NRM Advisory Panel
The Burdekin Dry Tropics Natural Resource Management ( NRM ) Plan , published in 2016 , set out a 10-year blueprint for how communities in the region could work together to sustainably manage land , water , plants and animals .
It identified strategies to improve the long-term productivity of the region ’ s graziers , sugarcane farmers and horticulturalists , while protecting biodiversity , including the Great Barrier Reef . The plan was updated this year , midway through its life , to ensure it continued to accurately reflect the aspirations of regional communities , as well as the landcare priorities of the Australian Government .
The NRM Plan Advisory Panel , convened by NQ Dry Tropics , played a lead role in this process . Panel members representing local and state governments , Traditional Owners , science , industry , landcare , graziers and growers , met on several occasions to work through aspects of the planned amendments , including how best to measure successes and demonstrate results .
NQ Dry Tropics is the custodian of the NRM Plan on behalf of the Burdekin Dry Tropics community . Community involvement and consultation plays an ongoing and critical role whenever the plan is reviewed and updated .
Pictured at a Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM Plan Advisory Panel meeting are ( from left ): Trevor Robinson ( Traditional Owner representative ), Jane Waterhouse ( C2O Consulting and TropWATER ), NQ Dry Tropics Director Richard Hoolihan ( Traditional Owner Representative ), Karen Vidler ( NQ Dry Tropics ), Dr Jules Funnell ( NQ Dry Tropics ), Greg Watson ( Canegrowers Burdekin ), Dale Williams ( Bowen-Gumlu Growers Association ), Dr Greg Calvert ( Biodiversity Australia ), Bronwyn Bignoux ( Townsville City Council ), Kate Cumming ( Department of Resources ), Terri Buono ( Department of Agriculture and Fisheries ), Donna Turner ( NQ Dry Tropics ), David Sartori ( Lower Burdekin Water ) and Paul Groves ( Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority ).
The update to the NRM Plan is funded by the Australian Government ’ s National Landcare Program .
PAGE 40 2021-2022 – NQ DRY TROPICS YEAR IN REVIEW