FAQs

Q. Why do I have to register for the website? What if I want to stay anonymous?

If you register your details with us as a stakeholder in the Northern Rivers CAP development process, you will receive email updates and you will be able to take part in online discussion forums and quick polls. There is no requirement to register in order to complete one of our feedback surveys.

When you register you create a screen name which will appear when you add comments to a discussion on the site. This is the only information that other website users will see, and you can invent a screen name that does not identify you (eg. farmerjoe, RiverGirl, etc).

If you'd like to receive CAP email updates, but you don't want to register please follow this link.

All your private information will be handled with the utmost care, in accordance with the website’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Q. Why is the CAP being reviewed?

Each of the 13 New South Wales regional Catchment Action Plans must be reviewed every five years, as directed by the NSW Natural Resources Commission. This review provides an opportunity to:

• Reflect upon the appropriateness and relevance of the targets set within the CAP and revise them where necessary
• Incorporate new knowledge, embrace new challenges and opportunities, and improve approaches to NRM
• Ensure current NRM needs, issues and priorities of the community are reflected in the CAP
• Help set future directions for NRM activity and investment in the region.

The existing Northern Rivers CAP was adopted in 2006 and is now due for review. A new CAP will be prepared and will replace the existing plan. Review and evaluation of the existing Northern Rivers CAP is needed before a new CAP can be developed and will be used as an opportunity to develop a more collaborative, improved plan that incorporates new information, issues and priorities for NRM in the Northern Rivers region.

CAP upgrades are being undertaken by each of the NSW Catchment Management Authorities in conjunction with their community and Agency partners. This exciting and important work, will result in 13 new strategic regional natural resource management plans. The work will allow streamlined investment towards priority areas and identify issues which are important to all natural resource management partners in NSW.

Q. What are the guidelines for the CAP review?

The CAP review will be guided by the Natural Resource Commission (NRC), a governing body that sets state-wide targets and standards for quality NRM practice and provides independent auditing of CAP implementation.
The NRC is also responsible for the review and recommendation to the Minister for adoption of all new CAPs. Each CMA must comply with the directions of the NRC as outline in the document (linked) below.

Read the Reference: NRC (2011) Framework for assessing and recommending upgraded catchment action plans

Q. Where is the CAP review process up to?

There are several parts to the review process already underway including a number of internal NRCMA reviews to determine the appropriateness, effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of the existing CAP. The NRCMA is also collating information from independent audits carried out by the NRC since 2005 to target areas for improvement in NRM activity. There is also a process underway where the NRCMA is working with groups, including councils, industry and community, to collate previously collected information about community values for the environment. This will help ensure the outcomes of previous community consultation processes and knowledge-development activities are incorporated into the new CAP. This engagement site is part of the review process, providing early opportunities for the community to have input throughout the 18 month process (to be complete 2013).

Q. Who should be involved in the CAP planning process?

The development of a new CAP for the Northern Rivers recognises that everyone in our community has some connection with the environment and that many people are already involved directly in the management of our natural resources, including urban, rural-residential and rural residents, local government, utilities and co unty councils, state government agencies, Australian Government, adjoining NRM bodies (other CMAs), industry production groups, individual landholders, Aboriginal organisations and groups, peak industry and environmental groups, community interest groups and Landcare organisations, education and research institutions, tourism industry and business, and future generations/students.

To ensure we develop a collaborative plan that captures the needs, issues, values and priorities of all our regional stakeholders, anyone with an interest in the future management of natural resources is invited to provide feedback to the NRCMA CAP planning team at CAPreview_northern@cma.nsw.gov.au

Q. Who can I contact to talk about the CAP review?

You are welcome to speak with your local Area Coordinator about the CAP review process.

• Northern area (Qld border to Clarence River): Call Peter Boyd Ph. (02) 6676 7393
• Central/Tablelands area (Clarence River to Macleay River + all tablelands areas): Call Simon Proust  Ph. (02) 6653 0111
• Southern area (Macleay River to Camden Haven River): Call Nicole Strehling Ph. (02) 65614967

Q. What is a Catchment Action Plan?

A Catchment Action Plan (CAP) is a statutory, non-regulatory, plan that identifies regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) priorities. The CAP aims to protect and restore our natural resources by providing opportunities for all sectors of the community, including business and industry, to participate in sustainable NRM. It provides strategic direction for local, State and Australian government investment in NRM activities at a regional scale and is a tool to support communities in planning and undertaking NRM work on both private and public lands. The preparation and review of a regional CAP is the responsibility of the relevant Catchment Management Authority (CMA) under the NSW Catchment Management Authorities Act 2003.

The current Northern Rivers CAP was developed by the Northern Rivers CMA in 2005. It was the first CAP to be adopted in NSW and set a benchmark for regional NRM plans at the time. Based on the former Catchment Blueprints, the CAP reflected ten years of community consultation in the Northern Rivers region and articulated the communities aspirations for NRM in the region for the next ten years. The CAP has seven themes, each having a Resource Condition Target and several Management Targets. It outlines issues and responses as a guide to the types of activities to be undertaken to achieve those targets. Most targets had a 2009 milestone, set as a measure of performance. All of these targets have been achieved showing an active regional NRM community. 

Q. Where on the map does the Northern Rivers CAP apply?

The Northern Rivers CMA Region is located in the north-eastern corner of New South Wales (NSW) extending from the Queensland border, south to the Camden Haven catchment and inland to the eastern slopes of the New England Tablelands. The region stretches seawards three nautical miles and includes Lord Howe Island, 600 km east of Port Macquarie. It covers 50 000km2 of which 60% is freehold tenure and 21 500 km2 is managed as Crown Land, National Park and State Forest. The region covers a diversity of landscapes, spanning tablelands and gorges, through steep hills, valleys, coastal floodplains, estuaries, beaches, rocky shores, and has a variety of land use types. It is an area known for its outstanding natural beauty and high level of biodiversity. Our region is home to around 500,000 residents (growth 2% pa), and is the focus of tourism and coastal development. It has a rich cultural history and covers eight Aboriginal nations including the Bundjalung, Anaiwan, Biripi, Dunghutti, Gumbaynggirr, Gwaegal, Guyambal and Yaegl, who continue to take an active role in conservation management.

Q. What do you mean by 'resilient landscapes'?

The new CAP will reflect a shift toward a "resilient landscapes" approach. The CAP Team intend to use evidence and information from community and technical experts to gain a shared understanding of what we as a community consider to be healthy ecosystems and landscapes, including:

• how they function as social-ecological systems
• how they respond to change
• which ones are at risk of crossing thresholds leading to significant or irreversible change
• what the positive and negative drivers are that push systems from a healthy (good) to intermediate and degraded (poor) condition
• what actions are needed to maintain or improve landscapes
• and therefore, where investment is best directed.

To capture this idea, simple ecosystem diagrams (called state and transition models) will be developed within the new CAP that cover the range of complex ecosystems within the region.

This approach will help us gain a shared understanding of the ecosystems within our region, how they function, what features contribute to good and poor conditions, and the broad management actions required to maintain the desired state for each. As a result, NRM activities delivered from the new CAP will be more integrated, more efficient and allow for better use of resources, while achieving multiple targets within projects and greater achievement of more outcomes across the landscape.

Q. How do you intend to use maps in the new CAP?

Information provided by the community and government will be combined to produce a range of maps in the new CAP. Maps will be developed that identify priority areas for biodiversity, water, land/soil and community actions. These maps will assist in making the new CAP, and specific priority areas where actions are needed (under specific funding initiatives when later advertised), much easier to interpret.

Q. Who is the Northern Rivers CMA?

The Northern Rivers CMA is one of thirteen CMAs established in New South Wales under the Catchment Management Authorities Act 2003. Under the provisions of this Act, the CMA's role is to engage the regional community in Natural Resource Management (NRM) priorities and direct investment into regional activities to restore and protect natural resource values.

Our Vision for the Northern Rivers is to have:
"Catchments managed for improved natural resource condition that are sustainably maintained by an actively engaged community".

And our Mission is to
"Encourage and support sustainable natural resource management by all sectors of the community in the northern rivers region".

Our specific functions under the Catchment Management Authorities Act (2003) include:

• Developing a regional Catchment Action Plan (CAP),
• Provision of loans, grants, subsidies and other financial assistance for catchment activities,
• Provision of contracts or undertaking of works for the purposes of catchment activities,
• Assisting landholders to achieve the objectives of the CAP,
• Provision of educational and training courses and materials in connection with NRM, and
• Performing any other function relating to NRM as prescribed by the CMA Regulations (2005).

We report to the state and federal government as our major investors and are subject to quality assurance guidelines, as specified in the Natural Resource Commission's (NRCs) Standard for quality practise in NRM.

While the CMA is responsible for the development of the regional CAP and is the primary body for directing State and Australian government investment into on-ground NRM activities in the region, it is not the sole operator in the NRM field. The Northern Rivers CMA partners with many of the groups and individuals in a range of projects and agreements, many other local and State government bodies, industry and community groups and individual landholders make their own significant contributions to regional NRM. As such, the NRCMA is only able to account for part of the NRM outcomes achieved in the Northern Rivers region. Actual NRM outputs are thought to be many times greater than that reported by the CMA.