Queensland’s Regional NRM Organisations:

Ready to deliver for the Australian Government’s Regional Delivery Partners Panel

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Working collaboratively with their communities for more than two decades, Queensland’s regional NRM organisations have boots on the ground and are ready to deliver outcomes for the Australian Government’s new Regional Delivery Partners Panel for environmental protection, sustainable agriculture and natural resource management services.

The 12 regional NRM organisations in Queensland are community-based, working in partnership with Traditional Owners, local governments, farming groups, the Landcare sector, water utilities and land managers to deliver solutions to challenges that affect the environment and our primary industries.

We have more than 320 people on the ground, across 27 locations, right now, including scientists, GIS experts, engineers, community engagement specialists, ecologists, Traditional Knowledge brokers and Landcare Facilitators with strong connections across urban, regional and remote Queensland.

Hands of two people planting a new tree in the soil

Regional NRM organisations in Queensland

the facts

Return on investment

Approximately $70 million is invested annually in Queensland’s regional NRM sector from all sources and through this we generate over $180 million to the Queensland economy with a further $70 million valued-added.

We know that attracting private investment in environmental outcomes is important to the Australian Government. Queensland’s regional NRM organisations are already working to develop relationships across private environmental markets to add extra value to government investment.

For every dollar currently invested in natural resource management in Queensland, we already leverage an additional $4.20 cash and in-kind.

Regional Economies

Collectively, Queensland’s 12 regional NRM organisations employ 268 FTEs directly with an additional 367 FTEs indirect employment created (a 2.4 jobs multiplier). The vast majority of these jobs are in regional and remote Queensland, where they are needed the most.

In addition, NRM projects contribute significantly to economic activity in the regions, though supply chain and consumption effects as well as through outsourcing to local businesses which drives local economies and creates revenue at the regional level.

Community-Owned Regional NRM Plans

Each of Queensland’s 12 regional NRM organisations has created a regional NRM Plan which is reviewed every five years and endorsed by the Australian Government. The plans are developed in partnership with people who live and work in these communities and who rely on the region’s assets for their lifestyles and livelihoods.

While each organisation is different, their regional NRM plans have common characteristics. They identify strategic priorities; they align with policy and legislation at state and national levels; they use participatory planning processes; they are knowledge-based; they are landscape-scale with complex systems-thinking approaches; transparency and accountability are in-built; they are adaptive; and partnership delivery models and front and centre.

Co-Benefits

Regional natural resource management boasts significant co-benefits. First Nations people are actively engaged in NRM planning as well as project development and working on Country, we strive to increase natural capital at a whole-of-landscape scale, we build cohesive and resilient communities, we drive long-term socio-economic and social and cultural outcomes, we improve community perceptions and attitudes around conservation and the environment and we focus on continually improving peoples’ capacity to manage the natural environment.

On-ground Outcomes

Through one State funding program alone (Natural Resources Investment Program), Queensland’s NRM sector has achieved significant on-ground outcomes.

314,933ha of land condition has been improved, along with 158,167ha of vegetation condition. 36,120t of sediment has been prevented from entering Reef waterways and 93,304 trees have been planted.

For every dollar invested in regional NRM organisations delivering these on-ground activities, the following is returned to society….

$3.00 soil amelioration
$2.30 manage weeds
$5.60 habitat creation
$3.10 pest control
$1.62 improve coastal habitats
$1.90 improve wetland habitats

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