South West NRM supports a national call issued this week for urgent recognition and greater, sustained funding of the critical work being done to restore the health of Australia’s land, sea and waterways.
The national call to Heal Australia’s Land, Seas and Waterways was launched by a group of First Nations and Natural Resource Management leaders, working with the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists.
The call was issued in response to a major Wentworth Group report released in July which mapped out a 30-year investment program to reverse Australia’s landscape decline.
It highlights the critical role of Indigenous Rangers, farmers, natural resource managers and volunteers in delivering the work required to restore Country, but advocates for a significant escalation in funding to properly address the precarious state of Australia’s environment.
South West NRM CEO Dr Manda Page said there was growing recognition that Australia was facing many challenges, particularly declining biodiversity, impacts from extreme events related to climate change and the declining health and productivity of our lands, seas and waters.
“We all ultimately rely on a healthy and productive environment that provides us with essential services, economic benefits, cultural identity and wellbeing,” Dr Page said.
“But resourcing repair remains inadequate, despite the great work of NRM groups, community volunteers and First Nations organisations including Indigenous Rangers.
“Across our South West, we know that our programs to support threatened species recovery, restore and protect habitat and waterways and support sustainable agriculture, delivered with our trusted partners, is improving the health and productivity of our region’s land, but we could be doing so much more.”
Among projects South West NRM is currently working on are:
- Saving native species under threat of extinction in Wellington National Park like the chuditch, quokka and western ringtail possum by working with landholders on the park boundaries to target introduced predators;
- A never-before-attempted approach to rescuing the tiny critically-endangered white-bellied frog through rehydration of its drying habitat;
- Conducting research, monitoring and infrastructure improvements to enhance the overall health and function of 3 internationally-significant wetlands;
- Supporting farmers to grow their business while caring for the land.
Dr Page said South West NRM fully supported this week’s national statement, particularly its call to:
- Support Australia’s existing regional natural resource management (NRM) framework as the most effective mechanism to plan, implement and scale nature repair;
- Recognise that the work done in the region to care for Country and heal our land and waterscapes is an essential service;
- Establish a national financing mechanism to fund the scaling and strengthening of achievements to date; and
- Invest in the establishment of a national Indigenous environmental voice that empowers place-based, Indigenous-led, decision making.
NRM Regions Australia CEO Dr Kate Andrews, one of the joint statement’s co-authors, said The Wentworth Group’s Blueprint reaffirms that we not only need to restore Country, we need to do it now.
“Our economic prosperity and wellbeing are at serious risk from the declining health of our land, seas and waters,” Dr Andrews said.
“The repair work is already underway so we absolutely know how to do it, and we know Australia can afford it. We cannot afford to do nothing.”
You can read more about projects we’re currently working on by clicking the button below.
