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LAND MANAGEMENT & PLANNING

NUNGATTA STATION LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN

Nungatta is a 5,500ha cattle station in south-east NSW that has been operating as such for 150 years. The project was initially developed as a review of agricultural issues, to develop goals and strategies for tackling land management problems such as woody weed infestation and reduced cattle carrying capacity.

It evolved into a landscape management plan which revealed & capitalized on significant & previously unrecognised landscape values.  These have been utilized to support the landowner’s desire for ongoing agricultural productivity and income-generation which does not compromise the integrity of the underlying natural landscape resource

Landscape Principles in Practice:

  • Value Our Landscape:  The management plan responds to physical, social and cultural characteristics of the local landscape, using environmentally respectful processes and management strategies to reveal & enhance previously unrecognised landscape values.
  • Protect – Enhance – Regenerate:  Landscape values are used to inform strategic goals for improving landscape performance in economic, cultural and environmental terms.  Key strategies are ecosystem protection and enhanced ecosystem services provision via land restoration, ecological improvement and weed management techniques.
  • Design with Respect: Given the ecological value of the site, the involvement of skilled scientists, practitioners and government extension agencies ensured management approaches were highly functional, cost effective and sustainable, and treated the land and associated downstream resources with utmost respect. 
  • Design for the Future:  A holistic approach allowed multiple practitioners to collaborate towards the development of successful management techniques for a very large, significant and problematic landscape.  The project provides a model for landscape architectural involvement in broader scale landscape decision-making, demonstrating how opportunities for value-adding can be created via innovative design and analysis skills.
  • Embrace Responsive Design:  The project demonstrates the importance of adopting ethically-based stewardship principles, using a contemplative structure and applying master planning techniques such as overview and analysis to achieve sustainable landscape outcomes.

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AILA's Climate Change Adaptation Skills for Professionals Program 2008 - 2010 has been assisted by the Australian Government through The Commonwealth Department of Climate Change.