SUMMARYSUMMARY This booklet is a summary of the Port Phillip and Western Port Regional Catchment Strategy (RCS) 2004-2009, which was launched in December 2004. It includes the tables from the RCS which give an overview of its objectives and targets for catchment condition, and the 97 priority actions the RCS identifies for healthier catchments and bays in the region. The Port Phillip and Western Port region The Port Phillip and Western Port region is a spectacular, Major natural assets: diverse, productive, vibrant, valuable and exciting place. • 8 national parks, 6 state parks, 8 marine It includes Port Phillip Bay and Western Port plus their ocean protected areas, 3 frontages, French and Phillip Islands and the rivers and wetlands of streams of five catchments that flow to these bays. It contains international metropolitan Melbourne, a thriving international city that is importance and home to more than two-thirds of Victoria’s population. It is several sites of the hub of much of the State’s commercial, industrial and international and transport infrastructure, an important rural and agricultural national importance region and a centre of social and cultural interaction. for shorebirds • Port Phillip Bay and The activities, livelihoods and lifestyles of the region’s 3.4 Western Port which million urban and rural residents, and of the visitors who support generate an important tourism industry, depend on the commercial fishing, aquaculture, three major ports and sustainable use of its land and water, the health of its fauna Victoria’s most popular recreational and flora and the habitats they live in. These are our fishing areas. Tourists make some 70 million visits a year to “catchment assets”. the bays and region’s coastal beaches. • One-third of the region retains remnants of locally indigenous vegetation of which 41% is protected in parks The region at a glance and reserves, 31% is on other public land, 28% is on private land Total area: 1.3 million hectares • 1,860 species of native flora and 600 species of native Land uses: 18% urban, 40% rural farmland, vertebrate fauna make the region one of the most 42% forest biologically diverse in the State. Demography: 3.4 million people, 1.4 million • Tourism and recreation attractions such as Port Phillip Bay dwellings, 180,000 business locations and Western Port, the Yarra River, Phillip Island with its Agriculture: 4,500 commercial agricultural fairy penguin parade, You Yangs, Brisbane Ranges, Mt holdings producing more than Macedon, upper Yarra forests, Sherbrooke Forest, $1 billion per year which is 15% of Dandenong Ranges, renowned wine districts in the Yarra Victoria’s gross value of Valley, Macedon Ranges and Mornington Peninsula, agricultural production. Industries are beaches of Port Phillip Bay and the Mornington Peninsula many and varied including vegetables, poultry, dairy products, Some of the main pressures on the region’s catchment assets: grains, wool, meat, flowers and fruit. • increasing population, relatively high per capita water Local governments: The Port Phillip and Western Port consumption and energy use region includes all or part of • changing land-use and urban development, inappropriate 38 municipalities. land management practices Community groups: Over 500 active environmental • habitat and species loss community groups in the region • pest plants and animals including Landcare, Coastcare, • climate change Bushcare, Rivercare and • salinity ‘Friends’ groups. • water pollution. 2 Port Phillip and Western Port thresholds and we must ensure that we do not reach these Regional Catchment Strategy thresholds. Achieving good catchment management requires everyone to The Regional Catchment Strategy describes our catchment consider the downstream impacts of their activities and to find assets and how they are interrelated. It indicates what needs solutions where these cause problems. to be done to manage and use the assets in a sustainable and integrated way, and outlines goals and priorities for the As we produce goods and services and modify landscapes to future. While many of our catchment assets are in good meet our economic and social needs, we must ensure that we condition and well managed, the health of some others is at respect environmental limits, avoid environmental damage serious risk. and prevent environmental costs being transferred to others, into the public domain or into the future. For every activity, The 2004-2009 Regional Catchment Strategy is the there are ways to minimise damage and make the most of culmination of two years work. environmental values. This is the path to sustainability. The CMA has coordinated the development of the Regional Catchment Strategy in cooperation with government Vision, goals, objectives and targets agencies, councils, non-government organisations, agricultural and industry groups, indigenous organisations The RCS outlines a vision for the region plus a regional goal, and hundreds of volunteer community groups in the region. objectives and quantifiable targets for the four main groups of catchment assets - water resources, land, biodiversity and the people of the region. From the targets, our 97 priority actions Protecting and improving our catchment assets for healthier catchments and bays have been identified and agreed. Achieving sustainability and protecting our catchment assets is a major challenge for our society. We all have a responsibility and an opportunity to be good stewards of our catchment assets. We must acknowledge that there are real limits and consequences to the way we use and manage our catchment assets. We have to understand that there are critical Vision for the region The Port Phillip and Western Port region will have people working to achieve productive land, habitat for native plants and animals and clean water in the catchments, rivers and bays, making it a healthy, attractive and prosperous place to live, work and visit. Water goal Land goal Biodiversity goal People goal Sustainable water use and healthy Healthy land used Healthy and enduring The community valuing, under- waterways, wetlands, estuaries, appropriately and productively ecosystems with a diversity standing and celebrating the coasts and bays of habitats and native species region’s catchment assets and working to achieve sustainability Summary tables listing the targets and 97 actions are included in the following pages. 3 Goal Substainable water use and healthy Objectives WO1. Ensure effcient management WO2. Protect and improve the WO3. Protect and improve the of water resources with environment health and environment health and minimal new impacts on social and economic values of social and economic values natural hydrological processes watersway and wetlands of estuaries, coastal and marine systems Targets (pre-existing targets in Bold) WT1. Average potable water WT5. Maintain the condition of the WT17. Reduced the proportion of coast in the consumption per person 13% of region’s rivers that are region where environmental values, reduced by15% by 2010 currently in excellent condition recreational beaches, Indigenous cultural values and public infrastructure WT6. Improve the condition of the WT2. The volume of recycled water are at high risk from accelerated region’s waterways so that: used inthe region increased to coastal erosion and other • At least 50% of all natural 20% of thetotal treated degading processes. volume by 2010 waterways will be in good or excellent condition by 2015 WT18. A net gain in the extent and quality of WT3. Diversions from all waterways • All natural waterways will be native coastal vegetation as measured to be withinSustainable in good or better condition by habitat hectares Diversion Limits by2015 by 2025 WT7. Progressive improvement in the WT19. Public access to the region’s beaches WT4. Improved average value of irrigated condition of waterways across the and bays maintained agricultural production per megalitre region as measured by the Index of WT20. The number of days that beaches are Stream Condition, including beds WT11. Levels of extraction from each classified unsuitable for swimming and banks, streamside zone and GMA in the region to be within the reduced to zero by 2010 permissible annual volume by 2025 aquatic Life WT15. No net loss in the extent and WT24. Reduced the amount of litter and WT12. Groundwater levels in key regional health of wetlands of each other gross pollutants entering Port aquifers to be stabilised at existing types Phillip Bay and Western Port by sustainable levels by 2025 70% by 2015 WT16. Progressively improve the overall WT13. Progressively increase the average health and social value of natural value of production per megalitre of wetlands, including those that are groundwater extracted nationally and internationally recognised Actions (pre-existing targets in Bold) WA2. Determine, and ensure compliance with WA1. Implement the relevant directions of WA33 Investigate, assess and manage accelerated Sustainable Diversion Limits and Bulk the ‘White Paper–Securing Our coastal erosion and other degrading processes Water Entitlements for the region Water Future Together’. at high value sites where recreation, heritage, Indigenous culture, environmental values and WA3. Implement the State Government’s policy WA7. Implement the Port Phillip and public infrastructure are at risk. for the establishment of diverson caps Westernport Regional River and an environmental reserve for the Health Strategy. WA34 Communicate the requirements of contingency region’s