The environment of the wet tropics region of far north Queensland will soon benefit from Terrain NRM and the Barron River Catchment Management Association (BRICMA) co-locating with CSIRO and several other environmental organisations on the Atherton Tablelands.

"In mid-December, CSIRO's laboratory in Atherton will become home to several agencies all dedicated to caring for far north Queensland's environment," said the Officer-in-Charge of CSIRO Atherton, Dr Dan Metcalfe.

Terrain is a regional body which is a community-based not-for-profit organisation supporting natural resource management (NRM) in the Wet Tropics.

BRICMA covers an area of more than 200,000 hectares and formed in 1994 to identify and implement sustainable land use and catchment strategies. The group includes representatives from a wide range of interest groups.

According to Terrain's Penny Scott, regional bodies, Catchment Management Authorities and Landcare groups are Queensland's primary mechanism for involving local communities in managing natural resources.

"These groups work to build regional agreement between government, industry and the community about the actions needed to secure the health of our natural environment, as well as getting out there and getting the job done" Ms Scott said.

In addition, Dr Metcalfe said, "The co-location of these agencies with CSIRO will foster collaboration and assist with the direct implementation of research findings."

While CSIRO's Atherton Lab has long provided a base for research scientists studying the complex natural relationships within tropical rainforests and landscapes, this new arrangement provides a direct link between the research findings and communities and land managers.

The organisations involved include: Terrain NRM, Cape York NRM, the Barron River Catchment Management Association (BRICMA) and Greening Australia. They will join existing tenants Conservation International who house their Asia-Pacific Field Division at the CSIRO Atherton laboratory.

For further information please contact:

Penny Scott, Terrain NRM

Ph: 07 4095 3055 | MB: 0427 767 312

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dr Dan Metcalfe, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences

Ph: 07 4091 8838 | Mb: 0427 766 704

E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Media contact:

Kath Dryden, Terrain NRM

Ph: (07) 4043 8037 (Mon/Tue/Thu)

Fax: (07) 4061 4677

Mb: 0417 603 897

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

web:www.terrain.org.au