Daly River Catchment Conservation Plan
Commencing Work on the Conservation Plan
NRETAS in association with the Daly River Management Advisory Committee (DRMAC) has commenced work on a Conservation Plan for the Daly River Catchment area.
The Daly River Catchment is unique and of high importance to conservation in the Northern Territory. It includes extensive areas of natural landscapes; it provides breeding areas, habitat and refuge for important wildlife populations, especially of fish, turtles and waterbirds; and it supports a number of threatened plant and animal species.
The Conservation Plan will be developed over a 12 month period and will form the basis for maintaining the area’s important habitats and species. The Plan will seek to:
- enhance the existing reserve network
- establish off-reserve conservation measures, including the use of conservation incentives, covenants, and other mechanisms for conserving biodiversity
- provide an integrated approach to landscape management by complementing biodiversity conservation initiatives with water planning and land clearing regulations and guidelines.
Local landholders and other community members are encouraged to be involved in developing and implementing the Conservation Plan.
The first part of the project will entail detailed data gathering and scientific analysis of the area’s biodiversity values. Following the scientific analysis there will be a series of stakeholder consultations aimed at identifying ways in which landholders and the broader community can become better involved in conservation activities.
The Conservation Plan is being developed by NRETAS staff Stuart Gold, Dr John Woinarski, and Bryan Baker, and consultant Professor Bob Pressey of James Cook University. Professor Pressey is one of the world’s leading researchers into conservation planning and reserve design studies.
The Conservation Plan will be based on a series of principles that guide our community’s expectations for, and interest in, resource use, conservation and regional planning.
