Guiding Investment in Best Practices
Sustainable development of coastal resources
To enable the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority (NRCMA) to support sustainable use of the estuarine and marine environment in the Northern Rivers region of NSW Australia, TierraMar undertook an extensive strategic review and consultations to provide a better understanding of how users manage their impact on estuarine and marine environments and the role of the NRCMA in to support of these efforts.
Guiding future investment
As a guide to future investment in this area, TierraMar provided NRCMA with an analysis of environmental best management practice by estuarine and coastal water users in the region. Recommendations from this project assisted NRCMA to build capacity in best practice management of estuarine and marine resources and to reduce local stressors on near shore coastal ecosystems. It also led to the development and implementation of several related sustainability projects where TierraMar was engaged by private sector clients in the northern coastal regions of NSW with funding secured from the Northern Rivers Catchment Authority.
Custodians of river health
Camden Haven River Oyster Farmers have an intimate understanding of the estuarine environment, and depend on its health and productivity for their livelihood. They are a unique resource for the management of these systems that the government, natural resource managers and the community can draw on. Oysters provide critical ecosystem services including reduction of water turbidity through active water filtration, stabilisaton of substrate, habitat provision for many other marine organisms and enhanced benthic-pelagic coupling though the transfer of nutrients from the water column to the benthos. The commercial crop of oysters in this estuary, although small compared to pre-European times, is vital for the health of the estuary.