6.2 Community Stewardship

“This is a people issue. It’s the responsibility of everyone to respect and understand our river system. A lot of people don’t get to understand impact of day-to-day decisions. Promote public education and publicise issues affecting the river. Engage with landholders in the catchment to improve decision-making.”

Chris Scott, member, Manning River ECMP Reference group

Public participation and stewardship are enshrined in the Coastal Management Act 2016 and feature strongly in the NSW Marine Estate Management Strategy (MEMS).27 The need to improve community stewardship and land management practices have been highlighted during our consultation. Education and engagement were proposed as management options across almost all of the issues and identified as a high priority by the Manning River ECMP Reference Group. Stakeholders called for a cohesive community engagement and education program that fosters understanding, commitment and stewardship to protect the health of the estuary and waterways. Key target audiences will include recreational river users, public and private land managers including new landholders, commercial and lifestyle farmers and the wider community. An environmental Best Management Practice framework for the agricultural sector will be developed to provide consistent guidance. Local social research on the motivations and challenges for beef and dairy farmers called for a program which builds on existing catchment management efforts, promotes an integrated suite of practices, and demonstrates a production advantage for farmers.28 Providing incentives, training and extension advice to develop new concepts and skills; supporting peerto-peer learning; and negotiating win-win management actions will advance the goals of farmers while influencing culture and practices to improve management of the Manning catchment. The emphasis will be on providing evidence-based guidance that supports land managers to make their own decisions. Stakeholders: MidCoast Council; Hunter Local Land Services; Mid Coast 2 Tops Landcare; MidCoast Dairy Advancement Group, industry groups; National Parks and Wildlife Service; local schools; community groups (e.g. Manning River Turtle Conservation Group, OzFish, birding clubs); Manning Regional Art Gallery; Libraries.

27: NSW Marine Estate Management Authority, 2018 28: Bullock, 2019