Recently there have been significant changes to the way Landcare will be supported in the Port Phillip and Western  Port region.

The Port Phillip & Westernport Catchment Management Authority (CMA) has been advised that the CatchmentCare program in this region, comprising a team of CatchmentCare Coordinators that have supported the Landcare movement, will no longer be funded by the Australian Government.

The regional team of Landcare Coordinators, more recently known as CatchmentCare Coordinators, including four Coordinators employed by the Port Phillip and Westernport CMA, and another four Coordinators employed by councils and Landcare networks, is to be discontinued.

As funding for these positions is no longer available, the Port Phillip and Westernport CMA has had to take the difficult decision to make the CMA-employed Landcare/CatchmentCare Coordinator positions redundant.

The Port Phillip and Westernport CMA remains committed to supporting Landcare in the region, although its capacity to do so is greatly reduced, and it will continue to employ a Regional Landcare Coordinator (ie Doug Evans), who is funded by the Victorian Government. It will also maintain its Community Grants program to disperse Victorian and Australian Government funds to groups for local projects addressing the stated priorities.

The Port Phillip and Westernport CMA acknowledges that this will have an impact on the way Landcare groups and networks will operate into the future and now needs to determine the most effective forms of support it can provide with the resources it has available.

IFFA is disappointed with this huge loss of expertise, corporate knowledge and support for groups involved in revegetation and land caring, and hopes that the CMA will do its utmost to repair this situation.  The value of the landcare/catchment care coordinators was underscored by the recent "Peoples' Choice Award" awarded to one of the outgoing coordinators John Robinson at the recent Victorian Landcare Awards.  Congratulations John.