NQ Dry Tropics

NQ Dry Tropics is an independent, community-based, not-for-profit natural resource management organisation in northern Queensland, Australia. Formerly known as Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM, it works across the Burdekin Dry Tropics region to support the long-term sustainability of land, water, soil, biodiversity and related natural assets. The organisation has delivered on-ground natural resource management activities since 2005. Its area of responsibility is centred on the Burdekin River catchment and adjoining coastal and marine environments in north-eastern Queensland. The region covers approximately 133,432 square kilometres and includes the population centres of Townsville, Ayr, Bowen and Charters Towers, together with extensive pastoral, agricultural and mining areas. Around 240,000 people live in the region, although settlement outside the main centres is relatively sparse. NQ Dry Tropics operates in a landscape where economic activity is closely connected to natural resources. Agriculture is especially important in rural communities, with established grazing, sugarcane and horticultural industries. Mining, energy and tourism are also significant regional activities. This economic context makes land stewardship, water quality, sustainable farming and catchment management central to the organisation’s work. The organisation’s activities are associated with land-care programs and sustainable farming, and include projects such as Landholders Driving Change, land-resource assessment for the Burdekin Dry Tropics region and the Burdekin Water Quality Improvement Plan. These initiatives reflect an approach based on working with landholders, communities and other stakeholders to improve natural-resource outcomes rather than treating conservation as a separate activity from production. NQ Dry Tropics emerged within Australia’s broader regional natural-resource-management framework. Earlier government programs, including the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality and the extension of the Natural Heritage Trust, sought to address declining environmental conditions through cooperation between Australian and state governments and participation by local communities. The later Caring for our Country program continued this policy direction from 1 July 2008, with a stated commitment of $2.25 billion over its first five years. NQ Dry Tropics represents the regional, place-based dimension of that policy environment. The region encompasses parts of six Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia bioregions: Brigalow Belt North, Brigalow Belt South, Central Mackay Coast, Desert Uplands, Einasleigh Uplands and Wet Tropics. This ecological variety gives the organisation a broad remit spanning agricultural land, grazing country, river and groundwater systems, coastal areas, marine environments and biodiversity. NQ Dry Tropics is therefore best understood not as a consumer brand, but as the public-facing organisational identity of a regional environmental-management body.

NQ Dry Tropics was established in the context of Australia’s shift toward regional and community-based natural resource management. Its earlier identity, Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM, reflected the organisation’s focus on the Burdekin Dry Tropics region of north-eastern Queensland. Since 2005, it has undertaken on-ground activities intended to improve the condition and sustainability of the region’s natural resources. The organisation’s development corresponds with national environmental programs that sought to address deterioration in soil, water and other natural assets. The National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality and the Natural Heritage Trust Extension were Australian Government initiatives delivered in partnership with state governments. Their policy model recognised that environmental repair required long-term investment and that durable results depended on the participation of local communities and resource users. The election of the Rudd Government led to the development of Caring for our Country, a successor policy framework commencing on 1 July 2008. The program carried a five-year funding commitment of $2.25 billion and continued the emphasis on practical environmental work and community involvement. NQ Dry Tropics operated as a regional organisation within this broader natural-resource-management environment, translating national and state priorities into projects suited to the Burdekin region. The organisation’s geographic remit is extensive. The NQ Dry Tropics region is approximately 133,432 square kilometres and is primarily defined by the Burdekin River catchment together with associated coastal and marine areas. Townsville, Ayr, Bowen and Charters Towers are its principal population centres, while large areas consist of grazing properties, agricultural land and mining operations. The region’s economy is strongly dependent on natural-resource-based industries, particularly grazing, sugarcane and horticulture, with mining, energy and tourism also contributing substantially. This setting has shaped NQ Dry Tropics’ practical priorities. Land-care programs and sustainable farming are core goals, and its work involves collaboration with landholders and other regional stakeholders. Projects identified with the organisation include Landholders Driving Change, a land-resource assessment for the Burdekin Dry Tropics region and the Burdekin Water Quality Improvement Plan. Together, these projects indicate a focus on improving land management, understanding regional natural assets and addressing the relationship between catchment practices and water quality. The environmental diversity of the region adds further complexity. Six bioregions identified under the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia occur within the area: Brigalow Belt North, Brigalow Belt South, Central Mackay Coast, Desert Uplands, Einasleigh Uplands and Wet Tropics. NQ Dry Tropics’ remit consequently extends across agricultural and pastoral landscapes, river systems, coastal environments and biodiversity-rich areas. Its role is regional coordination and practical natural-resource management rather than ownership of a conventional product portfolio.

• 2008

  Caring for our Country framework begins

  [1]NQ Dry Tropicsen.wikipedia.org

  The Australian Government’s Caring for our Country program commenced on 1 July 2008, continuing the national policy emphasis on regional and community-based natural resource management.

• 2005

  On-ground natural resource management begins

  [1]NQ Dry Tropicsen.wikipedia.org

  NQ Dry Tropics began delivering practical natural resource management activities in the Burdekin Dry Tropics region.

A place-based, community-led natural resource management organisation connecting environmental stewardship with sustainable agriculture, landholder participation and regional economic realities.

• Landholder and sustainable agriculture program

  Landholders Driving Change

  A regional natural-resource-management project centred on landholder participation and practical changes in land management. It reflects NQ Dry Tropics’ approach of working with producers and communities to improve environmental outcomes while recognising the realities of agricultural production in the Burdekin Dry Tropics region.

• Environmental assessment and planning

  Land Resource Assessment for the Burdekin Dry Tropics region

  A project focused on assessing land resources across the Burdekin Dry Tropics region. Such assessment supports evidence-based planning by improving understanding of the region’s land systems and informing sustainable land use, conservation and natural resource management decisions.

• Catchment and water-quality planning

  Burdekin Water Quality Improvement Plan

  A planning initiative addressing water quality within the Burdekin catchment. It represents the organisation’s role in linking land management and agricultural practices with the health of downstream river, coastal and marine environments.

1. 1NQ Dry Tropicsen.wikipedia.org