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South West - Natural Resource Management region

Regional summary

The South West region of Western Australia covers some 5 million hectares of land extending from the fast-growing coastal areas of Mandurah and Busselton to the salinity-threatened wheatbelt areas to the east, and to the karri and jarrah forests in the south. Major industries in are resource-based, such as mining, agriculture, fishing, forestry, energy and eco-tourism.

The region supports significant areas and numbers of Western Australia's endemic flora and fauna. Four wetland systems within the region are internationally recognised for their high biodiversity value.

Priority issues

Key natural resource management issues in the region include:

• dryland salinity
• declining water quality
• eutrophication
• management of urban wastewater and stormwater
• impact of vegetation removal
• impact of domestic animals on threatened species, such as the Western Ringtailed Possum

Regional plan

The South West Catchments Council was responsible for developing the South West Regional Strategy for NRM, in consultation with the local community. This strategy was based on a 'whole of region' approach and addresses significant natural resource management issues incorporating social, environmental and economic aspects.

Once the Strategy wais accredited, the South West Catchments Council was 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 Catchments Council oversees the NRM activities of the region. There are six sub-regions, four regional development commissions and more than 70 community-based groups.

• South West plan  - accredited April 2005

Current activities

NRM priority	Activities addressing the priority
Salinity	develop resource condition targets to improve the health of priority waterways
Biodiversity	work is underway to reduce vegetation clearing, filling and excavation of wetlands sustainable use targets are being developed for state forest and private native forest management mining operations in the region are being asked to become accredited for their sustainability practices
Waterway conditions	targets are being set for nutrient levels in priority waterways, wetlands and estuaries
Land management	town planning schemes are being developed to conserve and protect rural landscapes activities are underway to remove skeleton weed and reduce blackberry infestations

Contacts

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