Working collaboratively with the State Government, the LDC Project could explore options for the codesign and establishment of a governance mechanism to support the long-term planning, financing, delivery and management of significant gully erosion prevention and rehabilitation efforts. To support this, the LDC should collaboratively explore the potential to establish an enduring mechanism( e. g. such as a purpose-built Trust of some kind) to buffer the impact of short-term project funding and to allow a more systematic approach to remediation of major gully systems. This would enable:
1. Longer-term contractual arrangements, staged payments and follow-up monitoring; 2. Disaster management of remediated gully systems( i. e. post cyclonic floods); and 3. Building and extending the capacity to remediate and maintain major gully systems.
The Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project has an equivalent issue with the trial installation of river, riparian, wetland and drainage management and the development to pollution treatment systems.
Information about the potential success of gully remediation techniques is currently in a forming stage. Coupled with on-ground application in a variable climatic environment means that a percentage of gully remediation works will fail. A high chance of failure could act as a deterrent to landholder participation in gully management activities in the future. It is recommended that the LDC investigate how the impacts of the risk of gully failure can be reduced for landholders. One suggestion from the landholder meeting was through some form of purpose-built trust. This trust could operate to provide landholders with financial assistance to restore gully remediation work, if they do everything right( as per their contracts and supported by ongoing and validated monitoring and reporting) and the gully remediation fails due to unforeseen circumstances. Such a mechanism would also enable longer-term contractual arrangements for financial incentives, as per RECOMMENDATION 3C, and follow-up monitoring( recognised as a significant failing in current restoration investments across the GBR).
A purpose-built trust( or other institutional mechanism) could begin with existing available grant monies. More investigation is needed, however, on the governance arrangements required to make this work and the operation of such a scheme. Lessons from the operation of River Improvement Trusts could inform the development of this mechanism, and existing NRM arrangements should also be considered. A purpose-built trust would provide a long-term institutional arrangement for specific catchment rehabilitation and major catchment repair project delivery. It would need to have, or be able to access, whole of catchment prioritisation, technically competent program development, fund management capacity and highly competent delivery skills.
48 | Landholders driving change: Exploring new incentives