Water and weeds feature at Territory Natural Resource Management Conference held in Darwin
Water security and weed teams from the Department of Lands, Planning and Environment attended the annual Territory Natural Resources Management (TNRM) conference on 19 to 21 November at the Darwin Convention Centre.
The department joined as a conference partner to show its support to industry.
The conference provided the perfect opportunity for the department’s water security and weed teams to meet and share key information with a diverse range of delegates from across the Northern Territory (NT) in one location. Various Indigenous ranger groups across the NT shared information on managing natural resources, from scientific projects to on ground management work and even international experience, with a presentation from a delegation from the Philippines Indigenous Rangers group and a presentation by the Philippine Eagle Foundation.
The department had representatives from the Weed Management Branch, the Office of Water Security and Regional Ecosystem and Landscape Mapping (REALM) attend with an information booth on Wednesday 20 November. A big shoutout to Shelley Inglis, Emma Burcher, Deborah Mullin and Louis Elliott from the Weed Management Branch for presenting at a workshop on the first day about gamba grass management, requirements for landholders and projects in place to provide assistance.
On the second day Joshua Maeer, also from the Weed Management Branch, presented on the containment of the Siam weed in the Northern Territory project and provided the delegates with in depth knowledge on how to identify this weed and importantly how to report it if found on country. His colleague Russel O’Regan took the opportunity to talk all things “gamba grass” with Matt Brann from the ABC Country Hour who was broadcasting live from the conference.
Stephanie Hawkins from the Office of Water Security was available to answer questions about water security and water quality initiatives in the NT and provide an update on the progress of the Territory Water Plan implementation as part of the poster presentation session. Water security and effective weed management underpin key industries and important ecosystems, and the lifestyle and economy which we all enjoy in the NT.
TNRM held their awards gala dinner and information about the winners and their inspiring projects can be found at Territory Natural Resource Management website.
