Regional Drought Resilience Plan
Published on 02 January 2024
Lachlan Shire Council is joining forces with Forbes and Parkes to develop a drought resilience plan for the future. The plan acknowledges that drought events are part of the future of any area reliant on the agricultural sector.
With funding from the Australian and NSW Government under the Future Drought Fund, the project will allow the Council to use learnings from previous droughts and implement an evidence-based strategy to assist the community mitigate or adapt to future drought impacts.
Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said the program supports local councils to partner with regional communities, farmers, and industry to prepare for the future.
“As we move into hot, dry conditions it is vital regional NSW is supported to develop community-driven drought plans that use local knowledge to develop tailor made solutions for their local areas,” Ms Moriarty said.
“The Regional Drought Resilience plans will support economic resilience and help manage drought impacts across a range of sectors and improve the way natural resources are managed in each region.”
“Working together with our neighbouring shires makes a lot of sense for this far-reaching issue,” explained Mayor Paul Phillips.
“While the impacts of flood are close to mind now, we need to be ready for drought conditions that can occur at any time. We will be working closely with our community to make sure that this plan builds on our existing resilience and is relevant and practical” he continued.
The Regional Drought Resilience Planning Program is managed by the Department of Regional NSW and was started as a pilot with three groups of local government areas.
Rounds one and two are supporting 59 local Councils and regional areas to prepare 22 regional drought plans. The NSW model for Regional Drought Resilience Planning program involves neighbouring councils working together to develop regional drought resilience plans. These plans will be provided to the CSIRO for independent review and completed plans from across the country will be published on the Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website.
“Planning such as this is critical for Council to be able to access funding support for the implementation of these plans. We look forward to working with Forbes and Parkes on a regional plan that will really make a difference” concluded Mayor Phillips.