STEWARDSHIP REPORT 2019-20

Responding to the regions’ waterway health issues is the responsibility of all individuals and groups within the community. This report contains case studies of the region’s industries and local communities responding to the challenge of improving or maintaining our waterway health here in the Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac region.

THE RESULTS ARE IN – WATERWAY HEALTH SCORES FOR THE MACKAY WHITSUNDAY ISAAC REGION ARE OUT NOW!

Signs of repair from Tropical Cyclone Debbie are starting to show in the region’s seagrass meadows, demonstrating that ecosystem recovery takes time. The latest waterway health scores for the region were released today, with half of the sites scoring a B or “good” grade.

The annual waterway health report card is produced by 31 partner organisations in the Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership. The Partnership is a collective that includes local, state and federal government, conservation, ports and coal, tourism, agriculture, Traditional Owners and more.

The latest report card shows overall scores across our region, ranging from D (poor) to B (good) for freshwater, estuary (where rivers meet the sea) and marine areas. The grades are made up of a wide range of waterway health indicators scored in the region’s annual waterway health report card including freshwater fish community health, water quality, seagrass and coral.

Dive deeper into the results.

WHO WE ARE

The Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership (HR2RP) represents 30 organisations committed to understanding and improving the health of Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac waterways and marine environments. From ports and resources, to agriculture, conservation and natural resource management, research and Traditional Owners – diversity amongst Partners ensures all sectors are at the table. The Partnership allows collective access to the best available science in waterway and marine monitoring programs, representing an investment of more than $4 million on an annual basis.

Our commitment is to:

• Confirm a long term approach to the management of the region’s waterways and marine environment in a holistic manner
• Communicate information effectively
• Support decision making
• Be specific to the Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac region

The Partnership draws on existing programs and collaborations, where possible, to ensure as much consistency across Queensland report cards, such as using the Reef 2050 Plan Independent Science Panel. More detail on how existing programs are being integrated into the Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac report card is provided in the Program Design.

The Partnership is hosted in the Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac Region by Reef Catchments Limited.