An agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the Northern Territory of Australia for the implementation of the intergovernmental agreement on a national action plan for salinity and water quality
National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality
7 February 2003 - revised March 2005
PDF file
Preamble
Salinity and deteriorating water quality have the potential to seriously affect the Northern Territory's agricultural production, the conservation of its biological diversity and the viability of its infrastructure and regional communities.
We agree to address these threats in the Northern Territory through implementation of the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality and thereby prevent the problems that are occurring in southern and western Australia. The emphasis in the Northern Territory is both preventative and remedial, supported by proactive natural resource management policies. The active involvement of regional communities is the cornerstone of the National Action Plan. Through this Agreement we will seek to enable communities, in partnership with government, to take responsibility for developing and implementing natural resource management plans that meet their priorities for sustainable development and ongoing viability.
We recognise that rural and regional communities cannot do this alone. It will require communities, government, industry and individuals working together to achieve sound management and use of the Northern Territory's natural resources.
This includes a strong reliance on a science-based approach to identify natural resource threats, develop solutions and target investment at preventative action. Capturing this knowledge, developing community capacity and ensuring adequate financial resources will be important for the implementation of this plan.
The Northern Territory's policy approach to land and water management will be refined to support regional priorities and natural resource management planning efforts.
We sign this Bilateral Agreement as joint investment partners in natural resource management activities in the NAP priority investment regions, to help realise the benefits of developing and managing the Northern Territory's natural resources in a sustainable way, to enable all Territorians to profit for generations to come.
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