“We can afford to restore Australia’s environment”- NRM Regions Australia welcomes release of the Blueprint to Repair Australia’s Landscapes by Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists
NRM Regions Australia CEO Dr Kate Andrews has pointed to the low cost of restoring Australia’s environment, as described by the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists in their landmark report.
The Blueprint to Repair Australia’s Landscapes, launched by Professor Martine Maron and Professor Jamie Pittock at the National Press Club on 24 July, provides insights into the precarious state of Australia’s environment. It proposes actions to restore our landscapes to health. The report put the cost of repairing Australia’s environment at $7.3 billion per year over 30 years – just 0.3 percent of GDP.
Importantly, the report recognises we don’t need to start from scratch.
“The Wentworth Group sees all the existing efforts across Australia - by First Nations’ people, farmers, and regional NRM organisations - and are calling for investment to scale these up. The report highlights the significance of Indigenous knowledge and thousands of years of sustainable stewardship,” Dr Andrews said.
The report describes the need to knit together all our efforts across landscapes. It recommends using regional NRM planning, which provides a landscape-scale approach to restoration. NRM planning is undertaken with communities across every region in Australia.
“Considering all the different elements that make up a landscape or a region - the water, the soil, the plants, the animals - and how they interact with each other, means you get the best value for any investment you make,” Dr Andrews said.
“Investment in environmental restoration must be planned to deliver the greatest possible benefit. Planting the right kind of plants in one place in a landscape may provide huge benefits for animals, water quality, and carbon sequestration. Planting the wrong kind of plants in a different part of the landscape might provide no benefits at all, or even contribute to higher fire risk or water loss from the system. We need to understand how these elements fit together, and act accordingly.”
About NRM Regions Australia
Natural Resource Management (NRM) is the integrated management of the natural resources that make up Australia’s natural landscapes - that is, our land, water, soil, plants and animals.
Regional NRM organisations have been working to deliver healthy, productive, and biodiverse land and seascapes for over two decades. There are 54 regional NRM organisations that cover the whole of Australia, and work and partner with a remarkable range of people, including landholders, First Nations’ people, community groups, industry, and government.
NRM Regions Australia is the national peak body for regional NRM organisations across the country - the voice for NRM at a national scale.
Contact: Dr Kate Andrews – [email protected] 0403604823