Partnership approach to manage kangaroo numbers
Managing the significant threat to the environment posed by over-abundant kangaroos is the goal of a new partnership agreement that seeks to improve the landscape and economic resilience of communities in regional South Australia.
Posted 26 May 2021.
Funded by the Landscape Priorities Fund, Optimising kangaroo management in South Australia – a partnership approach to improving landscape and economic resilience will establish a Kangaroo Management Partnership, bringing together key stakeholders to explore and trial shared solutions.
The need for the project has stemmed from record kangaroo populations across the SA Arid Lands and neighbouring regions in 2017 which was then followed by a massive die off due to the following years of drought. The record number of roos contributed heavily to grazing pressure on native plant species at a time when properties had largely destocked and the landscape couldn’t cope with the large numbers.
Partnering with the SA Arid Lands Landscape Board in the project will be the Alinytjara Wiluṟara, Eyre Peninsula, Northern and Yorke, and Murraylands and Riverland landscape boards, Greening Australia, Bush Heritage Australia, Conservation Management, Department for Environment and Water, Western Local Land Services (NSW), SA Professional Field Processor Association, Ecological Horizons, Nature Foundation SA, Conservation Council, and the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation.
The two-year, $350,000 project aims to find the common ground between environmental, economic, social and cultural interests that provide a basis for collaboration and shared responsibility for kangaroo management.
SA Arid Lands Landscape Board presiding member Ross Sawers welcomed the funding, saying a coordinated approach would go a long way to restoring the landscape and increasing resilience of the areas affected by overabundance of kangaroos, while also considering the welfare of the animals.
“History has shown that individual approaches do not provide the best results when dealing with overabundance of kangaroos,” Mr Sawers said.
“The establishment of a Kangaroo Management Partnership is an important step in developing a unified approach and working through the issues and opportunities relating to overabundance of kangaroos.”
The Optimising Kangaroo Management in South Australia project will deliver:
Co-ordinated planning and information sharing between multiple sectors and disciplines;
On-ground trials and research that aims to enable the management of kangaroos as a valuable resource and reduce economic, environmental, cultural, social and animal welfare impacts; and
New networks that explore learning from other states and jurisdictions, supporting scientific data and evidence-based models of success.
The project has been funded by the Landscape Priorities Fund, which Minister for Environment and Water David Speirs said was a key part of the Marshall Liberal Government’s Landscape SA reform to deliver a more effective, decentralised, back to basics approach to natural resources management.
“Landscape SA is about building partnerships, rolling up your sleeves and working together to support our landscapes to thrive – leading to healthy and resilient communities, sustainable production, prosperous businesses and flourishing ecosystems,” Minister Speirs said.
“Our historic Landscape SA reform is putting communities back at the heart of natural resources management and the Landscape Priorities Fund is key part of this.
“The Landscape Priorities Fund is a significant change to how Landscape levies are collected and distributed and will deliver practical projects which wouldn’t have been possible under the old system.
“Nine projects have shared in $4.2 million of funding in the inaugural round which will see a diverse range of environmental benefits across South Australia.
“While the projects will be delivered by South Australian regional landscape boards, importantly they will work closely with other organisations and individuals, like Aboriginal community groups, local councils, conservation groups, businesses and landowners.
“This is just another example of the Marshall Liberal Government’s commitment to bettering our environment and is part of our once-in-a-generation record investment in parks across the state.”
