Drought
Drought is a recurring and challenging experience in Australia. While a feature of the Australian landscape, the impacts are far-reaching, influencing the economic, social, and environmental characteristics of the community. The effects are felt both on-farm and across communities and often amplify existing challenges or bring new issues to light. Even when drought ends the effects on people, businesses, and communities can persist for some time.
The Parkes region has long experienced periods of drought, and reduced rainfall and soil moisture, set between cycles of good years. These cycles have been punctuated by other natural hazard events like floods, including the devastating 2022 floods, which come with their own impacts and recovery cycles.
These events compound across the community and make community and economic recovery processes both harder and longer. The boom-and-bust cycles of flood and drought can move so swiftly that it affects the ability to prepare for the next event. The result is increasing vulnerability, requiring a strategic approach in response.
For Parkes and the Central West region, it is important that drought is not considered in isolation of broader systems and cycles.
Across the region, residents and business already demonstrate strong foundations of resilience.
Drought preparedness planning seeks to further support this through a roadmap of actions, which ensures amidst other challenges and changing priorities, we are ready for the next drought when it happens.
The NSW Government Regional Drought Resilience Planning Program
In preparation for future drought periods in our region, Parkes Shire Council partnered with Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils to develop a Regional Drought Resilience Plan. This plan is a collaboration between Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shires, developed alongside the community with a focus to advance the region’s resilience to the impacts of drought. The program is one of five focus areas under the Commonwealth Government’s Future Drought Fund and is jointly funded by the NSW Government to plan pragmatically and proactively for drought resilience.
A key element of this plan was the identification of preparedness and recovery actions, specific and pragmatic actions that provide the basis for anticipating, acting and advocating for drought resilience needs.
Additional funding was secured through the NSW Government to develop a suite of management plans that would assist Council in delivering actions set out in the Regional Drought Resilience Plan. These plans include: