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Land and water plan helping community adjust
The Loddon Campaspe irrigation region in northern Victoria is facing increasingly complex challenges and rapid change.
To help cope with these, the community, local agencies and government have joined together and developed a draft Loddon Campaspe Land and Water Management Plan. The aim is to increase productivity in the region and protect the environment for the long-term.
"There are numerous threats to the land, water and environment that the community are really struggling with," said Tim Shanahan of the North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA).
These include water trading out of the area, reduced flow through wetlands, poor surface water drainage, rising salinity in internationally significant wetlands, inadequate levee bank maintenance and flooding. Other major issues are salt accumulation, deteriorating irrigation infrastructure, unviable farms, burn-out in community leaders and of course -the drought.
Funding
The project to draft the Plan received $218,000 from the Australian and State Governments in 2006-07. It aims to help bring together all other land and water management activities across the Loddon Campaspe irrigation region to ensure a consistent and coordinated approach.
Activities
"The Plan will ensure efficient use of land and water resources across the Loddon Campaspe irrigation region," said Tim. "We know we need to be adaptable when farming, as well as continuing to reduce biodiversity impacts, minimising salinity, increasing agricultural productivity, and progressing social well-being.
"We're actively engaging the community in developing targets to achieve a sustainable future. We've set targets for agricultural productivity, water use efficiency, protecting wetlands and for getting people involved in decisions regarding their environment."
Other activities undertaken as part of developing the Plan include:
- developing options to meet obligations such as water use licence conditions and incorporating new state-wide irrigation development guidelines
- examining how irrigation districts could be reconfigured, modernised and made more efficient on farms and throughout the irrigation system; and
- monitoring, evaluating and reporting on progress towards sustainable land and water management.
Achievements
The draft Loddon Campaspe Land and Water Management Plan has been published. Tim said that it was hoped the Plan would help the regional community adapt to changes based on lessons learnt from previous attempts to manage salinity successfully.
More information
- Tim Shanahan, Irrigation and Water Resources Team Leader, North Central Catchment Management Authority: (03) 5448 7124 or tim.shanahan@nccma.vic.gov.au
- North Central Catchment Management Authority website: www.nccma.vic.gov.au
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