Draft West Gippsland Regional Catchment Strategy
The Draft West Gippsland Regional Catchment Strategy (RCS), is being renewed for the fourth time building on the success of previous strategies.
The RCS is an overarching strategy that responds to the challenges such as population growth, climate change and declining biodiversity.
It incorporates community and Traditional Owner priorities with those identified in government policies and legislation.
Development of the RCS has been overseen by a collaborative governance group with representation from the WGCMA, Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, Gunaikurnai Aboriginal Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, Agriculture Victoria, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and Parks Victoria.
At the end of 2020, we asked members of the community to help shape the RCS. Many of you participated in our online survey or attended focus groups and discussions where you shared your views on the challenges and priorities for land, water and biodiversity management. The feedback from the community as well as that of our partners has been used to help shape the draft RCS.
The draft RCS was open for a month long public consultation via the RCS website. This consultation period is now closed.
We thank all the community members and partners who took the time to review the draft and provide feedback. The RCS is now being finalised.
Local areas
The West Gippsland Regional Catchment Strategy will have eight ‘local areas’ based on the current priority landscapes. The purpose of local area content in the RCS is to reflect the local communities’ priorities and interests, show how agencies and communities work together to deliver integrated catchment management for optional benefit at the local scale.
The eight local areas are:
- Bunurong Coastal
- Corner Inlet and Nooramunga
- Gippsland Lakes and Hinterland
- Gippsland Coastal Plains
- Latrobe
- Strzelecki
- Wilsons Promontory
- Victorian Alps
Traditional Owners of Country
We proudly acknowledge the Gunaikurnai People, the Bunurong People and the Wurundjeri People as the traditional custodians of the West Gippsland region. We pay our respects to their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. We recognise and respect their unique cultural heritage, beliefs and intrinsic connection to Country, which continue to be important to them today.
We support the need for genuine and lasting partnerships with Traditional Owners and the West Gippsland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community to understand their culture and connections to Country in the way we plan for, and manage, the West Gippsland region.
Local area consultation
We’ve recently been consulting with the community to gather local knowledge and better understand priorities for the region. As part of this process, we sought input via an online survey and a series of focus groups. The information collected through this process will inform the local area content in the RCS.
A summary of the key messages and outcomes of the local area consultation is available in the RCS Local Area Consultation Summary Report.
Timelines
Review of our current RCS
As part of the process of renewing our RCS, we organised for an independent team to provide a broad review of the existing RCS as well as current and emerging issues.
You can access a copy of this report here.
Mid term review of the RCS
A mid-term review of the RCS was undertaken in December 2016 and highlighted its successful implementation, with 33 of the 36 strategic actions currently being delivered by us and our regional partners.
Download results of the review
Your copy of the RCS 3
You can download a copy of the RCS or email westgippy@wgcma.vic.gov.au for a hardcopy.
- Regional Catchment Strategy part one 2mb
- Regional Catchment Strategy part two 1.5mb
- Regional Catchment Strategy part three 1mb
Do you want more?
If you would like us to keep you informed about the RCS process, including further opportunities for input, please email us at westgippy@wgcma.vic.gov.au or sign up to our newsletter Catchment Snapshot for all our news.
PAGE REVIEWED OCTOBER 2021