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Port Phillip and Westernport - Natural Resource Management region

Regional summary

The Port Phillip and Westernport region covers an area of 1.28 million hectares in south central Victoria, and is home to a population of 3.4 million, including 48 percent of Victoria's Indigenous population. The region includes Port Phillip Bay, Westernport Bay and their ocean frontages, metropolitan Melbourne and the river catchments of Yarra, Werribee, Maribyrnong, Dandenong, and Westernport.

The main land uses include horticulture, agriculture and urban expansion. The annual gross value of agriculture production in the region is estimated at $1 billion, 15 percent of Victoria's total. The region is densely populated and therefore presents some unique issues, such as the impacts that come with population growth, urban and agricultural development.

For example Port Phillip Bay will not cope with growing inputs of water-borne nutrients, Westernport Bay's health is severely affected by the inflow of increased sedimentation, Werribee and Maribyrnong Rivers are under pressure from high levels of water harvesting, and natural habitats in the coastal and Mornington Peninsula areas face degradation and local extinction unless weed invasions are reversed and fragmentation of habitat arrested.

Priority issues

Key natural resource management issues in the region include:

• urban growth
• stormwater pollution
• water consumption and energy use
• native flora and fauna
• weeds
• salinity, acidity and erosion
• coastal and marine areas
• river health

Regional plan

The Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority was responsible for developing the Port Phillip and Westernport Regional Catchment Strategy, in consultation with the local community. This strategy was based on a whole-of-region approach and will address significant natural resource management (NRM) issues incorporating social, environmental and economic aspects.

Once the Regional Catchment Strategy was accredited, the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority was responsible for developing the Regional Catchment Investment Plan. This is essentially the business plan that is developed to attract investment from the Australian and state governments and details the specific actions, costs and timeframes required to implement the Regional Catchment Strategy.

The region benefitted from the Natural Heritage Trust (the Trust) funding from the Australian and Victorian Governments to conserve the region's natural assets. The funding supported the many active community groups that are key partners in the delivery of sustainable environmental outcomes such as cleaner water, protected plants and animals, and agricultural production that maintains the condition of natural resources.

• Port Phillip and Westernport plan  - accredited December 2004

Current activities

NRM priority	Activities addressing the priority
Biodiversity	threatened species protection for the Helmeted Honey Eater and threatened orchids appointing a Fish Action Facilitator to coordinate the Fishcare volunteer programme to help protect native fish the Urban Bushcare programme is integrating biodiversity management
Vegetation management	remnant vegetation grants for vegetation management and quality enhancement weed and pest control activities and revegetation and remnant vegetation protection in the Upper Werribee catchment a Farm Forestry Facilitator to build regional capacity to set up and manage integrated forestry on private land
Land management	funding for on-ground works for vegetation protection and enhancement, protective fencing and pest management revegetation of 50 hectares of degraded land and enhancement of 20 hectares of remnant vegetation Werribee Environ Rescue project funding to recover environmental components including vegetation, habitat, landscape and catchment quality in a critically narrow and profoundly modified remnant public land foreshore regional facilitators and coordinators - local and network support for Landcare Bushcare - strategic and technical support to increase capacity of the regional land management community to efficiently implement vegetation management works in a strategic manner
Water management	funding for on-ground works for riparian management and nutrient reduction in waterways waterwatch to promote and monitor the health of streams and waterways in the region
Coastal assets	Williamstown coastal parks - protection and enhancement of 15.3 hectares of coastal and wetland community Coastcare facilitators to work along coastal and marine areas, providing technical advice, training, information and support to about 80 coastal community groups

Contacts

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