Project Background

The Ecosystems = Murray Mouth to Mountains Climate Change Corridors Program or E=M3C3 for short, is a pilot program supported by ten catchment management organisations through funding from the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country.

The project will focus on identifying strategic areas to protect, enhance and reinstate native vegetation which build on and create linkages between the Murray Mouth in South Australia, through NSW, Victoria and the ACT to the Australian Alps.

The following catchment management organisations are the E=M3C3 project partners: The South Australian Murray – Darling Basin NRM Board; the ACT NRM Council; Mallee, North Central, North East and Goulburn Broken CMAs in Victoria; Lachlan, Murray, Lower Murray Darling and Murrumbidgee CMAs in NSW.

Project Description

Since European settlement, Australia's native habitat and vegetation has been degraded as rapid changes and new threats have altered the natural balance. As a consequence, native habitat and vegetation is in serious decline, facing threats that include:

• habitat loss and fragmentation
• weeds and introduced diseases 
• pest animal damage 
• excessive grazing 
• inappropriate fire regimes 
• increasing population and development.

The cumulative impacts of these threats are being exacerbated further by climate change. 

The aim of the E=M3C3 project is to enhance and protect both terrestrial and riverine native vegetation.  This project will aim to provide interconnected less fragmented ecosystems to support healthier riverine systems, maintenance of ecological processes, enhanced migration opportunities for flora and fauna and key habitat for threatened and endangered species.

E=M3C3 will look to identify and incorporate existing research to identify priority areas within landscapes. 

Identification and promotion of the best available science in regards to the following, will also be a key outcome of the project 

• managing the threats affecting native habitat and vegetation at a scale that is feasible, relevant and minimises the cumulative impact of these threats
• increasing connectivity, reducing the effects of fragmentation and increasing the biodiversity outcomes of native habitat and vegetation

What will be developed from the program?

• A GIS based Decision Support Tool to assist in identifying strategic areas to protect, enhance and reinstate native vegetation with a particular focus on the connectivity benefit across regions in the project area.
• A set of Best Management Practice (BMP) Guidelines for biodiversity management on private property and crown land, to better enable the biodiversity of the study area to cope with the expected impacts of climate change.

If you would like more information on the E=M3C3 pilot program please see below for the contact in your catchment, alternatively you may contact Gabrielle Toohey, E=M3C3 Project Officer on 026932 3281.
E=M3C3

Catchment Contacts

ACT NRM Council  
Jo Harding (02) 6207 2237

Goulburn Broken CMA 
Tim Barlow (03) 5820 1100

Lachlan CMA   
Allan McGuffick (02) 6851 6991

Lower Murray Darling CMA 
Lesley Palmer (03) 5021 9460

Mallee CMA   
Bob Merlin (03) 5051 4377

Murray CMA
Alex Anthony (03) 5880 1444

Murrumbidgee CMA
Gabrielle Toohey (02)6932 3232

North Central CMA  
Rohan Hogan (03) 5448 7124

North East CMA
Jeff Taylor (02) 6043 7600

SA MDB NRM Board  
Sarah Lance (08) 8531 1843

This page will be continuously updated as the project progresses