About North Central Catchment Management Authority
The North Central CMA was established in 1997 under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 and also has powers and functions under the Water Act 1989.
Delivery of the 2013-19 North Central Regional Catchment Strategy remains a core business function of North Central CMA. Their role as caretakers of the region's river health relies on leadership and business performance including the management of the Environment Water Reserve created under the Water Act. This is achieved by either directly or through partnerships with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Tust for Nature, local government, the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, water corporations, educational institutions, research institutes, the private sector and local communities.
These important relationships allow the North Central CMA to continue to deliver significantly bigger and smarter NRM projects relating to:
- waterways and wetlands
- water quality
- biodiversity
- environmental water reserves
- Landcare support and funding coordination
- floodplain management and regional drainage
- regional responses to climate change
- salinity
- threatened species recovery
- pest plants and pest animals
- vegetation enhancement and restoration
- soil health
- cultural heritage
The region
The North Central CMA region is an area of diverse landscapes and land-use that covers 13% of the state. It is bordered by the mighty Murray River to the north, which injects life into the land around it, the Great Dividing Range and Wombat State Forest to the south and Mt Camel Range to the east.
The region's main waterways are the Campaspe, Loddon, Avoca and Avon-Richardson rivers, which form part of the Murray-Darling Basin.
The natural environment also features box-ironbark forest, threatened riverine grasslands, internationally-significant wetlands and other unique biodiversity. The region is also rich in Indigenous and European cultural heritage.