About regional NRM
Connections
A healthy region is one where the environment, society and the economy are all in good condition and all work together.
Everything is connected. What we do to the land, we also do to the air, the water, plants, other animals and ourselves. When we alter the land's natural balance we affect the plants, the air and the other animals.
People are part of the landscape, not separate from it. We change the land, and the land changes us. The landscape is our life-support system, and when we change it we alter its ability to support the rich diversity of all life. If we look after the landscape it will look after us.
Regional NRM is a partnership between government, industry and the community. We each have roles, responsibilities, and a part to play in protecting healthy regions for current and future generations.
What are healthy regions?
Regions where the environment is in good condition, where the society is cohesive and where the economy provides jobs and a reasonable standard of living for its inhabitants can be said to be healthy.
A healthy environment is the base of a healthy region - an unpolluted environment that has retained its biodiversity and productive capacity.
Building healthy regions
Healthy regions rely on us managing and using our natural resources wisely. Experience has shown that the best way to manage our natural resources is to involve local communities and to look at natural resource assets and problems across a region.
A regional approach suits Queensland's diverse geography - the state has 13 recognised bioregions - and decentralised population.
By involving local communities, we harness the knowledge and enthusiasm of local people.
The Queensland Government, through the Departments of Natural Resources and Water and Primary Industries and Fisheries and the Environmental Protection Agency, works with regional NRM groups, local authorities and the Australian Government to manage our natural resources wisely, address environmental problems and build healthy regions through the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality, the Natural Heritage Trust and the National Landcare Program.
NRM - the big issues
Of all the issues that confront Queensland, none are more crucial to our state's future than those that affect our natural resources. The big issues - salinity, water, vegetation management, erosion and soil conservation, weeds and pests, biodiversity, climate change, sustainable development, social and economic aspects of NRM - are the province of regional NRM.
Last updated 19 June 2008