The Meander Valley area has a diverse landscape including a number of significant natural features including a favourable climate, a complex geodiversity and resultant dramatic topography, five major river systems, extensive areas of fertile soils and a high biodiversity including extensive areas of native vegetation (covering roughly 68% of the municipal area) and a diverse fauna.
Together and individually, these features hold a range of values to the local community including their importance to the economy of the region through tourism, agriculture and forestry and for their role in defining the community and what it means to live in the area. The strength of the community's attachment to these values is amply evidenced by the strong community activism and debate over approaches to the sustainable management of natural resources within the region.
In 1999 Council funded the preparation of a Strategy to address the management of the natural resources of the Meander Valley Council area. This pioneering document was recently reviewed, with the Meander Valley Council Natural Resource Management Strategy 2nd Edition (April 2006) developed to reflect current management issues and approaches, and to integrate more effectively with the new regional approach to N.R.M. being implemented across Australia. An Executive Summary has also been produced to supplement the 2nd Edition. The Meander Valley Council Natural Resource Management Strategy 2nd Edition (April 2006) incorporates a report on the implementation of recommendations in the 1st Edition of the N.R.M. Strategy, as Appendix 1.
The Meander Valley Council N.R.M. Strategy 2nd Edition:
* Supercedes the Meander Valley Council Natural Resource Management Strategy 2000 (the 1st Edition)
* Addresses current and important N.R.M. issues
* Aligns municipal-level N.R.M. strategic planning with regional N.R.M. planning
* Outlines positive, well defined actions to pro-actively tackle N.R.M. concerns of stakeholders and the wider
community
* Emphasises local issues to guide investment, and indicates where to seek out opportunities and solutions
* Provides a focus for stakeholders to come together to undertake actions of mutual benefit and the public
good
* Provides Council with an up-dated N.R.M. policy reference
* Seeks to enhance the understanding of N.R.M. issues within the municipality
* Attempts to motivate and empower people from all walks of life to engage in activities and/or changed
behaviour that will benefit themselves and future generations
* Can act as a guide and support document for groups or individuals intending to undertake N.R.M. activities
* Indicates to the broader Tasmanian community, industry groups and government that we are proud of our
achievements to date, and intend to build on them in meaningful, effective and innovative ways
Enquiries to: Stuart Brownlea (N.R.M. Officer, Meander Valley Council); phone (03) 63935321.
More information on the regional approach to natural resource management in Northern Tasmania can be found at the website www.nrmtas.org/home.shtml, or by calling N.R.M. North on (03) 6333 7777.
Updated: 22nd June, 2006
