Three types of targets have been incorporated in the regional
NRM plan:
Long term (~ 50+ years) targets that reflect the regional
community's vision, goals and desires for the status of natural
resources as may be experienced by the region's future generations.
Aspirational targets are valuable in terms of guiding current NRM
planning and provide an important context for setting measurable
and achievable targets in the shorter term.
Specific and time bound targets to be set for the medium term
(10-20 years) and may relate to an absolute improvement in resource
condition or decreases in the rate of degradation and can be
expressed in numbers or percentage terms. These targets must be
pragmatic and achievable, and will need to be developed iteratively
including through social, economic and environmental cost-benefit
analysis.
Short term (1-5 years) targets that relate mainly to management
actions or capacity building. These targets will help progress
management actions toward meeting resource conditions or toward the
establishment of resource condition targets.
Due to biodiversity elements and processes underpinning many
other natural assets of the region, discussion of various
biodiversity values and threats are also referred to in other
sections, including Land and Soils (pests and weeds), Coastal and
Marine (coastal wetlands) and Surface Water (aquatic weeds, water
quality).