STRATEGY SUMMARY ~ HIGH COUNTRY REGENERATION
PURPOSE ~ THE BUSINESS OF BIODIVERSITY
Regeneration and sustainable use and development of the New
England's nationally unique high country has come through more
strongly as a priority for sustainability than any other.
This is an holistic integration of economics, culture and nature ~
including eco-tourism, outdoor education, agribusiness, carbon
and bio-banking, recreational facilities, food production and the
fundamental imperitive to restore the web of life that is so
interwoven with our own quality and security of life.
A large scale region-wide regeneration strategy will deliver social,
environmental and economic value by increasing the land fertility
and productivity (such as for agri-business, research, outdoor
education) and landscape values (such as for ecotourism and
quality of life), plus clear benefits for biodiversity.
18 million years ago the Ebor volcano erupted; its core, the
Crescent still sits high in the Bellinger Valley amongst the rolling
spurs that seem to flow down to the far off coast. Subsequent
uplift, tilting and millions of years of erosion have created the
spectacular, deep gorge country within the New England
Tablelands that winds its way to the Dorrigo escarpment.
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This country contains some of the key holdings in Central East
Rainforest Reserves of Australia (CERRA), remnants of ancient
beech forests, wet coastal rainforests as well as temperate and
dry rainforest. It has been home to the Diprotodon (giant Wombat)
and has seen 5 custodian Aboriginal Nations inhabit and walk the
area for more than 50,000 years.
Less than 200 years ago the first explorers, cedar cutters and
sheep graziers arrived. It is home now to koalas, platypus, a huge
variety of bird species and the threatened yellow-footed
rockwallaby.
The New England Tableland bio-region is botanically significant
due to its high plant species diversity and high level of endemism.
For instance, more than 70 species of Eucalyptus occur on the
tablelands, about a third of which are endemic or near endemic
to the bio-region. Thirty of these species are listed as endangered,
39 are listed as vulnerable and one species, Euphrasia arguta, is
considered extinct in the bio-region.
There are some 38 National Parks and Wildlife reserves that
comprise nearly one-fifth of the region.
NESS is an initiative of
STRATEGY SUMMARY ~ HIGH COUNTRY REGENERATION
STRATEGIC QUESTIONS
• What other current initiatives aren't represented?
• How do we better integrate, collaborate & support across
various initiatives & strategies?
• What else do we need to do now?
CURRENT INITIATIVES
Local Food Bowl producers networks,
Community Gardens, Farmers Markets,
on-line ordering systems. local
boutique slaughterhouse (multi-
species), home food gardens, bush
tucker, implement food & wine
initiatives into overall marketing
Conservation Agreements, Create
Council funding for biodiversity, Adopts
fully ecologically sustainable
development, Bush Fire Service Level
Agreements
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Regeneration & Habitat Restoration for
endangered species (eg. iron bark for
regent honeyeaters), Mother of Ducks
Lagoon, preserved TSRs, private land,
wildlife corridors, woodlands, use multi-
purpose species, review/develop
planning policy & provisions in LEPs &
DCPs for species migration corridors,
grasslands, Plant a Tree for every
Armadalian, use multi-purpose species,
Dumaresq Creek, Malpas water quality,
Urban Sub-Catchment Plan, HiCUB
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Urban Streetscapes & Corridors,
plantings considering shade &
Retain & Attract new Business
Enterprises in niche high value
aesthetics for walking corridors & bike agribusiness (fish farming, heliculture,
ways, short easy walking tracks, locus aquaponics using smart closed loop
for multiple uses such as canoeing, water technologies), Assist landholders
hiking, horse trails, cultural, adventure &
with significant native tree cover to
wilderness experiences, cycling tours manage resource so that commercial
harvesting will be permitted, identify &
Sustainable Practices, survey
prioritise land claims with economic
agricultural practices (eg. Organic,
development potential to strengthen
Biodynamic), maintenance & training
for Council planted projects, ese mulch
land holdings into a productive asset
base
& bio-control rather than chemicals
Tourism, nature reserves for grey Become an Eco-Bank, carbon sink
nomads & outdoor classrooms, voyages (trees, soil, native pastures), assess
of discovery, history pilgrimages, bird- plantings for hotter climate, assess &
routes, gardens, deciduous trees, land upgrade water reserves for predicted
axis & land art, improve parks & open storm events & depletion of ground
spaces (Alma, The Glen, Poster), water, plant to absorb carbon near
promote outdoor activities highways, review of current flood
studies & modelling, , develop
Manage Weeds & Eradicate Pests,
understanding of Murray Darling Basin
Schools’ “Safe Pets Out There”
NESS is an initiative of
STRATEGY SUMMARY ~ HIGH COUNTRY REGENERATION
Waste, Northern Inland Regional Waste
Network, Waste Management, Social
Enterprises (eg. waste & composting),
Recycle commercial waste, user pays
landfill, Total recycling of organic &
agricultural waste - biomass, methane,
soil conditioners, fertilisers - solutions for
new waste sources (eg. light bulbs),
home & school education on pollution,
reduce waste production (eg.
Packaging), Environmental Protection
Plan for underground petroleum
storage, Investigate options for waste
disposal in Tingha, Ben Lomond & Ebor
Land for Development, industrial, stop
mining on productive agricultural lands
or near natural water sources, review
research into co-existence of mining &
agriculture, link drought assistance to
good land management, buffer zones
around industry, more rights to clear &
manage land for primary producers
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Restore Fresh Water Systems, businesses
capturing own water (like Costas),
water tanks, water use efficiency &
recycling, revegetate waterways &
riparian zones, strategic response to
run off issues, build redundancy into
water systems, non chemical
purification of water supply, more
effective use of grey & storm water,
expand existing irrigation farm system,
regular monitoring & safety reviews of
water supply dams, assess feasibility of
a “water grid”, low flow water heads,
water reclamation & recycling system
for irrigation, truck washing purposes,
roadwork & other non-potable
Showcases, regenerative case studies,
Interpretive signage, PDA devices to
detail stories, distinct flora, fauna,
features, promote “Keep Australia
Beautiful” campaign, Environmental
Network – of stakeholders &
landholders
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KEY PERFORMANCE & PROGRESS INDICATORS
Biodiversity – rates of land clearance, (area of veg/community/
tree cover), condition of vegetation, species (ecosystem)
richness/loss, threatened species / communities numbers, health
riparian ecosystems (data sources NVIS. Bird Atlas as surrogate
measure), Conservation Agreements
Soil & Sustainable Agriculture – ground cover, biota health –
compaction / organic matter – fertility – nutrient import/export
(quantity & type), no. of landholders (ha) adapting regenerative
practices, rotational grazing, rehydration, soil carbon etc, numbers
of organic registered farmers, $ spent on fertiliser (BOS), nutrient
loss through effluent (Local Govt) & Agricultural production,
change in land-use (BOS) & Feral animals & weed awareness
(survey). Other data sources: ground cover - AussieGress, soil
carbon & biota health expert advice), sustainable agricultural
practices – survey
Water – ground water recharge, time for rain to river (catchment
retention), water use efficiency, natural flow of rivers (hydrological
data – DECCW), water quality indicators (at points (DECCW, Local
council advice), macro-invertebrates (UNE, Streamwatch)
Land-Use – remediation work (ha), area of productive agric. land,
peri-urban growth (note BOS is looking for things to measure)
NESS is an initiative of
STRATEGY SUMMARY ~ HIGH COUNTRY REGENERATION
Other measures identified but not defined included waste, water Catchment Management Action Rural and Regional Taskforce
availability & quality, air quality, development & adoption of new Plans ~ Namoi, Border-Rivers Gwydir Report (2008)
technologies (innovation), resource use & footprints – draw-downs Hunter New England Health Service NSW Aboriginal Land Council
on future generations. Strategic Plan & New England Northern Region Regional
Divisions of General Practice Economic Development Strategy &
Implementation Plan

EXISTING PLANS, PRIORITIES, STRATEGIES

In addition to the 2½ years of work on NESS, the following existing
plans, priorities and strategies have been integrated:

Climate Change Consensus ~ Waterfall Way Eco-Tourism Initiative

Uralla, Guyra & Armidale Councils

2010 Northern Tablelands Climate Change Adaptation

Electorate Survey ~ ‘The shape of Action Plan ~ Uralla, Guyra, Walcha
the future’ & Armidale Councils

University of New England Strategic Uralla Creative Village

Plan (2007 - 2010)

Northern Inland Regional Healthy People ~ Living and

Development Plan (2010‐2015) Learning in a Health Environment

Local Government Plans – Walcha Southern New England State of the

Social Plan, Armidale Strategic Environment Report (2008-2009)
Community Plan, Guyra
NSW State Government North West
Management Plan & Uralla
Regional Cluster
Community Management Plan

www.ness.wikidot.com NESS is an initiative of

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