Overview challenges in the dryland region
The diversity of natural resources and impact of European settlement on the delicate Australian landscape presents the Broken Goulburn Implementation Committee with considerable challenges.
The Victorian Catchment Management Council's independent assessment of Victoria's catchment condition (Catchment Condition Report 2007) stated that Victoria's land and water resources are variable in condition and subject to a range of on-going and new pressures. In fragmented landscapes, the condition is moderate to poor and declining, or at risk of decline. This is a consequence of long standing pressures of threats that result from inappropriate land use and poor land management practices, such as soil erosion, salinity and pest plants and animals degrading our natural infrastructure. The report also stated that it expected new and emerging pressures and trends such as climate change and socio-economic and demographic changes across the State to have a significant influence on catchment health.
Major natural resource management issues in the dryland include water quality, waterway health, dryland salinity, pest plant and animal management, protection of native vegetation and biodiversity and adaptation to climate change.
The Broken Goulburn Implementation Committee facilitates and provides community input into the development of regional strategies (e.g. water quality, dryland salinity, waterway, floodplain and native vegetation) to address priority issues as outlined in the Goulburn Broken Regional Catchment Strategy. All strategies form the basis of works programs that are developed, when appropriate, to address these issues.