2002335 salinity report text · salinity is arguably the greatest environmental threat facing...

June 2002

A New Balance

Government’s Responseto the Salinity Taskforce report

Salinity:

June 2002

A New BalanceSalinity:

Government’s Responseto the Salinity Taskforce report

Foreword The Government acknowledges the excellent work done by the Salinity Taskforce in conducting the review of theState’s salinity program. Confronted by detailed and comprehensive terms of reference and difficult issuesrequiring sensitivity and a thorough understanding of the technical, environmental, economic and social aspects ofsalinity management, the Taskforce has proposed well considered and strategic directions for future salinitymanagement in Western Australia.

The Taskforce has provided an overview of the complex and diverse issuesassociated with salinity management and recommended new directions, decisionsand arrangements required of Government and the community in light of betterunderstanding of the scale of intervention required to recover from, contain, oradapt to, salinity.

Government appreciates the extensive consultation the Salinity Taskforce undertookduring the preparation of the report. Although Government may hold a differentview in relation to implementation of some of the recommendations, it nonethelesssupports the majority of the Taskforce’s recommendations.

DR JUDY EDWARDS MLA

MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND HERITAGE AND

MINISTER WITH SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR SALINITY

Foreward 3

Government’s Response to the Salinity Taskforce report, Salinity: A New Balance 4

Contents

FOREWORD .................................................................................................................................... 3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................ 5

THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN SALINITY MANAGEMENT..................................................... 7

SALINITY AND FUNDING PRIORITIES AND RESPONSIBLE AGENCIES.....................................9

SALINITY TASKFORCE RECOMMENDATIONS — SPECIFIC GOVERNMENTRESPONSE AND ACTION ............................................................................................................10

PRIORITIES FOR GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY ACTION ............................................... 23

complemented by a comprehensive incentive andassistance package for landholders.

The State’s salinity strategy will be delivered inconcert with the National Action Plan for Salinity andWater Quality (NAP). The State Government hassigned the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) forthe NAP and State and Commonwealth Governmentofficials, together with regional NRM groups, willdevelop the bilateral agreement that will deliversalinity funding to priority actions.

The Government has sought Expressions of Interestfor membership of a Natural Resource ManagementCouncil (NRMC) that will replace the State SalinityCouncil, and currently is finalising that process. The State Salinity Council has played an importantleadership role in salinity management and theGovernment appreciates the efforts and significantcontributions of all its members and the organisationsthey represent. The new Council will have expandedresponsibilities for providing Government with high-level strategic and integrated policy advice on thesustainable management of land, water andbiodiversity across the State.

New Government funding for salinity comprisesapproximately $18.7 million from the sale ofAlintaGas, $6 million for a demonstration catchmentinitiative for new salinity management options, $4 million for an engineering evaluation project, $1.5 million for Regional Landcare Coordinators, $27 million for further investment in commercialforestry by the Forest Products Commission and $3.6 million investment by the Water Corporation inthe Collie Water Resource Recovery Catchment.

Government recognises that managing salinitynecessitates taking a long term view andacknowledges that on-going funding will be requiredto address the environmental, social and economicconsequences of salinity. To that end, Government isdeveloping a strategy to identify additional funding tomatch Commonwealth funds over and above thatalready committed.

The southwest of Western Australia has beenrecognised internationally as one of the world’s top25 “hot-spots” for biodiversity. The protection ofbiodiversity at risk through salinisation (and otherforms of land degradation) is a high priority for theGovernment. The Department of Conservation willincrease the number of Natural Diversity RecoveryCatchments from the present 6 to 25 by 2010. It willalso develop a Nature Conservation and BiodiversityStrategy and through this strengthen links with non-government conservation organisations to enhanceoff-reserve biodiversity conservation.

Continuation of the State’s successful WaterResource Recovery Catchment program is also a highpriority for Government.

Executive summary 5

Executive SummaryIn formulating its response to the Salinity TaskforceReport, Government acknowledges the comprehensivework of the Taskforce in conducting the review of theState’s salinity program. The Taskforce proposed well-considered and strategic directions for future salinitymanagement in Western Australia.

Salinity is arguably the greatest environmental threatfacing Western Australia. Even with massive changesin land use, the prognosis is for worsening salinity andincreased flood risk. With limited public resources,prioritised and strategic investment is thereforecritical. Based on our understanding of salinity riskand the cost-effectiveness of intervention options,decisions will have to be made on recovery from,containment, or adaptation to salinity.

As advocated by the Salinity Taskforce, theGovernment will lead action in three key areas whichbuild on the 1996 Salinity Action Plan and the 2000Salinity Strategy:

1. ‘direct support’ to protect assets of high publicvalue (eg biodiversity, water resources,infrastructure),

2. ‘indirect support’ through investing in newindustries and technologies (eg new perennialplants, commercial farm forestry, engineeringsolutions) and;

3. providing support and incentives for planning,coordination and implementation of smaller on-ground works on private land, especially wherethese will lead to public benefits.

This will require a partnership approach between theState and Commonwealth Government, industry andthe community to deliver priority actions specified inaccredited regional natural resource management(NRM) strategies. To assist in the task of setting thesepriorities, the State Salinity Council has developed aSalinity Investment Framework, which provides arational decision-making framework for determiningpriorities for salinity action and funding. Governmenthas endorsed both the Framework and funding forimplementation of the Framework in the Avon regionto guide regional planning. The Salinity Council is tobe congratulated for its initiative in this difficult area.

The Government acknowledges that application ofthe Salinity Investment Framework will result in anuneven distribution of ‘salinity specific’ resourcesthroughout and between regions. This is a logicalconsequence of a highly targeted, strategic approachto public investment in salinity. In recognition of theimportance of protecting and managing ourremaining native vegetation in the wheatbelt, theGovernment has placed high priority on amending theEnvironmental Protection Act (1986) to introduce aclearing permit system with severe penalties for non-compliance. This new regulatory approach will be

In relation to other high value public assets such asroads, railways and towns, the Government willcontinue the successful Rural Towns Program as amatter of priority, and establish a similar Rural RoadsProgram. The Department for Planning andInfrastructure, in collaboration with the WesternAustralian Local Government Association, willdevelop this program.

Consistent with the three key actions that Governmentwill lead, research and development into newsustainable industries and technologies, based uponthe productive use of saline land and water resourcesand further development and implementation ofcommercial farm forestry, is one of the Government’shighest priorities. It will play an active role in the new Cooperative Research Centre for Plant-BasedManagement of Dryland Salinity and working withindustry groups. However, the Governmentacknowledges that the development of viable newsustainable industries and markets can take aconsiderable amount of time. It will ensure that duringthis period landholders are provided with informationon other salinity management options.

Government recognises that deep drainage is animportant option for managing the effects of salinityand will continue to promote and evaluate drainagewhere appropriate. It will develop a robust andpractical legislative and regulatory framework forassessing the impacts of catchment-wide deepdrainage schemes, particularly where these cross rail lines or roads. Regional groupings of localgovernments, such as the North Eastern WheatbeltRegional Organisation of Councils, are playing a leadrole in confronting the challenging legal, technical,economic and social issues associated with deepdrainage schemes.

The Government acknowledges that managingsalinity through developing new industries andtechnologies and policy approaches may have socialand economic impacts on individuals and regionalcommunities. The Government is committed toensuring that changes in land use to protect highvalue public assets are fair on those affected. TheDepartment of Agriculture will take a lead role inmonitoring adjustment issues associated with salinitymanagement and in developing appropriate strategiesto manage them.

A comprehensive and cost-effective monitoring andevaluation framework to monitor the status andtrends in natural resource condition and extent, the spread and impacts of salinity and theeffectiveness of salinity programs is essential and will be developed and implemented at State-wide,regional and catchment scales in the first quarter of2003. The Department of Environment, Water andCatchment Protection1 will have primary responsibilityfor this activity.

Capacity building will be a major component of theState’s salinity management approach. In particularthe provision of salinity risk and managementinformation will occur through activities such as theDepartment of Agriculture’s rapid catchmentappraisal process which will be integrated withapplication of the Salinity Investment Framework toprovide the basis for regional and catchmentplanning. In addition, training and educationprograms will be developed in partnership betweengovernment agencies and groups responsible forregional NRM. The Government will also continue toinvestigate new economic and policy instruments forsalinity management, such as carbon credits. Thepassage of Carbon Rights legislation in the nearfuture will support these efforts.

A significant amount of resources and salinitymanagement activity will be delivered at the regionallevel. While the Government acknowledges that theexisting regional NRM groups have been and willcontinue to be a ‘foundation stone’ in managingsalinity, it will ask the NRMC to establish processes to ensure that regional NRM groups evolve to evenmore inclusive and accountable bodies that recognise local government and regional development interests. To this end, the Government will assist in determiningthe composition, roles, functions and responsibilitiesof groups responsible for regional NRM while ensuringthey are adequately funded to undertake those roles.The Department of Environment, Water andCatchment Protection will coordinate the preparationof partnership agreements between agencies andgroups responsible for regional NRM and theaccreditation of regional NRM strategies to guidedelivery of NAP and NHT II programs.

It is clear that while there have been very substantialefforts made by communities, non-governmentorganisations (NGOs), industry and Government totackle salinity, a much more strategic and innovativeapproach is required founded on sound science, clearpriorities, agreed strategies and strong partnerships.

6 Government’s Response to the Salinity Taskforce report, Salinity: A New Balance

2. Investment in and support for major actions onprivate land by developing new technologies andindustries (eg: perennial plants for salinityprevention, commercial farm forestry, engineeringoptions) and;

3. Support and incentives for planning, coordinationand implementation of smaller on-ground works onprivate land (eg: water management, protection ofagricultural assets, protection of biodiversity).

While revegetation with profitable perennials offersopportunities to develop new industries such as bio-energy, the protection and management of privatelyowned native vegetation is also critical for salinitymanagement and biodiversity conservation. To ensureenhanced statutory protection of native vegetation,Government is amending the EnvironmentalProtection Act (1986) to introduce a permit systemfor land clearing, with severe penalties for non-compliance. This new regulatory regime will becomplemented by an incentive and assistancepackage to support landholders in their efforts toprotect and manage native vegetation on theirproperties.

Perennial vegetation, both native and introduced, isan important carbon sink and has major benefits inmitigating Greenhouse gas emissions. Governmenthas introduced Carbon Rights legislation toParliament that will help landholders to takeadvantage of potential national policy directions withrespect to carbon credits. These actions anddirections are consistent with the State GreenhouseStrategy that is being developed.

Government acknowledges the very substantial pastefforts made by communities, NGOs, industry,corporations and government agencies in managingsalinity. These must now be built on, but with muchclearer focus on what can be achieved, targetedinvestment and development of innovative,sustainable solutions to salinity in partnership with thecommunity.

Ensuring continued investment by State and FederalGovernments, industry and communities will requirethat partnerships be developed between Governmentagencies and communities and that regional NRMstrategies be continually refined or adjusted to reflectnew or better information from research and/ormonitoring. As protection of high value public assetswill require significant activity on agricultural land,these partnerships are essential. Decisions will needto be made using the best available information andtherefore regional and other NRM groups must haveaccess to such information to assist with catchmentplanning and management.

The Role of Government in Salinity Management 7

The Government concurs with the views of theTaskforce that the clearing of native vegetation in thesouth-west agricultural area and its replacement withlow water using annual crops and pastures hasresulted in rising saline groundwater that hasincreased flood risks and poses the greatestcombined threat to our biodiversity, water resources,infrastructure, rural communities and sustainableagriculture that Western Australia has ever faced.

Dryland salinity currently affects about 2 millionhectares of land in the southwest agricultural areaand is predicted to affect 30% or approximately 6 million hectares at equilibrium in about 100 yearsunless management action, on an unprecedentedscale, is taken2. Even with massive intervention andchanges to land use, it is likely that the area of salt-affected land will still increase to about 4 millionhectares before stabilising3.

The southwest of Western Australia is one of theworld’s 25 biodiversity ‘hotspots’. The biologicalsurvey of this region funded under the State SalinityStrategy 2000 has revealed that the biodiversity isricher than previously thought and that much of it isthreatened with extinction or severe decline as aresult of the spread of salinity. It has also resulted in a marked reduction in the resilience of our landscapesystems to cope with both natural and human-induced change. There is a high likelihood thatclimate change will mean we will have drier, hotterclimates in the southwest of Western Australia towhich we must adapt. These issues, together with the many opportunities that will arise from managingsalinity, will have a significant effect on regionalsustainability and it is important that an agreed visionfor future landscapes be developed that recognisesthese issues and the significant contribution thatagricultural production makes to Western Australia’seconomic wealth.

Our understanding of salinity processes in thewheatbelt and the scale of intervention required tocontrol rising groundwater, will require communitiesand Government to make difficult, but critical,decisions about whether the salinity managementresponse is recovery, containment, or adaptation.

With limited public resources, prioritised investment,based on an analysis of benefits, risk assessment andthe effectiveness of investments at State, regionaland catchment scale is imperative. As advocated bythe Taskforce, Government will lead three mainactions vis:

1. Protection of high-value public assets from theconsequences of salinity and other forms ofresource degradation through direct public funding(eg: water resource catchments, threatened high-value conservation areas and built assets)

The Role of Government in Salinity Management

Government will implement appropriate institutionalarrangements that reflect the changing nature ofsustainable NRM and the coordination andintegration of policies and programs that must occuracross Government agencies, regional NRM groups,Regional Development Commissions, localgovernment, NGOs and industry groups to ensureprogress towards regional sustainability. This will alsoentail building social capital in the regions to assistcommunities make the transition to more sustainablefutures.

Government has endorsed the State Salinity Council’s“Framework for Guiding Investment in SalinityManagement” as the basis for guiding fundingdecisions at State, regional and catchment scales. It must be recognised, however, that application of thisInvestment Framework will mean that only small areasof farmland will qualify for direct public funding forthe purposes of implementation of on-ground worksto prevent salinisation of public assets. There willhowever, be opportunities under the Natural HeritageTrust for broader NRM projects to be considered.With the signing of the Intergovernmental Agreement(IGA) for the National Action Plan for Salinity andWater Quality (NAP), funding allocations to priorityactions and projects can commence followingdevelopment of the bilateral agreement.

It is clear from the three main actions recommendedby the Taskforce, that a range of deliverymechanisms for salinity management strategies isneeded. It is proposed under the NAP, that themajority of funds would be delivered through regionalNRM groups for on-ground works, however thesearrangements do not adequately acknowledge WA’ssalinity situation and strategic needs. Negotiationswith the Commonwealth on the bilateral agreementwill address this fundamental issue. Expenditure ofNAP and Government funds for on-ground works will be guided by application of the InvestmentFramework. It is Government’s expectation that allfunds for agreed priority actions will be eligible formatching funding under the NAP.

The State Government expects that following thesuccessful conclusion of bilateral negotiations withthe Commonwealth on the IGA for the NAP, specificfunding allocations will be made as a matter of high priority. In anticipation of this, regional NRMstrategies that incorporate priority actions, targetsand monitoring and evaluation plans need to befinalised as a matter of urgency.

The Government also acknowledges and appreciatesthe very significant role the State Salinity Council andits Executive have played in coordinating Governmentand community efforts in the difficult area of salinitymanagement. Government is establishing a NaturalResource Management Council (NRMC), however inthe interim, the existing State Salinity CouncilExecutive will continue to perform its role in providingpolicy and strategy advice to Government.

Table 1 provides a summary of the State’s salinitymanagement and funding priorities andresponsibilities.


Table 1 Salinity priorities, relative funding priority and responsibilities 9

Table 1SALINITY PRIORITIES, RELATIVE FUNDING PRIORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES(NOTE: The priorities listed below have been derived from the three main actions that Government will lead and are broadlyconsistent with the Salinity Investment Framework. The application of the Salinity Investment Framework at regional andcatchment scales will guide more detailed priority setting.)

Salinity Management Priority Relative Funding Implementation / Coordination Priority4 Responsibility

Protection of high value public assets• Expansion of the Biodiversity Recovery Program 1 Department of Conservation

• Recovery of key Water Resource Recovery Catchments 1 Department of Environment, Water and Catchment Protection

• Protection and management of native vegetation 2 Regional NRM Groups /NRM agencies

• Expansion of the Land for Wildlife program 2 Department of Conservation

• Scope Rural Roads Program 3; once-off Department for Planning and Infrastructure; WA Local Government Association

Development of new technologies, industries and markets• Development of economically viable new salinity management 1 Department of Conservation, Forest Products

Commission, Department of Agriculture

• Research and development to enhance germ plasm of 2 Department of Agricultureperennial pastures

• Additional research and development for commercial 2 Department of Conservation, woody species for wood products Forest Products Commission

• Research and development to enhance germ plasm for 2 Department of Agriculturesalt land and development of commercial salt tolerant plants

• Product testing and development for oils and other products 2 Department of Conservationderived from eucalypt species

• Evaluation of commercial potential of options for productive 3 Department of Agricultureuse of salt water

• Further development of saline inland aquaculture 3 Department of Fisheries

Salinity Management Priority Relative Funding Implementation / Coordination Priority Responsibility

Support and incentives for planning, coordination and implementation• Core support for regional NRM groups 1 Administered through the Department of

Environment, Water and Catchment Protection

• Finalisation and application of the Salinity Investment 2 Department of Environment, Water and Framework at State and regional scales Catchment Protection

• Development of a monitoring and evaluation framework 2 Department of Environment, Water and Catchment Protection/EPA

• Enhancement of spatial information monitoring and evaluation 3 Department of Land Administration/WA Land Information System

• Predictive model for flood peaks, salt loads developed and 3 Department of Environment, Water and applied to major catchments to facilitate design Catchment Protection

• Training and education program for extension officers and advisors 3 Department of Agriculture

• Formulate a ‘Development Plan for New Regional Industries’ 3 Department of Local Government and Regional Development

• Coordinate preparation of Partnership Agreements and 3; once-off Department of Environment, Water and Regional Strategies Catchment Protection

Institutional arrangements • Establish the NRM Council and NRM Office 3 Department of Environment, Water and

Catchment Protection

1) Leadership and Vision

The Salinity Taskforce recommends that:

• The State Government, through the Cabinet StandingCommittee on Environmental Policy, establishes atangible long-term vision for the landscape of theSouth West of Western Australia with an estimate ofthe long-term State budgetary requirement forachieving the vision.

The vision should incorporate as far as possible:

• identification of areas with high water tables with thepotential to become saline;

• a network of natural systems, including high priority conservation areas and remnant native vegetation on private lands;

• lands suitable for agro-forestry (with twin objectives of commercial returns and lowering water tables);

• lands where other new agricultural practices will be needed to reduce water tables;

• saline land which could be used for productive and nature conservation purposes;

• areas where restructuring may be needed for agricultural or conservation purposes; and

• employment growth and regional development.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE AND ACTIONGovernment supports the intent of the recommendation.

It is clear that our rural landscapes must look verydifferent in the future if we are to have healthyecosystems supporting vibrant and cohesive ruralcommunities enjoying economic prosperity through adiverse range of sustainable land uses.

Government therefore supports the need for a visionfor sustainable rural landscapes and believes it should be developed in partnership with regionalcommunities. This will be a key task for the newNatural Resource Management Council (NRMC).The State Sustainability Strategy, which is currentlybeing developed, recognises regional sustainability asa key issue.

As an integral part of State, regional and catchmentplanning, implementation of the Salinity InvestmentFramework will help develop a realistic and achievablevision of what rural landscapes might look like.Projects like ‘Living Landscapes’ are good examplesof partnership approaches aimed at transforming thelandscape through an ecosystem approach tosustainable natural resource management.

2) The Existing State Salinity Strategy and Salinity Action Plan


• The proposed Natural Resource Management Councilfor Land and Water develops a new State SalinityStrategy to reflect the new investment priorities of theGovernment and the outcomes of negotiations for theNational Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality.The Strategy will build on the 1996 and 2000 Strategiesby incorporating the findings of the Salinity Taskforce,particularly the need for increased attention to:

• the completion and application of the Framework forInvestment in Salinity Management;

• better systems for monitoring and evaluation;

• engineering methods for salinity management in suitable locations;

• commercial drivers and development of new technologies and farming systems for salinity management;

• new structures and institutional arrangements; and

• improved biodiversity management and protection.

• Its statement of ‘A New Position on Salinity Management’(Section two) be endorsed and used as the basis fordeveloping the new State Salinity Strategy as well asguiding the State’s negotiations for the NationalAction Plan for Salinity and Water Quality andinfluencing negotiations for phase two of the NaturalHeritage Trust.

• The new Salinity Strategy should incorporate interimoutcomes, targets and milestones, based as far aspossible on the proposed Framework for Investment inSalinity Management

• Over time, outcomes, targets and milestones arerefined as the Framework for Investment in SalinityManagement is applied with greater detail and rigourto the range of investment options for salinitymanagement.

• The new Salinity Strategy is completed within sixmonths of endorsement of the recommendations ofthe Salinity Taskforce.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE AND ACTIONGovernment supports the intent of the recommendation.

Government believes that the Taskforce report andGovernment’s response will provide adequate strategicfocus for investment in salinity management, withagreed regional NRM strategies detailing priorityactions, targets and monitoring and evaluation for interand intra-regional projects. The NRMC will play a keyrole in setting regional targets and standards for NRM,relevant to WA’s salinity situation, in consultation withregional groups and through the development andaccreditation of regional NRM strategies.


Salinity Taskforce Recommendations – Specific Government Response and Action

It is envisaged that the NRMC would address theneed for a new Salinity Strategy once Governmentand regional NRM groups have had at least 2 yearsexperience in applying the new strategic investmentframework to guide investment in salinitymanagement. From past experience, establishingadequate consultation processes and dedicating therequired resources for a protracted period to developa revised strategy is a significant undertaking.

Government strongly supports the Taskforce’s ‘A NewPosition on Salinity Management’ as the basis forboth developing a future Salinity Strategy and forbilateral negotiations with the Commonwealth forfunding under the NAP and the Natural HeritageTrust (NHT) II. The Statement should also reflect the importance of protection and management ofnative vegetation, that support for research anddevelopment for high water use crops and pasturesshould continue and that restructuring/readjustmentof catchments and farms should be considered as anoption to achieve salinity goals. These mattersshould be considered by the NRMC for inclusion in arevised Position Statement as a matter of priority.

3) Prioritising Salinity Investments and Monitoring Effectiveness


• The State Salinity Council’s “Framework for Investmentin Salinity Management” be finalised and thatsubstantial additional funds be allocated to datacollection and analysis to support the application ofthis framework in guiding priority setting for investmentof public funds at state and regional levels. Thisprocess should be overseen by the proposed NaturalResource Management Council for Land and Waterand coordinated by the proposed Natural ResourceManagement Office and involve the full range ofrelevant groups and departments, including regionalNatural Resource Management groups. The principlesand assumptions behind the Investment Frameworkmust be clearly articulated together with anexplanation of its role in guiding investment decisionsat the State and regional levels.

• Substantial additional funds be provided each year tothe Environmental Protection Authority to work withthe proposed Natural Resource Management Officeand the Departments of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, Water and Catchment Protection to develop, coordinate and ensure the ongoingimplementation of a comprehensive and cost-effectivemonitoring and evaluation program for salinity andnatural resource management. The new program will,as far as possible, build on the existing monitoring andevaluation activities of State Government departments.

• Targets for the new State Salinity Strategy should bedeveloped as key outcomes of the application of the“Framework for Investment in Salinity Management”.

These targets should:

• specify the difference which will be made by the State Salinity Strategy in comparison to a scenario where thereis no coordinated strategy and no additional funding;

• be expressed in terms of specific outcomes, includingarea of land protected from salinisation, area of salineland in productive use, value of infrastructure protected from salinity, number of species estimated to be have been protected from extinction, area of native vegetation protected from salinisation and reduction in peak flood flows; and

• incorporate targets for community and social impactssuch as increased employment in rural areas, prevention of rural population decline and increased wealth in rural areas.

• Targets for the adoption of new land use optionsshould be developed as they become available and beestablished on the basis of analyses to determinerealistic areas of adoption over time in view of:

• areas of suitable soil types within suitable climatic zones;

• the expected economic performance of the new landuse options relative to traditional land uses; and

• realistic adoption levels and adoption rates based onhistorical experience.

• Targets be specified for the research and developmentand industry development program as a whole in termsof the potential levels of adoption of newly developedtechnologies and the actual aggregate levels ofadoption of the technologies over time.

• The monitoring and evaluation program for salinityand natural resource management include two broadmonitoring components:

(a) Broadscale baseline monitoring of the impacts of salinity and the implementation of salinity management practices; and

(b) Monitoring to support evaluation of specific programs.

• Substantial additional funds be allocated to continuethe Land Monitor project in support of the statewideprogram of baseline monitoring.

• The adequacy of existing baseline monitoringprograms be reviewed by the proposed NaturalResource Management Office, together with theDepartments of Conservation, Agriculture andEnvironment, Water and Catchment Protection. Any gaps or inefficiencies should be reported to theNatural Resource Management Council for Land and Water and the Cabinet Standing Committee on Environmental Policy, with recommendations forimprovement.

• Monitoring be built into each program of the SalinityStrategy (including measurable targets over time) asan intrinsic part of the work, with a requirement that itwill provide information for use in regular evaluations.

• The new monitoring and evaluation program includedevelopment of formal and rigorous evaluationprocesses for salinity programs and identification ofdata requirements for such evaluations.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE AND ACTIONEven with intervention on an unprecedented andenormous scale, continuing salinisation of resourcesis inevitable and unpreventable in many catchments,

SalinityTaskforce Recommendations – Specific Government Responce and Action 11

although without such intervention the scale ofsalinity would be greater still. Furthermore, previousbeliefs that salinity could be managed by strategic,small scale treatments or changes to themanagement of traditional annual crops andpastures, have been dispelled.

Government will therefore only invest public funds insalinity management where it can be demonstratedthere is a significant public benefit. Investment willtarget principally public assets at risk (water resources,biodiversity and infrastructure) and which can beprotected.

Government has endorsed the State SalinityCouncil’s, “Framework for Guiding Investment inSalinity Management” which provides a rationaldecision-making framework for determining prioritiesfor salinity action and funding. These priorities canthen be incorporated into regional NRM strategiesand catchment plans. Funding for application of theInvestment Framework in the Avon Region has alsobeen endorsed by Government, as has a State levelanalysis to assist in setting regional priorities. It isGovernment’s expectation that implementation of theFramework to guide regional planning will be ‘rolledout’ to other NRM regions as quickly as possible.

It is anticipated that investment decisions will need to be made on the best available information and,consistent with the principles of adaptive management,those decisions will need to be refined in light ofexperience in applying the framework and better dataand information based on monitoring and research.

Following application of the Investment Framework to determine whether the salinity response goal isrecovery, containment or adaptation, specific regionaltargets (as identified by the Taskforce but notnecessarily limited to those), should be set for the threemain actions that Government will lead and will, overtime, be incorporated in a revised Salinity Strategy. In addition to those targets identified by the Taskforce,targets for industry development and researchprograms should also address cost-effectiveness andlikely impacts on water tables and salinity.

Broad scale monitoring of the status and trends innatural resource extent and condition for State of theEnvironment reporting, monitoring the impacts ofsalinity and the effectiveness of salinity managementand other NRM programs, is essential. Prioritiesdetermined for salinity investment will guidemonitoring and evaluation requirements andmonitoring and evaluation informs future fundingpriorities. Data and information from projects such asthe National Land and Water Resources Audit andLand Monitor have been, and will continue to play, animportant role in guiding salinity investment priorities.

Government will develop and implement a practicaland cost-effective monitoring and evaluationframework at State, regional and catchment scales bythe first quarter of 2003. This framework will need to

be integrated with State of Environment reporting andbuild on existing monitoring undertaken by agenciesand communities and should reflect currentGovernment-endorsed frameworks for monitoring andevaluation developed through Ministerial Councils orother mechanisms, eg National Objectives andTargets for Biodiversity Conservation.

It is essential that the framework for monitoring isclearly linked to the outcomes sought and targetsidentified in regional strategies and determinedthrough application of the priority-setting process forinvestment in salinity management and other decision-making tools. The framework should also recogniseand support the relevant arrangements agreedbetween the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA)and NRM agencies on the EPA’s role in auditing theenvironmental performance of the NRM agencies.

With the assistance of the WA Land InformationSystem, opportunities to develop or augment existingspatial information systems for NRM should bedeveloped to both markedly enhance the ability ofregional NRM groups to access relevant NRM data ina useable format and enable trends in naturalresources to be assessed over time. A “one-stop-shop” management information system for collatingall relevant environmental and NRM data and makingit publicly accessible is highly desirable and should beexplored by the NRMC and relevant governmentbodies with a view to early implementation. Thisinformation system should build on the currentregional information centres.

4) Technology and Industry Development for Salinity Management


• A very substantial increase in annual funding for the development of economically viable new salinitymanagement technologies and the establishment of new industries and markets based on thosetechnologies, subject to evaluation of economicfeasibility. This initiative should be pursued in closepartnership with community-based groups involved in participatory research, development and extension.

• The Research and Development Technical Committeecontinue its current role under the proposed NaturalResource Management Council for Land and Water.

The Salinity Taskforce supports:

• Current directions proposed for the $4 millionengineering investigation initiative and recommendsthat it be implemented without delay, in closecollaboration with CSIRO.

• Proposed establishment of a broad-based advisorycommittee to oversee the engineering investigationinitiative and recommends the close involvement andparticipation of farmer groups (eg. Salinity Drainageand Management Association), contractors,Government departments, research and developmentorganisations and natural resource managementregional groups.



Issues to be addressed in the Plan would include:

• requirements to reconfigure the electricity grid to accommodate dispersed generation;

• the reconfiguration of regional water supplies to takedesalinated water produced from cogeneration plants(joint electricity/desalination plants);

• the potential for ethanol mixtures in fuels and the potential need to modify transport fuels infrastructure accordingly;

• secure long-term funding sources for the large researchand development task to support these initiatives;

• the achievement of natural resource management outcomes, including salinity; and

benefits to the farming community and rural towns.

• Substantial additional funds be allocated to theDepartment of Agriculture each year to enhance thegerm plasm development of perennial pastures, incollaboration with the Cooperative Research Centre forPlant-Based Management of Dryland Salinity.

• Substantial additional funds be allocated to theDepartment of Conservation over two years for researchand development to establish industries based on Acaciaspecies, including selection of specific species based ontheir suitability for production of wood products and/orfeed in collaboration with the Cooperative ResearchCentre for Plant-Based Management of Dryland Salinity.

• Substantial additional funds be allocated for producttesting and development for eucalyptus oils derivedfrom oil mallees and other eucalypt species, to beadministered by the Department of Conservation.

• The Salinity Taskforce recognises the adverse impactof seasonal conditions in 2001 on the ongoingdevelopment of the oil mallee industry andrecommends the provision of financial support toencourage continued plantings during 2002.

• Substantial additional funds increasing over time areneeded for research and development to improve germplasm for salt land and to develop new types ofcommercial salt-tolerant plants. National research anddevelopment funds should be sought for this purposeby the Department of Agriculture in collaboration withthe Cooperative Research Centre for Plant-BasedManagement of Dryland Salinity, supplemented byadditional State funds if necessary.

• Additional funds be allocated to the Department ofAgriculture to establish a program to evaluate thecommercial potential of options identified by theOptions for the Productive Use of Salinity project formaking productive use of salt water in collaborationwith the Department of Local Government andRegional Development.

• Additional funds be allocated to the Department ofFisheries to further develop inland saline aquacultureindustries and to develop a coordinated approach toindustry development involving the Department ofAgriculture, the Western Inland Fisheries Co-operativeand other relevant grower groups.

• Research and development Departments support andwork closely with farmer groups in participatoryresearch to demonstrate and test engineering options,

• The aims of the engineering investigations include:

• resolving technical uncertainties about effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different engineering options in different situations;

• advising on practical design of engineering options;

• addressing regional drainage planning which minimisesadverse downstream impacts and advances the potential to identify situations where downstream impacts from drainage are or are not acceptable (including issues of concern to indigenous groups, waterways management authorities and environmental organisations);

• defining the role of government in any such schemes(consistent with the principles of the investment framework);

• resolving equity issues, eg. providing a sound basis for decisions about which catchments will and will not receive funding for drainage schemes (again the investment framework principles are relevant); and

• providing advice on how to resolve and simplify notification and approval procedures for landowners who propose engineering options.

• Additional funds be allocated to the CSIRO andDepartment of Environment, Water and CatchmentProtection towards the development of a modelling toolto allow improved analysis of flood peaks, salt loadsand flows, including the impact of any large-scalerevegetation or engineering works, and for applicationand testing of this model to at least one major basin, inconjunction with the engineering investigation initiative.

• The Department of Environment, Water andCatchment Protection, with other appropriateagencies, develops a system of cost sharing forevaluation of drainage proposals.

• The ‘engineering options advisory committee’ shouldconsider the need for pre-feasibility analyses of specificproposals for large-scale arterial drainage systems inthe wheatbelt, and advise the Department ofEnvironment, Water and Catchment Protection of theneed for such analyses.

• The Department of Planning and Infrastructure,Western Australian Government Railways Commissionand the Western Australian Local GovernmentAssociation develop a system of cost sharing forcrossing of roads and rail lines by drainage waters forsituations where the drainage system is assessed asbeing cost effective and downstream impacts ofdrainage systems are found to be acceptable.

• The Department of Local Government and RegionalDevelopment provide leadership in preparing a‘Development Plan for New Regional Industries’ incollaboration with the Forest Products Commission,natural resource management departments, naturalresource management regional groups, regionalplantation committees, local governments, RegionalDevelopment Commissions, Western Power, theproposed Natural Resource Management Office,research and development institutions, farmer industrygroups, existing relevant businesses, environmentalinterests and farmer organisations.


new perennial options and technologies for productiveuse of salt land and salt water. The ‘Development Planfor New Regional Industries’ should be used as ameans to create partnerships between Governmentdepartments, other research and developmentorganisations, farmer groups (such as the Oil MalleeAssociation, the Saltland Pastures Association and theWA Lucerne Growers), non-agricultural businesses andnatural resource management regional Groups.

• The Department of Agriculture should give priority tomaintaining linkages with and support for the emergingfarmer groups which are focussing on a particularindustry (eg. lucerne, oil mallees, saltland pastures) oron productive and sustainable farming systemsgenerally (eg. WA No-Till Farmers Association).

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE AND ACTIONAlthough both the 1996 Salinity Action Plan and the 2000 Salinity Strategy recognised the need forcommercial industry development, inadequateadditional funds were realised through the NHT,industry research and development groups and other sources. Development of new and sustainableregional industries, based on technical solutions to salinity, is one of the highest priorities for theGovernment and it will negotiate with theCommonwealth to ensure it receives the same prioritythrough the NAP. The NRMC will play an importantrole in this critical area and will need to ensure it hasaccess to the best advice on research anddevelopment priorities for salinity management.

Based on experience in WA and elsewhere, thedevelopment of commercially viable solutions and theequally important task of developing new regionalindustries and markets, can take in excess of 10–20years. Government will ensure that during this periodlandholders are advised of, and have access to, other salinity management options. Incrementaldevelopment of existing high water use farmingoptions will also be continued.

While Government, through the Departments ofAgriculture and Conservation, has already made asignificant investment in the Cooperative ResearchCentre (CRC) for Plant-Based Management ofDryland Salinity, further investment in this area iswarranted, particularly in partnership with community-based groups involved in research, development andextension. Such investment needs to be coordinatedwith the CRC. In support of this approach,Government has provided funding to the oil malleeindustry to encourage continued plantings during 2002.

Subject to broad application of the InvestmentFramework, Government will develop sustainable newwoody perennial new industries and markets based on those technologies. This should be done in closepartnership between Government agencies andcommunity and industry-based organisations. Clear guidelines also need to be developed on whatconstitutes ‘industry development’ to assist bothproponents and decision-makers.

Engineering solutionsAlthough engineering solutions are receiving muchgreater attention, the economics of engineeringsolutions, particularly deep drainage, are problematicexcept in those circumstances where it isdemonstrated they are the most cost-effective inprotecting high value public assets at risk (eg towns,nature reserves). Application of the InvestmentFramework will assist in making these decisions.

In keeping with the Investment Framework,Government will only invest in engineering solutionswhere these generate the greatest public benefit.

While some engineering options are highlycontroversial, surface water management is, andshould be, a key strategy for all farms in managingexcess water in the landscape.

In recognition of the important role that engineeringsolutions may play in managing salinity and also theirhighly contentious nature, Government has allocated$4M to an engineering evaluation project, to bemanaged by the Department of Environment, Waterand Catchment Protection. In implementing thisinitiative, the recommendations of the Deep DrainageTaskforce and the strategic approach to deepdrainage advocated in the Salinity Strategy 2000,remain relevant. This initiative will add to the body ofknowledge being accumulated through otherGovernment and community-funded projectsconcerning the feasibility and cost-effectiveness ofengineering solutions in a range of salinity situations.

Opportunities for integration of Government’s $4Mengineering and $6M demonstration catchmentinitiatives will be explored so as to maximise theprospects of demonstrating successful catchment andfarm-scale salinity management techniques based onapplication of the Investment Framework andintegrated where possible with existing engineeringprojects. These initiatives are of such a scale thatthey will be coordinated and overseen by an advisorycommittee that has been established and which willwork closely with CSIRO and relevant bodies andorganisations, eg farmer groups, NRM regionalgroups and government agencies. The SalinityTaskforce has identified an appropriate set of aimsfor the engineering initiative as a starting point. Aspart of the engineering initiative, the Department ofEnvironment, Water and Catchment Protection willdevelop a modelling tool to improve predictions ofsalinity mitigation works on flood peaks, salt loadsand water balance in major catchments.

A streamlined, practical and legally robust process forstatutory assessment and control of deep drainageproposals, especially where drains cross farmboundaries, roads and rail lines, needs to be rapidlyprogressed. The environmentally responsible disposalof saline, and sometimes highly acidic, water fromdeep drains requires urgent attention as part of thedevelopment of the above process.


In line with Taskforce recommendations, the NRMagencies will devise an acceptable cost-sharingarrangement for statutory evaluation of drainageprojects with proponents. In addition, a whole-of-government process is required to advise it of theneed for feasibility studies of a number of large-scaledrainage proposals. As these and also smallerdrainage proposals may require crossing of rail linesand roads, the NRM agency group developing anintegrated statutory process for assessing deepdrainage proposals should also negotiate with the WALocal Government Association, the Department forPlanning and Infrastructure and the WA GovernmentRailways Commission on cost-sharing arrangementsfor such crossings so that these are resolved as partof or prior to any statutory approvals.

While the appropriate regulatory agency/authority willcontinue to have the lead role in regulating deepdrainage projects, local government also has a keyrole in the development, implementation and controlof engineering solutions, particularly where drainagesystems cross-farm boundaries and impact on publicinfrastructure. Opportunities for the use of instrumentsunder planning or local government legislation tofacilitate improved approaches needs to be explored,eg the Western Australian Planning Commissioncould include appropriate references in relevantStatements of Planning Policy and the Model SchemeText could be amended to include clear provisionsaddressing the issue which local government canincorporate in their town planning schemes.

Perennials to prevent salinisationIn view of the overwhelming need to move towardsmore sustainable land use in the agricultural regions,Government strongly supports the need for a‘Development Plan for New Regional Industries’,based on the principles of sustainability and involvingcommunity, industry and State and local governmentin its preparation. The Department of LocalGovernment and Regional Development shouldcoordinate the production of such a plan. Throughthe NAP, the State Government will also work inpartnership with the Commonwealth Government tosupport industry groups such as the Oil Mallee andLucerne Growers’ Associations.

Commercial Farm ForestryIncreasing the development and implementation ofcommercial farm forestry will contribute to moreeffective salinity management than that throughGovernment funding alone. Importantly, commercialfarm forestry can deliver income to the landowner and contribute to regional economic development. In specific soil types and rainfall zones, this will be an important contribution to salinity management.

To make farm forestry commercially viable, theGovernment is pursuing a model whereby publicsalinity funding (both State and Commonwealth) is added to other investment for timber values andcarbon sequestration. Other contributions from the

landowner, or from biodiversity conservation, can fitwithin this model. Revenues from timber and carbon,in particular, contribute to farm income and return tocommercial investors.

The Government’s legislation on Carbon Rights andTree Plantation Agreements will assist with thisinvestment model. The Forest Products Commission isdeveloping regionally based industry strategies toguide coordination across the agricultural zone.

The Forest Products Commission is also investingdirectly in farm forestry with newly approved fundingarrangements under the 2002/03 Budget.

Productive use of saline land and waterThere is little doubt that the area of saline land andwater will increase over the coming years. Ongoingresearch and development will be necessary toevaluate the feasibility and economic return ofrevegetating salinised land and exploring options forthe productive use of saline water. One of theseoptions, saline aquaculture is most advanced and theDepartment of Fisheries will develop a coordinatedindustry approach to inland saline aquaculture incollaboration with the Department of Agriculture,industry groups and tertiary institutions. Theseprojects should be integrated with other sustainableland use practices in salt-affected areas.

Industry Groups Farmer industry groups and farming systems groupshave a key role to play in testing, improving anddemonstrating and communicating new managementoptions as they develop. The ‘Development Plan forNew Regional Industries’ should be used as the vehiclefor establishing partnerships with these groups andthe Department of Agriculture will play a lead role inestablishing and maintaining linkages with them.

Concerted efforts should be made to build on thesignificant contributions made by some corporations,eg Alcoa, Western Power, BP and Woodside inworking with local communities on sustainable landuse practices and NRM. The development of aregional industries plan should be seen as anopportunity to engage other industries, outsidetraditional agriculture, in assisting rural communitiesmake the transition to a more sustainable future.

5) Community Support, Capacity Building and Mechanisms to Encourage Change


• The Departments of Agriculture, Conservation andEnvironment, Water and Catchment Protectioncontinue to develop resource information kits toincrease awareness of available salinity managementoptions, highlighting circumstances where theseoptions are considered to be economically viable. It isrecommended that the information in these resourcekits be targeted to enable individuals to better identifyand implement appropriate and cost-effective activitiesand review the outcomes of these activities.


• The Department of Conservation and GreeningAustralia, Western Australia continues to developinformation resource kits to increase awareness of therichness of biodiversity in Western Australia. The kitsshould include information to facilitate monitoring andmanagement of this biodiversity by community groups.

• The communication processes and networks ofNatural Resource Management Regional Groups arefurther developed with support from the NationalAction Plan for Salinity and Water Quality. Theproposed Natural Resource Management Officeshould support this work along with the naturalresource management government departments.

• The Department of Agriculture carefully considers theextension methods used in, and following, the RapidCatchment Appraisal Program to ensure that full use ismade of the information and therefore that theprogram is effective.

• Reports provided to landholders under the RapidCatchment Appraisal Program be broadened toinclude information on native vegetation andbiodiversity. This could include direct biologicalinformation as well as contact details for sources ableto provide more detailed advice and support.

• Careful consideration be given to the location andscale of public investments in programs to provideairborne geophysical data.

• Additional funds be allocated to the Department ofAgriculture to develop a new coordinated training andeducation program available to all extension officers,advisers and Community Support Officers involved insalinity and natural resource management. Thetraining should improve technical expertise in areassuch as hydrogeology, engineering options, farmingsystems, woody perennials, native vegetationmanagement, biodiversity and farm economicsevaluation of management options. The Departmentof Agriculture should work closely with the proposedNatural Resource Management Office, theDepartment of Environment, Water and CatchmentProtection and the Department of Conservation andrelevant non-government organisations to develop thisprogram. Where appropriate the training should bemade available to farmer industry groups andindividuals.

• The State Government continues to support capacitybuilding initiatives such as the Foundations forLeadership Program for the next five years.

• The proposed Natural Resource Management Officeliaise with the Department of Education to ensure thatthere is adequate coverage of salinity and naturalresource management in school curricula.

• The tenure of Community Support Officers (includingCommunity Landcare Coordinators, Bushcare, Rivercareand Land For Wildlife Officers) be extended to five yearsto enhance the security of these positions and reducethe problems of high staff turnover and inexperience,and that the State Government negotiate such anarrangement with the Commonwealth Government.

• The natural resource management governmentdepartments and the natural resource managementregional groups review their involvement with Aboriginalgroups and establish positions to develop betternetworks to involve Aboriginal people in the

development of salinity and natural resourcemanagement policies, strategies, programs and projects.

• The proposed Natural Resource Management Councilfor Land and Water and the proposed Natural ResourceManagement Office work with the Department ofIndigenous Affairs, Department of Conservation, ATSICand the Aboriginal Lands Trust to establish a suitable‘advisory committee for management of Aboriginallands in Western Australia’, and key ‘AboriginalFacilitator’ positions to better involve Aboriginals inland and water management in Western Australia.

• The State Assessment Panel work with the proposedNatural Resource Management Office and the naturalresource management government departments, andappropriate Aboriginal organisations, to develop simpleand equitable procedures for funding from State andCommonwealth Natural Resource Management programsfor Aboriginal land and water management projects.

• One of the positions in the proposed Natural ResourceManagement Office be designated to ensure Aboriginalgroups and organisations are fully involved in thedevelopment and implementation of natural resourcemanagement policies, strategies and programs.

• The Department of Agriculture establish a process toensure integration and coordination of the delivery ofsalinity and natural resource management extensionservices to landowners and land managers in theagricultural area of Western Australia.

• The demonstration catchment initiative should primarilybe concerned with demonstrating and further developinginnovative salinity management practices, rather thanemphasising relatively well-established options.

• Demonstrations in the initiative not be limited to thecatchment scale. Where appropriate, paddock scaledemonstrations may be used to reach more farmers inmore regions.

• Treatments in the demonstration catchments shouldencompass the whole range of management andfarming practices appropriate to the catchment type,including water management, new crops and pasturesand nature conservation and biodiversity management.

• The Demonstration Catchments initiative be closelylinked to the Engineering Investigation Initiative toemphasise the interrelated nature of a range ofmanagement options in many situations.

• The State Government through Treasury, maintains awatching brief on the outcomes of new research intoeconomic policy instruments, to assess the potentialcontribution of these instruments for promoting salinitymanagement.

• The State Government negotiate with CommonwealthMinisters and agencies to address problems with thecriteria and application process for the NaturalHeritage Trust.

• The Bushcare program continues to work with farmergroups to increase awareness of biodiversitymanagement requirements. However, the programshould adopt a more flexible approach, such asacknowledging the potential need for non-local speciesin areas that have become saline.

• On-ground works that may be funded by the NationalAction Plan for Salinity and Water Quality be subjectto sufficient technical and economic analysis before


approval to ensure that funds are spent in ways thatare technically effective and cost-effective. An approachthat rushes into implementation of on-ground workswithout adequate assessment should be strongly resisted.

• In negotiating with the Federal Government over theNational Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality,the State Government should emphasise that a rangeof other delivery mechanisms are needed to best suitthe issue at hand and the scale at which it needs to beaddressed. Delivery of funds through natural resourcemanagement regional groups should not be thepredominant vehicle for delivery of funds from theNational Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality.

• In view of the major budget commitments entailed andthe significant problems identified in the NationalAction Plan for Salinity and Water Quality, the StateGovernment maintain a strong stance in negotiatingthe National Action Plan to seek outcomes which willmost effectively enhance salinity management inWestern Australia.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE AND ACTIONIt is clear that although the farming community hasalready made significant contributions to salinitymanagement, substantial changes to our land usesand farming systems will be essential if we are to alterthe current trends and achieve sustainability in theagricultural regions. In general, economic instrumentsfor managing salinity will have limited effect due to thepractical difficulties of implementation5, however the rolethat carbon credits may play has yet to be fully explored.

Greater tangible involvement of Aboriginal peoples insalinity and natural resources management is stronglysupported and the intent of all the Taskforce’srecommendations in this regard should be taken up by theNRM agencies, regional NRM groups and the NRMC.

Since salinity management will be highly dependenton committed and innovative individuals andcommunities, Government also supports action in thefollowing areas:

• The NRM agencies will work with the regional NRMgroups, relevant NGOs and industry groups to evaluateand further develop targeted, resource information kitsand other communication strategies on valuingbiodiversity, salinity impacts and management options.

• The Department of Agriculture will integrate the RapidCatchment Appraisal Program with the implementationof the Investment Framework and work with otherGovernment NRM agencies to ensure inclusion ofnature conservation/biodiversity and waterwayprotection information in the program.

• Public investments in the provision of airbornegeophysical data will be subjected to cost-effectivenessanalysis, as should any remotely sensed NRM dataacquisition program designed to provide communitiesand government with cost-effective information toimprove decision-making for salinity management.

• NRM agencies and relevant NGOs will workcollaboratively to evaluate and further developcomprehensive training and education programs for allthose involved in community extension activities, for

example Community Support Officers. The programswill cover the full suite of issues associated with salinityand natural resources management. With the NRMscene rapidly evolving, extension programs need to becarefully tailored to meet changing Government andcommunity expectations.

• Employment arrangements for Community SupportOfficers urgently need to be reviewed with theCommonwealth to ensure that the NRM regions canattract and retain competent individuals. The regionalNRM groups in collaboration with the NRM agenciesshould develop a model Employment Agreement.

• The Department of Environment, Water andCatchment Protection will coordinate activities acrossgovernment agencies and NGOs in ensuring thatsalinity and sustainable NRM are adequately coveredin school curricula by building on projects such as the‘salinity in education’ project.

• In recognition of the need to ensure that extensionservices are as efficient as possible, the Department ofAgriculture will coordinate an across-governmentprocess aimed at integration and coordination of thedelivery of extension services in areas such asBushcare, Landcare and Rivercare.

• The Government’s $6M demonstration catchmentinitiative must focus on primarily new, economicallyviable, salinity management options as a means ofaccelerating adoption through involving farmers inparticipatory research at both the catchment and farm scale. Where practicable, Government’s $4Mengineering initiative also needs to be integrated with demonstration projects and other Governmentprograms, eg Land for Wildlife, to enable ascomprehensive a range as possible of salinitymanagement tools and nature conservation programsto be demonstrated.

• Program objectives for Bushcare, Rivercare andLandcare should be reviewed with the Commonwealthto ensure that there is sufficient flexibility in thoseprograms to achieve WA’s salinity response goals ofrecovery, containment or adaptation. Furthermore, thecriteria and application process for NHT funds,particularly as they relate to Aboriginal people, needsto be urgently raised with the Commonwealth at bothMinisterial and agency level.

6) Institutional Arrangements and Partnerships


• The Government establish by 30 June 2002 an interimNatural Resource Management Council for Land andWater (pending promulgation of a Natural ResourceManagement Act). An independent member of thecommunity with significant experience in integratednatural resources management would Chair theCouncil. The Council’s membership would include theDirectors General of the Departments of Agriculture,Conservation and Land Management, Environment,Water and Catchment Protection and nine othermembers with expertise in the following areas:

• Industry development;

• Regional and local delivery of Natural ResourceManagement;

• Nature conservation, biodiversity and native vegetationmanagement;

• Regional development and local government;

• Climate change and Greenhouse;

• Social issues and impact;

• Natural resource economics;

• Research and development; and

• Environmental protection.

• The proposed Natural Resource Management Councilfor Land and Water advise and report to the Ministerfor the Environment and Heritage and the Minister forAgriculture.

• The existing Salinity Council be discontinued and as aninterim arrangement, the current Executive of the SalinityCouncil become a committee of the proposed NaturalResource Management Council for Land and Water.

• The Government establish a Natural ResourceManagement Office to support the proposed NaturalResource Management Council for Land and Waterand provide integrated across-government responses toNatural Resource Management issues such as salinity.

• The proposed Natural Resource Management Officework with the Environmental Policy Unit in theDepartment of the Premier and Cabinet, the NaturalResource Management departments and the NaturalResource Management Regional Groups to recommendhow existing natural resource management legislationcan best be used to support the management ofsalinity and other priority Natural ResourceManagement issues. The resulting report andrecommendations will be reviewed by the proposedNatural Resource Management Council for Land andWater and forwarded to the Cabinet StandingCommittee on Environmental Policy for consideration.

• The Environmental Policy Unit in the Department ofthe Premier and Cabinet work with the proposedNatural Resource Management Council for Land andWater and Natural Resource Management Office, thenatural resource management departments and thenatural resource management regional groups toprepare drafting instructions for an umbrella NaturalResource Management Act for Western Australia by30 March 2002.

• The Environmental Policy Unit in the Department of thePremier and Cabinet work with the proposed NaturalResource Management Council for Land and Waterand Natural Resource Management Office, the naturalresource management departments and the naturalresource management regional groups to develop acomprehensive natural resource management policyand plan which together set out the vision, objectives,operating arrangements and cross Government linksfor natural resource management and salinitymanagement in Western Australia.

• The primary activities of the natural resourcemanagement regional groups are:

• negotiation of natural resource management targets and outcomes in their regions consistent with State outcomes and targets;

• monitoring and evaluation of the agreed targets and outcomes;

• supporting the communication of technical information to community groups;

• providing administrative support for Community Landcare Officers;

• providing a regional perspective in the development of State and Commonwealth Government policy;

• developing regional natural resource management policy and strategies;

• providing advice on strategic natural resource management investment, particularly in identifying areas of high risk;

• assisting in the assessment of new initiatives and innovations;

• integrating natural resource management regional programs with other statewide initiatives thereby providing opportunities for whole of Government approaches;

• developing communication systems that enable the regional community to become more aware of the activities of the regional group and individuals to explorethe ranges of activities undertaken within the region;

• providing direction and training support for CommunityLandcare Coordinators and other natural resource management extension officers, and;

• taking part in the process of the allocation of public funds within the region.

Membership of the Natural Resource ManagementRegional Groups should reflect these tasks.

• Partnership agreements be developed between thenatural resource management regional groups and theDepartments of Agriculture, Conservation andEnvironment, Water and Catchment Protection.

• The Department of Environment, Water andCatchment Protection be responsible for providing coreadministrative support and support to preparepartnership agreements and regional strategies for thenatural resource management regional groups andthat this be done as a matter of urgency.

• The natural resource management regional groupsestablish links with the various farm industry groupsthat are active in their region. This link will ensure thatthe natural resource management regional groups arewell informed on research and development initiativesand able to support new industry development.

• Regional natural resource management strategies bedeveloped in full partnership between the naturalresource management regional groups and the naturalresource management Government departments for‘sign off’ and endorsement by the proposed NaturalResource Management Council for Land and Waterand Government through the Cabinet StandingCommittee on Environmental Policy.

• The content and scope of regional strategies be jointlyagreed by the proposed Natural Resource ManagementCouncil for Land and Water working with the naturalresource management regional groups and the naturalresource management Government departments,facilitated by the proposed Natural ResourceManagement Office. The resulting agreed content andscope to be endorsed by the Cabinet StandingCommittee on Environmental Policy and Cabinet.



positions on the Council and Government is nowfinalising appointments. Interim Terms of Referencefor the NRMC are:

1. Adopt a community leadership role for NRM inWestern Australia,

2. Provide high level policy and strategic advice onNRM to the Chair of the Cabinet StandingCommittee on Environmental Policy on:

• implementation of the State Salinity Strategy and Government’s response to the Salinity Taskforce Report,

• how existing NRM legislation can best be used to support NRM,

• development of NRM policy and strategy,

• coordination and delivery of national NRM programs, in particular the NAP and NHT II, including accreditation of regional strategies and;

• implementation of the Salinity Investment Framework and other decision-support tools forinvestment in NRM.

The roles, functions and operating rules (includingreporting requirements) of the Council will bedetermined by Government on advice from the NRMDirectors General and the Salinity CouncilExecutive/NRMC. It is expected that on its formation,the NRMC will investigate and implement effectivemeans for consultation with and participation byrelevant bodies and organisations in both ensuring atwo-way flow of information and in formulating itspolicy advice. The Chair of the NRMC will report tothe Chair of the Cabinet Standing Committee onEnvironmental Policy. This Committee comprises theMinisters for Environment and Heritage (Chair),Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Planning andInfrastructure, and Local Government and RegionalDevelopment. The NRMC will be supported by aNRM Office to be located in the Department ofEnvironment, Water and Catchment Protection. The NRM Office’s primary function will be executive,administrative and policy support to the NRMC.Other tasks envisaged for the NRM Office by theTaskforce will be managed or coordinated, asappropriate, by the Cabinet Standing Committee onEnvironmental Policy and the Environmental PolicyUnit of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet,the NRMC and/or the NRM Directors General Groupand the NRM Senior Officers Group, to ensure awhole-of-government approach to the development of policy and strategy and implementation of highpriority across-government projects. From anefficiency point of view, it is highly desirable that theNAP and NHT Secretariats are co-located in theDepartment of Agriculture.

Once established, the NRMC will develop a work planand establish priorities consistent with Government’sstrategic directions. It will also establish a SalinityConsultative Forum to provide community and special

• The Government formally endorse the development ofPartnership Agreements through the Natural ResourceManagement Policy and authorise the proposedNatural Resource Management Council for Land and Water and the proposed Natural ResourceManagement Office to lead the process of developingsuch agreements between the natural resourcemanagement Government departments and thenatural resource management regional groups.

• The proposed Natural Resource Management Councilfor Land and Water and the proposed NaturalResource Management Office develop a core supportfunding framework recognising the need for verysubstantial funding for natural resource managementregional groups in Western Australia. The frameworkshould include simple budget and audit processes, and be used in negotiations with the CommonwealthGovernment. In the interim the Environmental PolicyUnit within the Department of the Premier and Cabinetshould work with the Department of the Environment,Water and Catchment Protection to begindevelopment of the framework (see alsorecommendation 5.5.10).

• The proposed Natural Resource Management Councilfor Land and Water and the Natural ResourceManagement Office work with the Western AustraliaLocal Government Association to clarify the roles thatlocal government could effectively play in naturalresource management and how the local governmentauthorities can be better resourced and supported.

• The proposed Natural Resource Management Councilfor Land and Water and the Natural ResourceManagement Office work with the local governmentassociations in Western Australia to develop a regionalmodel for local government to work in partnership withthe natural resource management regional groups,including dedicated resources and staff to enable local government authorities to make a meaningfulcontribution to natural resource management issues in the regions.

• The engineering works where local government isinvolved be coordinated with appropriate leadership by local government authorities.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE AND ACTIONThe Government has created and will resource aNatural Resource Management Council (NRMC)which will provide Government with high level strategicand integrated policy advice on the sustainablemanagement of land, water and biodiversity resourcesacross the State. It will replace the State SalinityCouncil. Pending formation of the NRMC, the existingSalinity Council Executive, augmented with theRegional NRM chairs, will continue to perform itsnormal functions. The full State Salinity Council willbe discontinued with the NRMC advising Governmentwithin six months on management and consultativearrangements is has put in place to ensurecommunity and stakeholder participation.

The NRMC will comprise people with skills, expertise,knowledge or interest in all the facets of sustainableNRM and will have a majority of non-governmentmembers. Expressions of interest were called for

interest groups with an avenue to have input into thedeliberations of the NRMC. Government will ask theNRMC to establish an Investment and InnovationAdvisory Committee to advise on:

• priorities for NAP and NHT II funding,

• opportunities for leveraging private sector fundingand other Commonwealth sources of funding,such as the Australian Greenhouse Office and;

• innovative solutions to salinity.

Government acknowledges the significant efforts andimportant and continuing roles that the regional NRMgroups have played in building a community-basedNRM framework, largely through volunteerism.However concerns about burnout, lack of resourcesand support, unclear roles and responsibilities andconcerns about representativeness, require a morestrategic and integrated approach to sustainableNRM in the regions. For various reasons, theinvolvement of local government in sustainable NRMhas been patchy. Government believes that localgovernment needs to be much more actively involvedin sustainable NRM and welcomes recent initiativesby the WA Local Government Association, NRMRegional Groups and Salinity Council Executive andGovernment agencies in exploring this issue. TheNRMC and regional NRM groups will work closelywith the WA Local Government Association andGovernment agencies, to identify opportunities andmodels for more effective participation and increasedresourcing for local government’s participation insustainable NRM. While it is premature to considerregional groupings of local government or theRegional Development Commissions as the regionalframework model, it is Government’s desire that,where appropriate, the regional NRM groups developstronger links with local government and RegionalDevelopment Commissions with a view to evolving toeven more inclusive models in the near future.

Government will assist with defining the roles,responsibilities, functions and operating arrangementsof the regional NRM groups. Where appropriate andpossible, composition of the groups should includelocal government and regional development, as wellas people with skills, expertise, knowledge or interestin sustainable NRM. The Department of Environment,Water and Catchment Protection will develop a corefunding support framework for consideration by theCabinet Standing Committee on Environmental Policy,following which resources for core operations andfunctions will be allocated to the regional NRMgroups to make them independent of separategovernment agency funding, but with accountabilityand reporting processes clearly articulated in theoperating arrangements. Government will determineprocesses for appointment of members, including theChair, in consultation with regional NRM groups andthe NRMC. The primary functions for the NRMregional groups identified by the Taskforce providesound guidance. In addition, regional NRM groups

should identify opportunities for evolving to moreinclusive and accountable bodies based on the needsand circumstances of each region. Government willask the NRMC to establish processes within sixmonths to ensure that this evolution is well managed.

Financial support for the core functions of groupsresponsible for regional NRM will be channelledthrough the Department of Environment, Water andCatchment Protection in accordance with therequirements of the Financial Administration andAudit Act, i.e. services to regional NRM groups will be an output of the Department of Environment,Water and Catchment Protection. This is not to beinterpreted as any diminution of the on-going rolesand responsibilities of other NRM agencies in workingwith regional NRM groups to implement sustainableNRM and farm management practices, but rather asa necessary administrative arrangement to ensureaccountability for both State and Commonwealthfunds.

Once groups responsible for regional NRM areformally established, with adequate accountabilityarrangements and funding in place, and the bilateralagreement for the NAP between the State andCommonwealth Governments is agreed, the task ofdeveloping/finalising Partnership Agreements betweengroups responsible for NRM and the NRM agenciescan commence.

The Department of Environment, Water andCatchment Protection will assist with coordinating thepreparation of Partnership Agreements and regionalNRM strategies between NRM agencies and groupsresponsible for regional NRM. They will also beresponsible for coordinating the development of a State NRM policy, in consultation with theEnvironmental Policy Unit of the Department of thePremier and Cabinet.

Accredited Regional NRM Strategies will be theprimary basis for Commonwealth and State fundingfor community-based actions under both the NAPand NHT II programs. Government commits toworking with regional NRM groups to refine/furtherdevelop these strategies to ensure they meet agreedaccreditation criteria. An efficient process will beinstigated to enable assessment of the strategies andultimate sign-off by the NRMC and endorsement bythe Cabinet Standing Committee on EnvironmentalPolicy. In addition, Regional NRM Strategies will needto take into account regional land use planningstrategies. The WA Planning Commission is assistingwith this process through its Environment and NaturalResources Management Committee and thedevelopment of a suite of environmental and naturalresource policies. Similarly, regional NRM strategieswill need to take into account coastal land use andmanagement plans and strategies and relevantrelationships to coastal management issues.



costs of salinity prevention (eg. cheap disposal of salinewater from pumps within towns). The Rural TownsProgram should work with the Engineering InvestigationInitiative on the issue of safe and cheap disposal.

• The Department of Planning and Infrastructuredevelops a new Rural Roads Program, in collaborationwith the Western Australian Local GovernmentAssociation, to identify salinity and flooding issuesrelated to roads on a medium to long term planningbasis. Investigations should include the potential forinvesting in land outside the road reserve to solve salt,water and silting problems.

• The Government makes provision in longer-termbudget projections for substantially increased costs ofmaintaining and repairing public infrastructure,particularly roads and rail.

• The Development Plan for New Rural Industriesattempts to ensure that new industries on agriculturalland enhance social benefits and minimise adversesocial impacts.

• The Department of Agriculture review the salinity-specific pressures on rural adjustment, to considerwhether specific initiatives are needed to address therural adjustment consequences of salinity.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE AND ACTIONThe southwest of Western Australia has beenrecognised internationally as one of the world’s top25 �

2002335 salinity report text · salinity is arguably the greatest environmental threat facing...

Documents