Emergency Preparedness and Response Planning for the Perth Region
4th December, 2024
Increasing capacity for emergency preparedness and response is needed to effectively manage our biodiversity and agricultural natural capital and ensure the survival of species, preservation of places and key ecosystem services.
Members of the Perth South West Metropolitan Alliance’s Natural Areas Forum met with Kate Sputore, Executive Manager Environment, and Ingrid Sieler, Senior Manager Stakeholder Engagement, to hear about the EPR Plan and consider preparedness of the Perth Region. The Forum includes all government land managers in the region (including DLPH, WAPC, Water Corporation and many others) and they aim to work across tenure on shared challenges and opportunities. The EPR Plan aligns with their remit and covers prevention, preparedness, recovery and response for Matters of National Environmental Significance including Banksia Woodland Threatened Ecological Community, the threatened Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo, Ramsar wetlands and agricultural assets.
Organised by Kathleen Broderick, Regional Facilitator for the Alliance, the meeting highlighted the importance of local natural values to residents, beyond the nationally listed priorities. Other key issues included the difficulty in accessing suitably skilled and equipped contractors to provide land management services as the number of businesses has declined, and the remainder are in high demand.
Improved sharing of data linked to state interagency map layers was identified as a solution which would benefit Perth’s south west metropolitan councils in preparedness planning. Layers could include fuel age, RDF, threatened ecological communities, LGA and state heritage and Aboriginal Heritage. Building of an investment case for the area to increase the resilience of the biodiversity and agricultural natural capital assets through the national nature repair and nature positive mechanisms was proposed.
Perth NRM thanks The Perth South West Metropolitan Alliance for coordinating the presentation. An on-line seminar about the ERP Plan will be organised for the first quarter of 2025. To access further information about the Plan, please contact:
Ingrid Sieler
Stakeholder Engagement Manager
[email protected]
This project is funded by the Australian Government Natural Heritage Trust and delivered by Perth NRM, a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners panel.