This information has been provided by Regional NRM Programs.
Further information can be found at Reef Water Quality Protection Plan
This strategy focuses on actions that develop and support collaborative work by agricultural industries and regional natural resource management (NRM) bodies to improve land management. The strategy focuses upon flexible approaches that are more likely to assist industry and other groups to adopt and continue with long-term sustainable land management practices.
This strategy focuses on coordinating government, non-government and community education and extension services which provide information and technical support to land managers to accelerate the adoption of best management practices aimed at improving the quality of water flowing to the Reef. This strategy also aims to raise community awareness of the importance of Reef water quality and the need to protect and rehabilitate wetlands and riparian habitats within the Reef catchment.
Education and extension services form critical components of regional natural resource management (NRM) plans (Right click on the link and select Open in New Window) and investment strategies within the Reef catchment. These services are also critical to industry programs such as Farm Management Systems (Right click on the link and select Open in New Window) and AgForward (Right click on the link and select Open in New Window).
This strategy supports the use of economic instruments, policies and programs to encourage cost-effective natural resource management outcomes. It also encourages the removal of incentives that reward poor land management practices. It is underpinned by the philosophy that effective use of economic incentives can produce better environmental outcomes and superior economic performance.
This strategy aims to better focus and coordinate existing planning processes to meet Reef Plan objectives. It recognises the role of a wide range of natural resource and land use planning processes as important tools in managing diffuse source impacts. It also includes several strategies that review current approaches in order to see if alternative or strengthened policy approaches are needed.
This strategy explores the use of a range of existing regulatory powers to complement and support self-management and cooperative partnership approaches in order to achieve the goal and objectives of the Reef Plan.
This strategy focuses on the development and dissemination of information from new and existing research, which supports and/or contributes to improving the quality of the water entering the Reef. Access to the best available scientific, technical and market information is critical to the success of the Reef Plan.
This strategy is critical to the delivery of the Reef Plan goal and objectives. Effective partnerships between government, industry, regional bodies and the community are needed to ensure information is shared and key activities are coordinated to reduce the risk of duplication. In particular, the partnerships that government forms with regional bodies and industry are important as they are the link to land managers and the wider community.
This strategy focuses on setting priorities for action, identifying those areas that are a high risk to the Reef and the priority areas for immediate action within catchments. It also focuses on setting water quality targets to help improve water quality for Reef catchment waterways. It ensures that efforts are concentrated on protecting healthy waterways and identifying riparian areas that have a positive effect on water quality entering the Reef.
The actions contained in this strategy are highly interrelated and rely on good scientific information to inform the priorities and targets for wetland and riparian protection in addition to water quality.
This strategy focuses on the reporting and auditing process for the Reef Plan. It includes the establishment of water quality monitoring programs in the Reef lagoon and catchment, in order to review the effectiveness of the Reef Plan's implementation.
The strategy recognises the importance of the national funding programs and NRM plans in achieving the goal of the Reef Plan. It also identifies requirements for coordinating community monitoring and information, developing improved indicators, reviewing water quality improvement plans and public reporting on industry initiatives to address water quality impacts.
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