The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) Ltd has developed a Regional State of the Environment Report for the 1999-2000 financial year. The report is a unique visionary document for the region, fulfilling the legislative reporting requirements for the WSROC member Councils – Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Fairfield, Holroyd, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Parramatta and Penrith.
WSROC’s Vice President and Environment Spokesperson, Councillor Cecilia Anthony said that the report contains a vision for the region as determined by the various community groups they consulted with.
“The overwhelming mood from the consultation was positive, with the Summary Vision a positive reinforcement of the future of Western Sydney,” she said.
The Summary Community Vision was developed after consultation with over 70 Western Sydney organisations and more than 400 members of community groups. The Vision states ‘Western Sydney is a place with a strong identity, a deep pride in place, and its widely diverse community is learning to live together within a unique natural environment’.
The ‘vision makers’ were asked to imagine Western Sydney in the future, without restricting the Vision to the environment. However, consistently across the workshops Natural Environment Heritage was the number one issue raised.
The focus of the Vision is to preserve the unique Western Sydney bushland, much of which is recognised as threatened or endangered, notably Cumberland Plain Woodland. Other issues raised focus on aspects of community life in the region The major scientific findings of the report centre on the impacts of motor vehicles on air quality, waste reduction for the region and salinity, which affects much of the Western Sydney plains.
The other major issue to arise from the report is that 51 plants and 52 animals are listed as rare or threatened across the region, and almost every ecological community appearing on the Cumberland Plain is either listed as endangered or is being considered for listing as endangered. The outcomes of the report are linked to a Regional Environmental Management Strategy, which commits the Councils to working together to implement the Recommendations of the Regional State of the Environment Report.
The Councils have already started work reviewing the indicators used in the regional report to compile a list of common indicators for use in Local Supplementary State of the Environment Reports.
The report was prepared for WSROC by the Regional Integrated Monitoring Centre (RIMC) which is made up of the University of Western Sydney – Hawkesbury, in partnership with the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Trust.
Copies of the report are available by contacting WSROC, telephone (02) 9671 4333 or email admin@wsroc.com.au
