[Extract] This plan builds on, updates and refines earlier NRM planning work in the region. The 2005 Southern Gulf Catchment Natural Resource Management Plan provided a comprehensive assessment of the natural resource values and issues in the Southern Gulf region and provided a long list of actions to address them. SG NRM’s work was aligned to this plan, but because the plan’s scope was so large, and because it did not provide a good guide for prioritising actions in the face of limited resources, the plan fell into abeyance.
In 2014, the Australian Government provided funding to update the region’s NRM plan to incorporate climate change considerations through its Regional Natural Resource Management Planning for Climate Change Fund. Although there has been much progress in the region, many of NRM issues remain the same as they were in 2005. SG NRM therefore determined that the revised plan would draw on the good foundations of the earlier plan, but that its scope would be more strategic and its objectives more achievable. Therefore, it was decided that the scope of this plan is to• Update the 2005 Southern Gulf Catchment Natural Resource Management Plan • Incorporate climate change considerations• Acknowledge the range of NRM issues across in the Southern Gulf region, including issues that have arisen since 2005• Provide action plans to address these issues, focusing on the role of SG NRM and what it can achieve through its partnerships with the Southern Gulf community.
SG NRM will use this plan as a guiding document to plan its investments and effort. The plan may also be used by Southern Gulf stakeholders to identify constructive approaches to addressing NRM issues in the region and potential partnerships with SG NRM. However, the plan does not commit either SG NRM or its partners to any specific action
