Land managers and the wider community in the North Central CMA region are no strangers to the effects of climate change and climate variability. In recent times they have experienced major climate events including the Millennium drought and the 2010-11 floods. While the floods caused major damage in some areas they also brought significant benefits to biodiversity, especially in our rivers and wetlands.

These events send a strong signal that we need to prepare now if the future climate change projections for the region are realised. Such events in the future will impact significantly on the region’s environment, economy and community.

In order to better prepare for the future challenge of climate change the North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA), with funding from the Australian Government, has worked with partner organisations to develop a regional climate change plan.

The plan aims to:

– Incorporate climate change adaptation and mitigation approaches in future planning

– Guide where bio-sequestration projects should be located in the landscape to maximise the benefits for biodiversity, water and agricultural production

– Identify priority landscapes for carbon plantings and strategies to build landscape integrity and guide adaptation and mitigation actions to address climate change impacts on natural ecosystems.

Protecting the natural assets of the region from climate change will require an integrated and coordinated effort from Government, the broader community and in particular, land managers.