Regional Sustainability Action Plan (ReSAP)
Netwaste together with eight of its Councils from the Central sub-Region are leading the way in working towards working in a more sustainable way and moving towards a sustainable community. Blayney, Cabonne, Cowra , Forbes, Lachlan, Parkes, Weddin and Wellington Shire Councils recently adopted a Regional Environmental Sustainability Action Plan, a project which was funded by the NSW Environmental Trust and NeTwaste and facilitated by EcoLens Consulting. It is the successful result of planning and consultation, including feedback from the community, over a twelve month period, to develop a Regional Sustainability Action Plan (ReSAP).
What is a Sustainability Action Plan?
NetWaste and the eight Councils have worked together with their communities to pilot a way of practical implementation of Sustainability Action Plans that takes into account.- Economic cost and benefits (often known as the "bottom line")
- Social costs and benefits
- Environmental costs and benefits
- Decision making/ governance in relation to these three factors
Council has to balance these factors with all the decisions that it makes. It is a big responsibility …Our future as a "sustainable community" depends on it!
What does the ReSAP cover?
The ReSAP Document provides a structured list of performance indicators for the following priority areas (as agreed through consultation with members of the community, Councillors and staff) Many of these are interlinked and affect each other, as shown below:
- Water-(factors affecting this include demand, regulatory pressures,salinity,effluent/trade waste and rainfall-climate);
- Waste Management (factors affecting this including increased generation of waste,demand for services, increased regulations, cost, increased transport costs;
- Planning & Development (factors affecting this include urban expansion, urban/agriculture land-use conflict, an aging population and the increased demand for services and infrastructure to care for the aged, adapting to a changing climate
- Climate Change (factors affecting this include land clearing, bush fire incidents, fuel loads, population growth,
- Community engagement & Cultural change: (factors affecting this include increased awareness, increased demands for services, conflicting information available, individual values, priorities and behaviours)
- Biodiversity and vegetation (Factors include land clearing, weed issues, fire regimes, climate change, land management changes, introduced flora and fauna and pest species of these, urban encroachment.
To download the Council's Community Summary of the ReSAP click here
