The NSW Government is encouraging local councils to apply for funding to help with immediate action to ease the impact of bushfires on sensitive coastal and estuarine ecosystems.
“The NSW Government is putting $5 million on the table for councils to immediately implement strategies to stem the impacts from the recent bushfires,” Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh said.
“The effects of the bushfires have the potential to degrade coastal waterways by impacting water quality and coastal ecosystems which in turn has the potential to impact estuary environments and local industries such as tourism and aquaculture.”
The Bushfire Affected Coastal Waterways Program Stream funding round will be open for applications from councils for six weeks until 10 March unless the $5 million allocation has been exhausted.
“Councils must move quickly to stem these impacts which is why we are providing such significant funding,” Minister for Local Government Shelley Hancock said.
“Now more than ever, our coastal councils need this immediate NSW Government support to manage our coastal environment which is home to nearly 85 per cent of our population.”
Activities eligible for funding include, but are not limited to:
• sediment and erosion control actions
• dune management and restoration
• estuarine foreshore restoration
• littoral rainforest regeneration and restoration
• coastal wetland restoration
• habitat restoration
• riparian corridor management
• water quality monitoring to determine the impacts of recent fire activity
• other post-fire actions that minimise further environmental impacts on coastal waterways and estuaries.
For more, go to https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/water/coasts/coastal-and-estuary-grants/bushfire-affected-coastal-waterways.
