Our Vision for Natural Resource Management in Tasmania
Collaborative action for healthy landscapes and seascapes, protected natural values, and sustainable livelihoods and lifestyles.
NRM South is a purpose-driven not-for-profit leading efforts to protect, restore, and strengthen the resilience of southern Tasmania’s natural and productive landscapes. As a trusted authority on natural resource management, we connect policy, science, and practice to deliver strategic, evidence-based action with measurable results.
We coordinate expertise, partnerships, and investment to drive innovation, influence decision-making, and build capacity across the region. Through regional coordination and guided by the 2030 NRM Strategy for Southern Tasmania, we work to ensure that resources are strategically directed to protect biodiversity, enhance climate resilience, and support sustainable practices across our primary industry sector.
OUR STORY
Established in 2003, we are part of a collective movement working to secure the future for our unique wildlife and ecosystems, build climate resilience, and secure a thriving natural environment for generations to come. For over 20 years, we have been at the heart of natural resource management work in southern Tasmania, driving knowledge, innovation and partnerships to deliver practical, purposeful and impactful solutions for nature and people.
Our team of passionate professionals work across southern Tasmania to improve the condition of our land and seascapes. We act as a regional hub and work to build partnerships, secure and direct investment, connect knowledge and expertise to action and increase the capacity of others to engage in NRM activities.
Our regional approach is effective because our work is informed by best practices and current research. It is developed and delivered collaboratively with diverse stakeholders across sectors and tenures, achieving a coordinated approach to landscape management and climate change threats.
OUR REGION
The southern Tasmanian NRM region covers 2.5 million hectares. Recognised globally for its healthy, intact and diverse natural landscapes and productive land and seascapes, our region is home to suite of nationally and internally significant ecosystems and vast wilderness areas including internationally significant wetlands, the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and the Midlands Biodiversity Hotspot.
MILLION HECTARES
of natural, production, lifestyle and urban landscapes (38% of Tasmania’s land area)
THOUSAND PEOPLE
The southern
region is home to
around half the State’s
population
MUNICIPAL AREAS
Brighton, Central Highlands, Clarence, Derwent Valley,
Glamorgan Spring Bay,
Glenorchy, Hobart, Huon Valley, Kingborough, Sorell, Southern Midlands, Tasman
437* LISTED PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES
*Southern NRM region only, excluding extinct species.
4 RAMSAR WETLANDS
4 GLOBALLY SIGNIFICANT SITES
135 HA MARINE PROTECTED AREA
35% OF TASMANIA’S FARMLAND
Tasmania’s southern region includes the capital city of nipaluna/Hobart and supports almost half of the state’s total population (and over 85% of the regional population). Southern Tasmania’s wealth of natural resources underpins its economic, social and environmental wellbeing. Managing these valuable assets underpins the success of the lifestyle and the key industries on which we rely.
WHAT WE DO
The diversity, condition and use of natural resources in our region presents both opportunities and complex management challenges. We work with land managers, the community, Tasmanian Aboriginal community organisations, governments, specialist consultants, research organisations and other non-government organisations to address land, water, and biodiversity management issues and to better understand, protect and manage these diverse natural assets.
We work to ensure that current and future generations of Tasmanians continue to benefit from our remarkable and productive environment.
Since 2003, we have developed four regional strategies that reflect the changing demands and challenges of a region that is in constant growth and development. Over the years, we have designed and delivered hundreds of targeted and strategic projects, small and large, that aim to meet the targets of these regional strategies and are designed with southern Tasmania’s regional context in mind.
HOW WE WORK
NRM South is one of three NRM bodies in Tasmania and forms part of a national network of 54 similar organisations.
Primarily funded through Australian Government initiatives, we work closely with government, landholders, research organisations, community groups and others to build partnerships, lead on-ground action and share information resources and knowledge about our region. We are focused on delivering economic benefit to the community and the state and demonstrating the value of managing our natural assets.
OUR COMMITMENTS
Aboriginal Engagement
NRM South continues to learn and improve as an organisation, through building a stronger relationship with the Tasmanian Aboriginal people. We are committed to engaging with Aboriginal people and groups, through partnership approaches, sharing of knowledge and perspectives, and by supporting action towards their priorities for protection and caring for Country.
Through this work, we recognise and respect Tasmanian Aboriginal priorities, interests, history, cultural heritage, knowledge, views, rights and practices. We recognise the importance of taking the time to build relationships and make decisions. We are committed to building cultural awareness and safety within our organisation, and to ensuring that we are familiar with local Aboriginal history and past and current issues of concern to the palawa/pakana people. When we work on projects with Aboriginal people, we seek early input to ensure decision-making processes support trust and understanding, cultural values, traditional knowledge, communication channels, and relevance to the palawa/pakana people.
GOVERNANCE
NRM South is a not-for-profit organisation (incorporated association) established in 2003 in response to the Tasmanian Government’s Natural Resource Management Framework and its enabling legislation, the Tasmanian Natural Resource Management Act 2002 (NRM Act).
We are governed by a Board in accordance with Section 9 of the NRM Act. This includes up to 15 Directors with skills in best practice governance, business administration, legal and contractual issues, and the achievement of natural resource management and conservation outcomes. The Board employs a Chief Executive Officer, who in turn employs professional staff to manage NRM programs .
We are responsible for identifying the region’s priorities for natural resource management, working with the community to prepare a regional NRM strategy and facilitating its implementation.
We monitor and evaluate our programs to ensure they are delivering sound outcomes, and that delivery processes can be continuously improved.
At NRM South’s annual general meeting, members can review the organisation’s performance and ask questions of the Board.
UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) recognise environmental, economic and social aspects to sustainability and that action in one area will contribute to the outcomes in other areas.
The UN SDGs provide a framework that outlines the linkages between
actions in achieving sustainability outcomes – including for development and production. The 2030 NRM Strategy for southern Tasmania has been developed with clear linkages and alignment with this global framework.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE AND RECOVERY
Southern Tasmania is facing increasing challenges from natural disasters and extreme weather events, ranging from bushfires to flash floods, and emergency biosecurity incursions. These events not only threaten human lives, property, and food supply, but also have significant impacts on biodiversity and agricultural natural capital assets. It is crucial that we enhance our preparedness and response to mitigate these risks effectively.
NRM organisations play a critical role in supporting emergency preparedness and response and has developed an Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery Plan that serves as a strategic blueprint to enhance preparedness, response, and recovery measures pertaining to emergency events impacting biodiversity and agricultural natural capital assets.
The plan aims to provide information to assist integration of these crucial assets into emergency frameworks, and to mitigate risks, minimise damage, and expedite recovery processes for natural assets in the face of natural disasters.