Healthy Land & Water: now majority community-owned!
Healthy Land & Water, the official natural resource management body for South East Queensland, has hit a significant milestone by becoming majority community owned. This marks a pivotal moment in the 25-year history of the successful independent environmental group.
Healthy Land & Water as it is known today was formed in 2016 when two experienced natural resource management groups in the region, Healthy Waterways which had a focus on the region’s waterways and SEQ Catchments, which had more of a land focus, merged.
This integrated ecosystem management across the region, combining over two decades of expertise and scientific knowledge.
During its formative years, the Mayors of South East Queensland, who were actively engaged with both original organisations, provided guidance and support, fostering essential relationships with regional councils. Now that Healthy Land & Water is well-established, the SEQ Council of Mayors has stepped back, relinquishing their part-ownership to allow the organisation and its established systems and partnerships to thrive independently and continuing to work with individual local governments.
This places majority ownership with the community, a model which is held up as ideal to achieve resilient, sustainable, and economically beneficial outcomes for a region.
The CEO of Healthy Land & Water highlights that South East Queensland is uniquely positioned with an independent community and sector collaboration already in place. The South East Queensland Catchments Members Association (SEQCMA), with over 200 members, is set up to feed up local priorities and actions to its active Board.
“Community ownership fosters a genuine sense of responsibility and stewardship among local residents. This model enhances local engagement, which is crucial for the success of our major initiatives,” says the CEO.
Don Begbie, Chair of SEQCMA, agrees that a community and sector approach can drive the necessary changes for the region. “Local communities often have a deep understanding of their environment and traditional knowledge about sustainable practices, leading to more effective and sustainable management of natural resources,” he says.
Healthy Land & Water extends its thanks to the SEQ Council of Mayors for their foundational support and looks forward to continuing its model of multi-sector partnerships to deliver environmental and liveability outcomes for the region.