the region MAKE A COMMENT

logic and methods behind the Corangamite RCS

This section previews the methods employed to develop and prioritise opportunities for future natural resource management in the Region, taking account of:

a comprehensive Review of the 1997 RCS (RCS Report 1);
an understanding of the current natural resource management arrangements in the Region, discussed in Victorian government organisations;
the forces shaping human activity in the Region over the next 20 years, as described in Annex D: Forces shaping the corangamite region;
an appreciation of the Region's economic, environmental and social assets.

The above elements have been considered and explored in detail in the various RCS Reports that are listed in Annex I. These reports are essential underlying material for the development of this RCS. It must be noted that the various RCS Reports were finalised in October 2002 and formed the foundation of the Community Draft Strategic Overview (December 2002). The Reports have not been updated since October 2002 although many of the Supporting Strategies have developed substantially in that time.

3.1 the logic

Goals are expressed as aspirations for 2020. They were developed in stakeholder workshops, in the light of the forces shaping the Region over the next 20 years.

Priorities identify the most valued assets and the most significant threats faced by each asset. They are based on workshops with stakeholders and review of current technical information about threats to assets.

Targets take account of: (i) community inputs in workshops establishing aspirational goals; (ii) the commitments of existing Supporting Strategies including National and State policy priorities; and (iii) discussions held with technical experts from each Supporting Strategy on appropriate targets and their feasibility.

Implementation arrangements are developed through:

a fully costed Investment Plan that reflects management options available for achieving the targets;
a framework of indicators that measures progress towards reaching targets; and
milestones for evaluating performance of the RCS implementation.

3.2 review of the 1997 RCS

As a starting point for renewal, the 1997 RCS was comprehensively reviewed. Annex B: Summary of the review of the 1997 RCS gives a summary of findings of the review, reported fully in RCS Report No 1.

A key conclusion of the review was that steps needed to be taken to raise the profile of CCMA, Department of Primary Industries and Department of Sustainability and Environment initiatives, as well as broaden the scope of community involvement in NRM programs. This includes establishing consultation processes that give opportunities for everyone to have input into plans and programs, and fostering "grass roots action". The renewal of the RCS provided the opportunity for a major new effort in this direction.

Another key finding was that many Supporting Strategies had gone beyond the scope of the original 1997 RCS, and were now setting new strategic directions. The RCS renewal process provided an opportunity for greater strategic alignment of all Supporting Strategies, and the development of a common framework for integration and investment planning.

3.3 consultation with our community

3.3.1 determining key RCS success factors

At a workshop in February 2002, key stakeholders were asked the question, "what would be critical to the success of the RCS?", and the following recommendations were made:

the Strategy should make educated choices for future generations;
be clear about the role of the Strategy and its' process;
build two-way communication;
allow for different levels of involvement; and to
build a Strategy that can change.

3.3.2 pre-RCS consultation

At the direction of the Board and management of the CCMA, engagement of stakeholders at all levels has been a major part of the development of the Corangamite RCS.

Prior to, and in some cases in parallel with the renewal of the RCS, there has been consultation with relevant communities of interest for each of the RCS Supporting Strategies outlined in Regional initiatives. The scope and processes of consultation for each of these Supporting Strategies can be found in the relevant documents.

In the review of the 1997 RCS, 17 key stakeholders from the CCMA, state government agencies and the community were interviewed during March 2002 with the aim to identify:

perceived successes and failures in the implementation of the 1997 RCS;
areas for improvement; and
quality of interactions between CCMA and other key stakeholders.

A survey, administered by mail and telephone, was used to assess perceptions of integrated catchment management in the Region. Eighty-four respondents were involved representing environmental groups, local government and the CCMA's Board and Implementation Committees.

3.3.3 community workshops

Stakeholders at the local level were consulted through two series of workshops and one briefing session conducted in the each of the six sub-Regions. Together with CCMA staff who knew each sub-Region, the host organisations decided whom to invite to the first two workshops, aiming for a mix of people involved in natural resource management to reflect the issues of their area [7]. A decision was made to restrict numbers at the first two workshops and to request participants to commit to the full day of each workshop, in order to have depth of discussion and continuity of thinking on the strategic planning tasks. The briefing session also conducted through the host organisations, invited participants of the first two workshops, but also had an open invitation to the public to attend to be briefed on the RCS during the community draft submission (refer The community draft) and further consultation phase.

3.3.4 the goals workshops

The first series of workshops asked participants to identify the forces shaping the Region over the next 20 years, the possible scenarios that might emerge, and to express their preferred future in terms of natural resource goals for 2020. There was substantial agreement about the forces affecting the Region, and about shaping of the Goals.

A second tier of the "Goals Workshop" was conducted with five groups, which took a regional focus on the same matters: managers of (the then) NRE; the Implementation Committees of the CCMA; local government environmental officers and planners; senior managers across a range of government and non government organisations, senior staff, Board members and Councillors of the various municipalities, and rural and urban water authorities; CCMA staff; and the CCMA Board. These groups critiqued and added to the consolidated picture emerging from the sub-Regional workshops and confirmed the forces and goals. There was disagreement over the scope of the Goals from a minority of people in the Implementation Committees and CCMA staff, who thought that goals of reducing the ecological footprint and creating cohesive, innovative communities fell outside the scope of a natural resource management strategy.

The document, "Possible Goals for the RCS 2002-2020," presenting emergent conclusions on the forces affecting the Region and the Goals, was mailed to 500 stakeholders for comment.

3.3.5 the assets and strategies workshops

The second series of workshops asked stakeholders to assess the most important assets and the threats to those assets, using a matrix that presented all of the assets and all of the threats to the Region. There was agreement in each sub-Regional workshop that the priorities that emerged did reflect the needs of each sub-Region, providing a basis for selection of the Priorities against which Targets and Management Options have been developed.

Three workshops were then held at the regional level to work on the same task with (the then) NRE managers, CCMA staff, and CCMA Implementation Committees.

The second series of workshops also included consultation with chief executive officers and Councillors from local government, chief executive officers from water authorities and with regional managers of government agencies concerned with economic, environmental and social development. These workshops included a briefing of the RCS development, identification of opportunities to further develop partnerships and identification of parallel planning processes.

3.3.6 the working draft

The 'Working Draft' of the RCS, published in August 2002, drew together all of the conclusions from the second series of workshops and once again put these in front of 500 key stakeholders, inviting comments. A website was built specifically for the RCS. Twenty-four submissions were received from organisations and individuals across the Region, and these served to substantially deepen the evidence and arguments underlying the RCS. A CCMA protocol for considering each submission was developed, and many comments were added to the document. Design of the RCS document created a distinct space for Questions and Comments to run in parallel with the text, providing a user friendly, working document that reflected the community's views.

3.3.7 the community draft

Further work on Targets and the Investment Framework led to a 'Community Draft' in December 2002 with an updated RCS website. The RCS was publicised through local media in each part of the Region and six hundred and fifty copies of the Strategic Overview and Summary were distributed by mail, with further requests via phone and email. Seventy-two submissions were received and subsequently reviewed by a CCMA working group comprised of CCMA Board and Implementation Committee Members, CCMA Program Managers and a number of DPI/DSE Managers.

Formal briefings and discussion of the RCS Community Draft were held during January and February 2003 with past participants and an invitation to the wider community and State and National politicians.

Discussion at these briefings highlighted the readability of the document, a well integrated 'triple bottom line' approach, and good community participation. Challenges included greater involvement of the uncommitted rural community and urban populations, a clearer progression to implementation and issues regarding prioritisation of management actions. The amount and security of funding was also highlighted as a critical issue.

3.3.8 technical consultation and evaluation

The process of developing the RCS involved collecting and interpreting a large number of relevant technical, policy and strategy documents. It also involved developing methods for priority setting, targets, investment, monitoring and evaluation. Dialogue with a wide range of technical experts across many natural resource management disciplines was an important part of the process.

Technical experts and community members critiqued earlier drafts of the RCS. The RCS has taken account of the additional information people have provided, and their ideas on how to keep the RCS comprehensive and readable.