Vic Catchments, the peak body for Victoria’s ten Catchment Management Authorities, has won the Nature Positive category of the 35th National Banksia Sustainability Awards.
Projects on Western Port and the Powlett River were part of the award-winning work undertaken by the Catchment Management Authorities.

The Awards celebrate trailblazers in environmental and social sustainability, with winners across 14 categories spanning travel, agriculture, conservation and more announced at the gala event – all recognised as true champions of sustainability and social impact.

Cath Jenkins, Chair of Vic Catchments, accepted the award at the gala event held in Melbourne.

“Vic Catchments is thrilled and humbled to be winners of this highly competitive category and congratulate all the other finalists,” said Ms Jenkins on behalf of Victoria’s ten Catchment Management Authorities (CMA).

“For over 25 years CMAs have been at the forefront of working with communities and partners to deliver incredible results for catchments across Victoria. It's a delight that it's been recognised by such a prestigious organisation.

“We are a relatively small, yet passionate team and deliver projects on behalf of the Australian and Victorian governments. Partnerships are one of our biggest strengths and we share this success with everyone – Traditional Owners, partner organisations, community and government.

“We have achieved great outcomes for our natural environments, catchments, agricultural landscapes and communities in our 26 years, and we are only just getting started.”

CMAs are responsible for the integrated planning and coordination of land, water and biodiversity management in each catchment and land protection region. Each CMA is structured to maximise community involvement in decision making.

Local projects undertaken by the CMAs include The Two Great Ramsar Wetlands project to protect the ecological character of the Western Port and Port Phillip Bay and Bellarine sites.

The Powlett River / Kugerungmone Partnerships project tackled marine pollution, weed control and revegetating of the Powlett River.

In 2023, across Victoria, CMAs:

• Enhanced over 3000 hectares of vegetation to create habitat for native species.
• Improved practices over 9000 hectares of agricultural land. 
• Issued 13,000 approvals and advice for works on waterways.
• Installed 368 kilometres of fencing to protect rivers and wetlands.
• Undertook 47,032 hectares of weed control.