Progress reports
2009 report - Progress towards state-wide native vegetation target
In 2005, the NSW Government adopted 13 state-wide targets for natural resource management.
In September 2009, the Natural Resources Commission provided a snapshot of assessment of progress made towards the native vegetation target "By 2015, there is an increase in native vegetation extent and an improvement in native vegetation condition" by utilising the existing monitoring, evaluation and reporting data, and available analysis.
The report found that:
- there had been no net change in the extent of woody native vegetation across the state between 2002 and 2008
- baselines for native vegetation extent and condition had been established for 2006
- extent of native vegetation cover across the state in 2006 was 19-23 percent woody and 40-64 percent non-woody
- condition of vegetation across the state in 2006 was 68 percent native and 32 percent non-native.
A technical analysis and technical report supported our assessment.
2008 report - Progress of implementation of catchment action plans
In November 2008, we provided a progress report on effective implementation of catchment action plans. The report was largely based on our audits of how effectively seven of the then 13 Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs) were implementing their catchment action plans.
We found that the regional model for natural resource management is well established. Our audits found that CMAs are effectively implementing the catchment action plans, however, both CMAs and catchment action plans are still at a relatively early stage of development. NSW needs to support continual improvement of catchment action plan implementation and CMA performance by addressing the issues that reduce their effectiveness and thus the chances of achieving resilient landscapes across NSW.
2006 report - Progress on development of catchment action plans
After reviewing and recommending eight completed catchment action plans to the Minister for approval, we provided an overarching report explaining the ‘big picture’ context in which the catchment action plans were prepared. Our report provided an overview of the assessment of catchment action plans, the key areas for improvement, and the assistance required from government agencies.
Our report:
- recommended all eight catchment action plans be approved without amendment but CMAs should complete a range of actions over time to continue to improve the catchment action plans and organisational capabilities
- considered that the CMAs have made significant progress in preparing their catchment action plans, given that they are relatively new organisations and many aspects of the regional model for NRM are still developing
- considered that to varying degrees, all eight catchment action plans comply with the Standard for Quality Natural Resource Management and engender confidence that they will promote the achievement of the state-wide targets.
Key documents
- 2009 report - Snapshot - Progress towards native vegetation targets (PDF 2.91MB) (September 2009)
- 2009 report - Technical analysis - Progress towards native vegetation targets (PDF 13.38MB) (Eco Logical Australia, August 2009)
- 2009 report - Technical report - Progress towards native vegetation targets (PDF 780.82KB) (August 2009)
- 2008 report - Final report - Progress on implementation of catchment action plans (PDF 714.51KB) (November 2008)
- 2006 report - Final report - Progress on development of catchment action plans (PDF 1MB) (September 2006)