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Northern Agricultural - Natural Resource Management region

Regional summary

The Northern Agricultural region covers 70,000 square kilometres and has a population of around 60000 people. Half of the region's population is centred in the Geraldton-Greenough area. In general the population of small inland towns in this region is declining, while coastal areas are experiencing rapid growth.

Some of the critical management issues for the area include salinity, water quality and quantity, control of introduced pests, soil quality and production levels, and loss of biodiversity. The region is notable as a hotspot of biodiversity at both national and global scales. This is because of extraordinarily high levels of biodiversity, large numbers of rare and threatened animals and plants, and continuing loss of biodiversity through clearing, salinity, disease and other threats.

Priority issues

Key natural resource management issues in the region include:

• managing salinity-aims to limit rising groundwater and the spread of dryland salinity in high-risk areas, and seeks to make productive use of saline land. On-ground activities included drainage construction, fencing, revegetation and establishment of trial sites
• integrated catchment management-includes an incentives programme to support landholders to protect remnant vegetation and watercourses, revegetate saline land with saltbush and salt tolerant species, and develop management agreements
• sustaining agricultural production-promoted the adoption of new farming system alternatives that lead to sustainability and help to protect the natural resources that underpin agricultural production
• caring for the coast, seas and islands-with a focus on the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, worked to develop management strategies and responses for dealing with issues such as waste management system, coastal development, sustainable fisheries and threatened species protection
• conserving terrestrial diversity-worked to address threats to biodiversity by implementing recovery plans for threatened species and communities, identifying significant native vegetation remnants, and implementing large-scale revegetation

Other programmes being implemented by the region focus on Indigenous issues, wetlands and groundwater resources, farm forestry, pest and disease control, resource assessment and environmental education.

Regional plan

The Northern Agricultural Catchments Council was responsible for developing the Northern Agricultural regional natural resource management (NRM) strategy, in consultation with the local community. This strategy was based on a strategic whole-of-region approach and addresses significant NRM issues incorporating social, environmental and economic aspects.

Once the regional strategy was accredited, the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council were responsible for developing the regional 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 strategy.

The Northern Agricultural Catchments Council works with Land Conservation District Committees, catchment groups and coastal zone protection groups in the implementation of these plans.

• Northern Agricultural plan - accredited April 2005

Current activities

NRM priority	Activities addressing the priority
Water management	protecting priority sections of rivers and estuaries of high environmental value through activities such as community education and awareness raising and monitoring conducting industry and community training on river and estuary management monitoring the water quality of rivers and estuaries to identify any decline or contamination
Biodiversity	threatened species management and monitoring of threats to vegetation, and the implementation of best practice land management
Native vegetation management	establishing conservation reserves to protect extensive areas of native vegetation

Contacts

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