Regional groups have been involved in implementing market-based instruments (MBIs) to implement their regional natural resource management (NRM) plans and investment strategies.
Regional groups use a range of tools to achieve the management targets within their regional NRM plan. To date, positive price instruments such as subsidies and grants have been the most widely used policies. Regional groups have typically employed non-competitive approaches such as fixed grant payments, which have also generally target management actions without necessarily measuring resource outcomes.
More recently, there has been interest in the use of ‘market-like’ instruments, such as tenders and auctions, which have employed competitive means to allocate funding and focused more on natural resource outcomes such as biodiversity, in-stream salinity or water quality.
Examples of tenders/auctions that have been developed by regional groups include an auction for biodiversity and salinity outcomes which can be found in the case study section of this site. Across Australia, 56 NRM regions have been identified. Through consultation and involvement with community groups, industry, Indigenous people and all levels of government, each region has produced integrated regional NRM plans and investment strategies, which helped identify and coordinate actions that addressed issues specific to a particular region.
Many regions are including MBI projects to implement their plans and investment strategies. Regional groups provide incentives and assistance to land managers, industry and other community groups to support in implementing the regional NRM plans through their investment strategies.
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