The recently drafted Central West and Orana Regional Plan 2041 states that its plan is 'a 20 year land-use blueprint to support a prosperous future for the region'.
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That's a pretty impressive goal and causes environmental groups to sit up and take notice.
I recently provided feedback to the plan for two main reasons: firstly, it does not adequately acknowledge the current state of the environment in this region and, secondly, contains objectives that conflict with each other, rendering some of them unachievable.
It needs to be recognised that the conservation status of regional species and ecosystems is poor and declining.
As an example: of 597 vertebrate species known from two of the major catchments in this region (Central West and Lachlan), 382 are declining.
That's 64 per cent.
The Central West has so little land left in its natural or near-natural condition that all remnant vegetation and wetlands should be conserved.
This condition needs to be acknowledged before a way forward can be identified.
Now to conflicting objectives.
Most of the objectives are in support of the increasing housing and transport networks and industry in the region.
Nowhere is it acknowledged that increasing development is going to conflict with the objectives of both conserving environmental assets and increasing agricultural production.
It needs to be recognised that the conservation status of regional species and ecosystems is poor and declining.
- Cilla Kinross
Increasing the dwellings by 19,000 (as forecast) will need to be either on environmentally sensitive or agricultural land.
Pursuing water-hungry industries and building bigger dams will also impact on downstream flow and wetlands.
It's just not possible to have it both ways.
Regional planning is important.
It is setting the vision and strategies for the next 20 years and should help curb inappropriate development.
It has some good initiatives eg the circular economy.
However, it suffers from overlapping objectives and weak strategies.
Continuing down our existing path of increased population and prosperity will exacerbate the region's declining environmental health.
Minor amendments here and there to 'encourage' more sustainable activities are not going to reverse that decline.
What we need is a bold transition to a steady state economy with a focus on quality of life, rather than quantity of possessions.
