Cooperation is key to Richmond River projects

Setting an example for other regions

A new level of cooperation between government, industry and the community to work on projects that will improve the health of the Richmond River will provide an example for other coastal catchments in NSW.

Local councils, state government agencies, Aboriginal communities, industry representatives, fishers, farmers, conservation groups and other natural resource managers are working together on a wide-ranging set of projects.

The projects underway will occur throughout the Richmond River catchment area, which is the sixth largest in NSW and covers an area of nearly 7,000 square kilometres.

Projects include:

• improving council and government regulations to include measures for protecting water quality in land use planning
• conducting studies on the Richmond River coastal floodplain to determine better ways to manage infrastructure such as drainage systems on private properties
• working with north coast macadamia nut and blueberry growers to trial new farm practices that reduce run-off into waterways and increase crop yields
• changing man-made structures that have stopped fish from reaching their feeding areas and breeding grounds
• planning for sea level rise due to climate change, by protecting priority foreshore areas from development to allow intertidal animals and plants to move with rising sea level
• reducing sediment and nutrient run-off into waterways and preventing riverbank erosion by sealing dirt roads, upgrading/installing fencing, removing weeds and planting native plants, including for a 10 kilometre section of Emigrant Creek.

The NSW Government’s commitment to stage one of the Marine Estate Management Strategy is providing funding for the projects in the Richmond River catchment.

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