Condamine Alliance's region of operation is the Condamine River catchment, the north-eastern headwaters of the Murray-Darling River system. The catchment area of 2.75 million hectares is home to 175,000 people (including 3600 farmers), and it is rapidly developing as the nation’s energy powerhouse with the development of coal mining and coal-seam gas industries.

Regional NRM bodies, such as the Alliance, are responsible for protecting and managing Australia's natural resources. To do this, regional NRM plans were developed. These plans outline how a regional body identifies and achieves the region's NRM targets. There are 56 bodies in Australia. Fourteen of these are in Queensland.

For more information on regional bodies around Australia, visit the Australian Government's NRM web site http://www.nrm.gov.au/

Regional NRM is the Queensland Government's web site for regional natural resource management at http://www.regionalnrm.qld.gov.au/

PARTNERSHIPS

Condamine Alliance staff

The company enables agriculture, industries and communities to align every-day activities with the Management Action Targets in the catchment NRM Plan to deliver whole-of-catchment outcomes.

·         Condamine Alliance engages and supports stakeholders to implement targets from its NRM Plan. It values the partnership approach as it recognises existing work, breadth of expertise and experience coupled with local knowledge. Landcare is the primary driver for implementation.

·         The Alliance has major partnerships with Agforce, Growcom, Landcare, Cotton Australia, Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation, indigenous groups, government agencies and CSIRO.

·         The Alliance has encouraged strong links with local government and the integration of the NRM Plan with local government planning processes. It has engaged a local government liaison officer to ensure shire councils and the umbrella organisations work together.

ACHIEVEMENTS

·         Recognised its partnership with seven Landcare groups in the catchment as the key partnership underpinning NRM Plan delivery.

·         Developed its NRM Plan in consultation with all stakeholders to address issues over a long term (50 years), and achieved official accreditation of the plan in 2004.

·         Provided financial incentives to achieve NRM outcomes through its Regional Investment Strategy (RIS), and achieved official accreditation of the RIS in 2005.

·         Developed a partnership with the Australian and Queensland governments to coordinate the purchase of leading-edge satellite imagery to enhance the Alliance's ability to analyse land use and produce precise maps. This information sets a baseline for charting landscape and land-use changes over time.

·         Developed a data-sharing agreement with the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Water, the first such licence agreement between the department and the 14 regional natural resource management bodies in the state.

·         Developed a grazing-land management package, action plan and implementation strategy, which will contribute significantly to adoption of Current Recommended Practice by land managers in priority upland areas of the catchment.

·         Developed an engagement strategy for - and in consultation with - Traditional Owners, that is showing demonstrable results in identifying and valuing cultural heritage through a tailored training program for indigenous land managers and implementation of appropriate land management.