Rangelands - Natural Resource Management region
Regional summary
The Rangelands covers approximately 1.85 million square kilometres, which represents 90 percent of West Australia and more than 75 percent of the coastline, and supports a dispersed population of 133,000 people. Although the region contains a large proportion of the nation's natural assets and contributes significantly to the national economy, it has traditionally been allocated limited resources and has a relatively low population to address and manage natural resources issues.
The region comprises mainly pastoral and mining interests and to a lesser extent cropping interests. Pastoral leases cover 98 million hectares of the Rangeland region, stretching from the Kimberley in the north to the Great Australian Bight in the south. It also contains many areas of special significance to the Aboriginal community.
A significant conservation estate exists involving national parks, nature reserves, conservation parks, marine parks and reserves and two World Heritage-listed areas. The region contains wide biological diversity, including many threatened species of plants, animals and ecological communities such as the Western barred bandicoot, Loggerhead turtle and Freshwater sawfish. The major river systems of the region include some of Western Australia's last wild rivers, such as the Thompson and Doubtful rivers.
The Rangelands have been administered within four distinct geographical sub-regions: the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne-Murchison and Goldfields-Nullarbor. The characteristics of these sub-regions will provide direction for involving stakeholders in the region-wide natural resource management strategy.
In addition, the Ord National Action Plan priority region is located primarily within the Rangelands region. The regional planning for this region is being undertaken as part of the planning for the Kimberley sub-region in discussion with the Northern Territory as the region crosses into the Northern Territory.
Priority issues
Key natural resource management issues in the region include:
- balancing ecological imperatives with social, cultural and economic needs
- overcoming the social barriers of physical isolation
- uncertainty about land tenure arrangements, flexibility of land use and the requirements for developing alternative industries in the pastoral industry
- working within the seasonal limitations of feed for stock to achieve ecological sustainability in the pastoral Rangelands
- managing increasing visitor pressure at key attractions and on coastal areas and marine resources
- working within the seasonal nature of the tourism industry
- the need to plan and manage a range of alternative land uses, including tourism in a sustainable manner
- a historical legacy of significant change in vegetation and condition of pastoral lands
- decline in biodiversity values across the region as a direct consequence of the presence of high numbers of feral herbivores and foxes and feral cats
- Indigenous land management and involvement in traditional lands
- managing the sustainable use of marine resources
Regional plan
The Rangelands Regional NRM Coordinating Group was responsible for developing the Rangelands NRM Strategy, in consultation with the local community. This strategy was based on a whole-of-region approach and addresses significant NRM issues incorporating social, environmental and economic aspects.
The Rangelands Regional NRM Coordinating Group was also 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 Strategy.
The integration of individual strategies across this immense region is the major focus of the foundation funding from the Australian Government. Shortfalls and gaps in the scientific information to support planning are being highlighted and addressed so a regional framework can be established for managing its natural resources assets.
There are common stakeholder categories across the Rangelands region and represented in sub-regions. These include community groups, Regional Development Commissions, industry and business associations, peak body advisory councils, Coastal Zone Council, State Government Agencies, Local Government Authorities, and academic institutions.
- Rangelands plan - accredited December 2005
Current activities
| NRM priority | Activities addressing the priority |
|---|---|
| Land management |
|
| Biodiversity |
|
| Water quality and management |
|
Contacts
Further information can be obtained by contacting the Regional Facilitators for Western Australia.
Region summaries
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You can also use your town name to find your NRM Region.
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