Catchment Action Plan

The Catchment Action Plan

The Central West Catchment Action Plan (CAP) has been developed by the Central West Catchment Management Authority (under the Catchment Management Authorities Act 2003). The Central West CAP builds on the planning and activities undertaken in the Central West Catchment Blueprint, Regional Vegetation Management and Water Sharing Plans.

The Catchment Action Plan sets the direction over the next 10 years for investment in natural resource management in the Central West catchments. The CAP outlines a number of Catchment and Management Targets to improve our natural assets such as water, soil, native vegetation, cultural heritage and biodiversity. The CAP also addresses issues such as salinity and promotes the value of people and communities in the catchment.

The Central West Catchment Management Authority (CMA) is proud to announce the launch of the Central West CMA Catchment Action Plan. The Central West Catchment Action Plan was announced by the Hon. Ian Macdonald, Minister for Natural Resources, in Bathurst on 19 March, 2007. The Central West CMA is the first of 13 CMA's throughout NSW to launch its Catchment Action Plan.

The CAP document is currently available as a full or summary version via the links below. For a hard copy, please contact the CMA Head Office in Wellington, Ph 02 6840 7800.

Download the Central West Catchment Action Plan

(February 2007 Version , 7Mb)

Download the Central West Catchment Action Plan Target Summary

(February 2007 Version , 2.5Mb)

Download the Catchment Action Plan Schedules

How are we progressing against Catchment Action Plan targets?

The Central West CMA has prepared a review of natural resource management activities carried out under the Catchment Action Plan (CAP) since our inception. To find out how the Central West CMA has worked with the community to meet our CAP targets and progress as at July 2007, click here...

How was the Catchment Action Plan developed?

The Central West Catchment Action Plan is primarily based on the Central West Catchment Blueprint (2003). The targets outlined in the Blueprint were drafted by expert panels utilising best available knowledge of the issues in the catchment. A substantial amount of work was undertaken to collate the current status of the natural resources of the subcatchments in the Central West catchment and to fit within the Natural Resource Management frameworks. The expert panels utilised this information to recommend whole of catchment targets to the Board for approval.

The Blueprint targets were also assessed by a series of focus groups comprising representatives from interest groups and the wider community. The present Board of the Central West CMA have acknowledged the work and rigour undertaken to develop the Blueprint targets. At the commencement of the CAP development, the Board declared that the Blueprint targets were to be the starting point for developing the catchment and management targets. The Board also recognised that the Blueprint targets were developed in the absence of an indicative budget for government funding and were quite aspirational by nature, therefore making them very costly and difficult to monitor. This required a reassessment of the Blueprint targets to reflect the new direction outlined for the CAP.

The Blueprint targets were assessed at a workshop consisting of agency and CMA staff. The participants were selected according to their respective specialist technical background and were assigned to appropriate theme teams. The targets were assessed using the SMART criteria: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timebound. The teams were required to undertake the review with a number of parameters in mind, including:

• announcement of an indicative budget for the Central West CMA;

• experience and knowledge gained from implementing previous incentive programs, particularly in relation to the results achieved versus costs;

• better knowledge of the resource condition in the catchment;

• changes in legislation and Natural Resource Management frameworks at National and State levels.

This assessment resulted in proposed new targets, proposed deletion of some targets and modification of targets in varying degrees. Throughout the review process, any changes proposed by the teams required documented justification for that change.

As part of the review process, the CMA also determined actual target figures in the targets. This meant that wherever a percentage change was originally outlined in the targets, the CMA determined an actual figure for the target. This provided a ”reality check‘ in terms of whether a target was achievable and allowed the targets to be costed. The figures also provided an actual target for the Central West to achieve and successfully monitor progress. The target figures were determined by utilising and extrapolating information from reports, research and expert knowledge from around the catchment. These reports are discussed and referenced throughout the CAP.

A preliminary round of consultation was undertaken in May 2005 by means of presenting the draft Catchment and Management Targets to the Central West CMA‘s Reference Groups and a number of additional key stakeholders within the community. The purpose of this consultation was to receive feedback on the intent of the draft targets. Feedback allowed ongoing refinement of the targets and additional information to be provided for clarity. Regular contact and feedback was continually provided to all reference groups throughout the target development.

Community consultation on the Targets was conducted in October and November 2005. This consultation targeted specific Landcare and other NRM groups and the general community. A series of information sessions were conducted throughout the catchment to explain the CAP, the development process and Catchment and Management targets. The draft Catchment and Management Targets were distributed to a wide network of stakeholders, Reference Groups, in addition to being placed on the CMA‘s website. Participants were asked to fill in a feedback sheet indicating their level of understanding and acceptance of CAP Targets. Page 24

Comments were received from 52 people across the Central West catchment. Of these responses, 43 were in the form of completed feedback sheets, whilst 12 responses were received in the form of written submissions.

In general, the majority of respondents indicated that they understood the targets and the reasoning behind the draft targets. All respondents in the consultation process received a response from the Central West CMA outlining the feedback and resulting changes to the targets.

Comments were collated and presented to the Central West Catchment Board for their consideration in December 2005. As a result of their consideration, a number of minor modifications were made to the Catchment and Management targets. These changes addressed issues such as the need for clarity and simplification of targets. For example, three management targets in the Water theme were combined into one to allow for greater flexibility in the target for achieving the overall outcome of improving water quality.

The draft CAP was assessed by the Natural Resources Commission in March 2006, against a number of criteria as outlined in the NRC‘s Standard for Quality NRM and State Agency requirements such as biodiversity certification for related legislation. The Central West CMA have continually revised the content of the draft CAP to accommodate these comments, along with feedback from the NRC‘s Systems Review and resulting Development Statement.

The process outlined for the development of the draft CAP will continue throughout the life of the plan. Processes such as implementation of the CAP, increased knowledge of the catchment and its resources, and changing capacity of the catchment community to undertake onground work, may influence the need to change the targets. This would occur at formal opportunities for the Central West CMA to redraft targets in the CAP (see section on Evaluation and Review of the CAP by the Natural Resources Commission ).

Further Information:

If you would like more information from the Central West CMA please email: cw@cma.nsw.gov.au