Catchment Management
David Booth
Former Berowra Catchment Management Committee
The Berowra Catchment Management Committee (BCMC) was established in July 1994 by the Minister for Land and Water Conservation. The BCMC worked closely with the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Trust. The functions of
the BCMC were defined in the Catchment Management Act 1989 (NSW). Primarily, the BCMC was responsible for the coordination of natural resource management activities in the Berowra Catchment, which is the area bounded
by the Pacific Highway, Pennant Hills Road, Castle Hill Road, Old Northern Road and the Hawkesbury River. The Berowra Valley Regional Park is located within the Berowra Catchment.
The role of the BCMC was to bring people and agencies together to identify problems and determine how they could be overcome. This was to ensure the conservation of the catchment’s distinct character as well as its
diverse natural and cultural heritage. The committee brought together people from a range of backgrounds and interests with a variety of skills and knowledge to help make the catchment a better place for all to live and work
in, and to conserve for future generations to enjoy.
Pursuit of ecologically sustainable development — a significant management challenge
In September 1993, as a result of long-standing community concerns about deteriorating water quality in the Berowra Creek estuary, Hornsby Shire Council imposed a moratorium on the determination of development applications
for waste water generation in the catchment of the West Hornsby Sewage Treatment Plant. In October 1993, to resolve the situation, the Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning convened a technical working party consisting of
the Department of Planning, Hornsby Shire Council, Sydney Water Corporation, the Environment Protection Authority, and the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Trust. A Statement of Joint Intent (SOJI), also known as the
Community Contract for Berowra Creek, was signed in April 1994. Signatories agreed to work together to achieve the ecologically sustainable development (ESD) of the Berowra Creek catchment, and recovery of the creek’s
environmental health. It is interesting to note that the Department of Planning signed the Statement, stating that:
it will not introduce any planning measures that are incompatible with the ecological sustainability of Berowra Creek.
Therefore, the SOJI provided a basis for improvements to water quality in Berowra Creek, as well as a basis for the protection of Berowra Valley from the impacts of development.
Whole-of-government approach
The approach taken by SOJI represented a ‘whole-of-government’ commitment to catchment management in Berowra Creek. It was the first time in New South Wales where State agencies and
local government had formally agreed to work together with the local community to start to clean up a waterway. It was a coordinated and integrated approach to natural resource management that reflected the principles of
Total Catchment Management (TCM) — the State government’s policy for the management of natural resources.
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Berowra CMC’s role
Consistent with the coordination responsibilities under the Catchment Management Act, in September 1995 the NSW government transferred the ongoing responsibilities of overseeing the SOJI to the Berowra Catchment Management
Committee. The BCMC established a SOJI sub-committee, which included representatives from all of the SOJI signatory organisations. The SOJI sub-committee met on a bi-monthly basis at the Hornsby Catchment Centre.
SOJI signatories and the community have remained supportive of the SOJI, which unified agencies and authorities with the community. Unity was enhanced through the coordination responsibilities of the BCMC. The TCM
philosophy provided an appropriate and transparently accountable framework through its catchment sustainability and community participation focus. Under the TCM umbrella, signatories showed a preparedness to work together
progressively to achieve the water quality and ESD outcomes being sought.
Advantages of the SOJI
The Statement of Joint Intent provided the following advantages. It:
- guided the key relevant activities of the member parties;
- provided a framework for more open communication;
- improved the coordination of activities;
- increased the levels of cooperation; and
- improved the transparency of processes for the community.
SOJI significance recognised
The significance of the SOJI was recognised by the NSW Department of Urban Affairs and Planning in its Draft Hawkesbury-Nepean Environmental Planning Strategy (1996), by the NSW Healthy Rivers
Commission in its ‘Independent Inquiry into the Hawkesbury-Nepean River System—Final Report’ (1998), by the NSW government in its reports: ‘Public Inquiry into the Management of Sewage and Sewage
By-products in the NSW Coastal Zone—Draft Report’ (August 1997), and ‘Outcomes of the Review of TCM in NSW’ (December 1997).
Conclusion
The SOJI was the first community contract to start cleaning up a waterway, based on a more integrated approach to land and water management. It was also recognised as the first broad-based
inter-agency agreement aimed at achieving an ambient target in water quality and at working towards ecologically sustainable development on a catchment basis.
Berowra Catchment Management Committee
In 2000 the Berowra Catchment Management Committee was replaced by the Lower Hawkesbury Catchment Support Committee, a sub-group of the Hawkesbury–Nepean Catchment
Management Trust. The Trust, and subsequent Catchment Support Committee, were abolished on 6 April 2001 with its functions to be absorbed into the then Department of Land and Water Conservation (DLWC). The announcement was
made by the Minister for Agriculture and Land and Water Conservation. Under the new arrangements, that department established the Hawkesbury-Nepean Local Government Advisory Group, which gave greater autonomy to local
government to be a key player in natural resource management in the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment.
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