The Victorian Waterway Management Strategy: Final lessons and what’s next (#3)
Amber Perry
1
,
Robyn Bowden
1
,
Trent Wallis
2
,
Shayne Annett
2
,
Carl Larsen
2
,
Tim Cummins
3
- Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Melbourne, Victoria
- RM Consulting Group, Torquay, Victoria
- Tim Cummins and Associates, Rosebank, NSW, Australia
- The Victorian Government released the Victorian Waterway Management Strategy in 2013, providing a comprehensive policy framework for managing the health of Victoria’s rivers, estuaries and wetlands. The eight-year Strategy was designed to guide state and regional-level planning and programs, and to provide detailed policies for a range of waterway management issues.
- The Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) recently commissioned an Independent Review, as part of the final evaluation phase of the Strategy. The Review was led by RM Consulting Group with input from a four-member Expert Panel and a range of delivery partners and stakeholder organisations involved in the development and implementation of the Strategy.
- The Review has demonstrated how instrumental the Strategy has been in helping to maintain and improve the health of Victoria’s waterways. Addressing past damage to Victoria’s waterways is a long-term commitment and tackling new pressures is a complex and continuing challenge. However, it’s clear the Strategy has led to significant policy advancements in several areas and provided a solid platform for regional planning, investment and on-ground management over the last eight years.
- The Strategy built on lessons from the Victorian River Health Strategy from 2002-2012. We now have a legacy of almost 20 years of state-wide policy to build upon. DELWP is keen to learn from our reviews and other lessons from across Australia as we prepare to develop our next Strategy by 2023. Our lessons are likely to have broader application to other waterway policy-makers and practitioners across Australia.
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