The Western Australian NRM and Coastal communities came together amongst the beautiful natural gardens of Edith Cowan University, Joondalup from 1– 4 October for the 2019 WA State NRM and Coastal Conference. Read about the Conference highlights here.

Smoking Ceremony at the 2019 WA State NRM and Coastal Conference,
Edith Cowan University, Joondalup Campus 1-4 October 2019 

A Community Conference

Hosted by the WA Landcare Network, the Conference was ground breaking in important ways. It demonstrated how important it is to have a conference hosted by the community, aiming to network and motivate the community as well as all levels of government, researchers and business. It highlighted that the community is essential in leading change, and in showing that change is possible with the support of all other sectors.

The key highlight of this inspiring Conference was that Aboriginal voices were strong, calling for greater collaboration and support for Aboriginal led initiatives. This culminated in Conference delegates voting to support the Uluru Statement of the Heart in the closing plenary session. Read the delegate declaration below.

The 2019 WA State NRM and Coastal Conference fully supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart and declares:
“Thank you for your invitation to walk with you in a movement of all Australian people for a better future.
We recognise the Uluru Statement from the Heart as an historic mandate to create a fuller expression of Australia’s nationhood.
We hear your call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution and for a referendum to amend the Constitution accordingly.
We hear your call for a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.
In a spirit of reconciliation, we look forward to working with and supporting you, as a matter of national priority, to develop and enact specific proposals in relation to Voice, Treaty and Truth.
We call upon our colleagues and fellow Australians to join us in this important national dialogue.”

Other Key Highlights of the Conference

There was a high level of community landcare and coastcare groups engagement from across WA and their voices were strongly heard. They were clear that they are highly motivated to do more and need recognition and resources to help their communities and government achieve what needs to be done.

The greater focus on health, mind, culture and spirit and the need for this to be part of NRM/ Land and Coastcare work linking ecosystem and human health was warmly embraced by delegates.

The very critical timeframe we have (10 years) to turn things around and minimise climate change to 1.5 degrees and preferably below was highlighted, and speakers and delegates repeatedly advocated strongly for government leadership in reducing emissions i.e. declare a climate emergency and develop policies that match this level of urgency, including greater support and funding for landcare and coastcare.

The call to forge unlikely collaborations to achieve significant initiatives was made, such as scaling up ecological restoration across landscapes for wildlife habitat, regenerative agriculture, climate change alongside building First Nation’s capacity to undertake the work with more resilience in both First Nations and the wider communities.

We recognized that almost 90% of Western Australians live on our coasts which are being increasingly impacted by climate change and human activity. Collaboration between communities, local governments, state and federal government, businesses and researchers was called for to navigate key actions now including retreat and adaption while reducing carbon emissions.

As a whole community of interest involved in coast, land, community health and resilience we were urged to find our voice at this critical time and to use it in local and regional action and politically at all levels of government.

The Landcare and Coastcare community is ‘open for business’ to provide opportunities to help those that want to act for our future to get involved and make a difference, now.

Thank you to Edith Cowan University (ECU) for the wonderful Conference venue and to all our Conference Partners and Sponsors for making it happen – State Natural Resource Management Program, WA Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, Western Australian Planning Commission, Department Of Transport, Carbon Neutral, City of Joondalup, Lotterywest, and WALGA.

View Conference Photos Here