Between 7 – 9 May, hundreds of Natural Resource Management (NRM) practitioners, researchers, policy makers, and volunteer community members across Australia converged on Busselton’s Abby Beach Resort to participate in the WA Tipping Point NRM Conference.
Tipping Point in environmental terms explores the point at which human activities could cause sudden irreversible changes to our natural environment; in climatology it’s when the global climate changes from its (relatively) stable state; in funding terms it relates to where reducing investment in on-ground work to build resilience in the natural system reaches such a low level that it can’t provide a return – in other words, when investment is so low that it can’t stave off either of the first two tipping points.
The conference was convened by WA’s seven regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) groups, the State NRM Office, the Department of Agriculture and Food, Landcare Australia, together with major partners – the Regional Development Australia and the Department of Regional Development.
The Northern Agricultural Catchments Council gave eight representative community members across the Northern Agricultural region a chance to attend the conference by providing financial support (Subsidy) to cover the cost of the conference. The support was well received by the participating community members.
Rachel Walmsley (one of the subsidy recipients) from the Moore Catchment Council says, “it was important to attend this event to meet likeminded people and learn about new ways to engage the community to participate in conserving the environment around them. Moore Catchment Council is a small community group which doesn’t currently have the financial resources to attend such events so thankyou to NACC for the opportunity to attend this conference.”
Pauline Wittwer of Carnamah Land Conservation District Committee (LCDC) says, “it was exciting to feel like I was part of the bigger picture and I valued the opportunity to attend the conference hugely. In some ways it could be said that it showed that NACC too, by its generous gesture, puts value on what we, the small groups around the region do, and fittingly rewarded us for our efforts.”
Helene Metzinger from the Mingenew Irwin Group also commented, “without the NACC subsidy I would not have been able to attend the conference. The experience, connections and knowledge gained are invaluable.”
Media Contact: Contact Stanley Yokwe on 08 9938 0105 or email Stanley.Yokwe@nacc.com.au, if you would like to provide feedback on this article.