Draft Coastal and Marine Management Plan
Project Description
Over the past 12 months, Council has been developing a Coastal and Marine Management Plan (CMMP) for the coastal communities across East Gippsland. Led by Victorian Government legislation (the Marine and Coastal Act 2018) and policy (Marine and Coastal Policy, 2020), the Plan will guide sustainable management of Council-managed coastal reserves.
The East Gippsland coast encompasses diverse environments from coastal wilderness and open sandy beaches to tranquil lakes, inlets and estuaries, including the iconic Gippsland Lakes. These coastal and marine areas are special for many different reasons. With a range of values and uses across the region, and limited coastal space, balancing these values and uses can be difficult. The CMMP will provide a coordinated and integrated approach to balance the many environmental, cultural, economic and social values of these areas, particularly with a changing climate and developing communities.
Importantly, Council already has a number of Foreshore Management Plans guiding management of our coastal areas. However, with new legislation and a significant amount of work completed, many of these plans are now outdated. Guided by community values, experiences, and State legislation, the new CMMP will provide an update to these plans and improve consistency across the Shire. In developing the CMMP, and in action delivery, Council will ensure that partners including Traditional Owners, Parks Victoria and Coastal Management Authorities have shared direction to work together to achieve the best outcomes for our marine and coastal environment.
The draft CMMP
Since the project’s launch last year, we have been building our understanding of what our communities love about the coast, what they would change, and their ideas for the future. We have now developed a draft CMMP, available for public comment. Community, rightsholder and stakeholder input has laid the foundation for the new Plan and has informed the Plan’s management approach and priority actions, both across the Shire and for each of the East Gippsland coastal communities.
The draft Plan includes:
- A shire-wide vision shaped by community and stakeholder reflections, expectations and aspirations for East Gippsland’s coastal, lake and marine spaces.
- An overview of the values, challenges and opportunities for managing our coastal and marine areas, both Shire-wide and within our 10 East Gippsland coastal communities, closely informed by community, rightsholder and stakeholder engagement.
- Objectives for the CMMP that align with State legislation.
- Priority actions over the next 5-10 years, both shire-wide and for each of our ten communities.
- A pathway to implement and track actions.
Draft Coastal Marine Management Plan [2024]
How to read the Draft CMMP
The Draft CMMP is an extensive document covering both Shire-wide and community-specific aspects. The document is set out in sections. We recommend reading the introduction and Shire-wide sections (Sections 1-3) first, then reading the section relevant to your community.
Sections 1-3 | |
Section 4 | |
Section 5 | |
Section 6 | |
Section 7 | |
Section 8 | |
Section 9 | |
Section 10 | |
Section 11 | |
Section 12 | |
Section 13 | |
Section 14-15 | |
Attachments | Engagement approach, document review and mapping supplements |
Alternatively, you can find and read the full draft CMMP HERE. If you’re short on time, you can read our Guide document HERE; this provides an overview of the CMMP and our management approach.
Community Engagement 2023 0nwards
There was an initial opportunity for the community to advise Council on what you/they love (or not) about the coastline. Options on the Your Say page to contribute were to ‘Drop a pin on interactive map, share your Favorite memory or experience and Tell us more about the coast”
The second stage in developing our Coastal and Marine Management Plan was to meet with the following communities Lake Tyers, Metung, Lakes Entrance, Bairnsdale, Paynesville in June 2023, with Bemm River, Marlo and Mallacoota in Nov 2023.
The input resulting from the pop-up sessions assisted in building our understanding of what the community loves about the coast, what they would change, and ideas for the future. This included looking at previous projects and plans to capture management to date and what communities had previously informed Council.
Building on and informed by community input to date, the Draft CMMP was released for public comment in June 2024. The Draft CMMP is an extensive document covering both Shire-wide and community-specific aspects. Throughout June and July, we welcomed comment on the Draft CMMP. People could provide their feedback through the following methods: Online Survey activities, Community webinars and discussion and written submissions.
Thank you to everyone who participated and shared their thoughts on the Draft CMMP. A summary of feedback is provided in the documents section.CMMP Draft Plan summary of community feedback