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• Stakeholders
  • Australian and Queensland Governments
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• Associated programs
  • National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (NAP)
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  • Nutrient Management Zones
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• Abbreviations

Nutrient Management Zones

The Australian and Queensland Governments have identified Nutrient Management Zones (NMZs) to enable prioritisation of areas to focus efforts to minimise the impact of nutrients on the Reef. They have also investigated policy options to implement within these NMZs.

Government agencies worked with scientific experts to develop a technical report which uses criteria to identify NMZs. The technical report identifies and prioritises 10 NMZs. The three NMZs of highest priority are the Wet Tropics, Mackay/Whitsunday, and Burdekin Coastal catchments.

Download technical report

• Technical Report (PDF - 2MB)
• Appendices (PDF - 1.1MB)

Download Maps of Nutrient Management Zones

• Atherton and Evelyn Tableland area (PDF 106kb)
• Bowen area (PDF 69kb)
• Burdekin Coastal area (PDF 253kb)
• Burnett Coastal area (PDF 118kb)
• Fitzroy area (PDF 122kb)
• Inland Burdekin area (PDF 120kb)
• Inland Burnett area (PDF 181kb)
• Inland Normanby area (PDF 158kb)
• Mackay Whitsunday Coastal area (PDF 94kb)
• Wet Tropics Coastal area (PDF 100kb)

The Technical Report was used by DPI&F to refine policy options likely to be applied in NMZs. These are outlined in the Discussion Paper, which investigates policy options to improve nutrient (i.e. fertiliser, mill mud) management in agricultural industries in Reef catchments.

Download Discussion Paper

• Action D8 Discussion Paper: Nutrient Management Zones (PDF 1.9MB)
• Appendices (PDF 2.1MB)

Further information about the NMZ process can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions document:

• Download FAQs (PDF 881kb)

The public consultation period for the Discussion Paper closed on 11 May 2007. The feedback received is being used to inform the final policy setting process.

Last reviewed 10 December 2007

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© The State of Queensland (Reef Water Quality Protection Plan) 2007.

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