introduce whole-farm planning are working to address this issue.

Priority issues

Key natural resource management issues in the region include:

• biodiversity
• waterways
• water resources
• land resources
• cultural heritage sites
• community capacity

Regional plan

The Mallee Catchment Management Authority was responsible for developing the Mallee Regional Catchment Strategy, in consultation with the local community. This strategy was based on a 'whole of region' approach and addresses significant natural resource management (NRM) issues incorporating social, environmental and economic aspects. The Regional Catchment Strategy is supported by a host of regional action plans that identify specific actions to achieve the outcomes identified in the strategy.

Once the regional catchment strategy was accredited, the Mallee Catchment Management Authority was responsible for developing the regional catchment investment plan. 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 catchment strategy and its associated action plans.

There are 30 Landcare groups and the Mallee Waterwatch programme which engages more than 4,000 school children and community members each year on water quality, conservation, biodiversity, salinity and recreation issues.

Other community and interest groups include: Mallee Catchment Management Authority, Department of Primary Industries and Department of Sustainability and Environment, Local Government, Water Authorities, landholders, Indigenous communities and stakeholders, Parks Victoria, the Environment Protection Authority, the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, the Country Fire Authority, industry associations, and educational and research agencies.

• Mallee plan  - accredited July 2003

Current activities

NRM priority	Activities addressing the priority
Threats to biodiversity	on-ground actions such as fencing, revegetation by land managers and the community to improve habitat retain and protect high value biodiversity assets before investing in regeneration or re-establishment
Land and water salinisation	create incentives for greater water use efficiency in irrigation promote effective, coordinated drainage schemes to prevent saline flows to the river and minimise local adverse effects from rising water tables
Water quality pollution	reducing point source pollution in the Mallee from irrigation drainage water and urban stormwater implement existing priorities established under current programmes and strategies such as the Mallee Waterway and Floodplain Management Strategies, the Mallee Salinity and Water Quality Management Plan and the Murray River Frontage Action Plans
Dryland environment	gain wider adoption and understanding of the Salinity and Water Quality Management Plan develop solutions to minimise wind erosion. Promote whole farm planning of natural resources and production

Contacts

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