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 one of 54 natural resource management organisations in Australia and one of three in Tasmania. Our role is to protect, sustainably manage and improve our natural resources for the shared environmental, social and economic benefit of the community.
Natural Resource Management (NRM) is about using our resources wisely and sustainably while protecting the environment.
OUR STORY
NRM South was established in 2003. For the last two decades we have worked across a diverse range of on ground projects that aim to keep the natural and productive landscapes of south-eastern Tasmania healthy over the long term.
NRM South’s small team of passionate professionals have been working in southern Tasmania’s community to improve the condition of our land and seascapes for the last 20 years. 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 REGION
The southern region of Tasmania covers 2.5 million hectares of land and is bounded by the Southern Ocean. Southern Tasmania is recognised globally for its healthy, intact and diverse natural landscapes and productive land and seascapes. Our region is home to a wealth of natural resources, which contribute significantly to southern Tasmania’s identity and economic, social, and environmental wellbeing.
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
689 LISTED PLANT AND ANIMAL 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, the Tasmanian Aboriginal community and 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 bodies.
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.