The Burnett Mary region is diverse – in terms of its land and seascapes, its communities and its productive land uses. The region straddles a transition zone from temperate, wetter southern ecosystems to hotter, drier northern ones; and from protected, sub-tropical ocean waters to the drier western landscapes of the Brigalow Belt.

Five major catchments – Baffle, Kolan, Burnett, Burrum and Mary – and all or part of twelve local government areas constitute the region. See Region Map.

To address the region’s complexity the plan considers the region in the context of “assets” (sub-sets of the region’s natural wealth):

• Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
• Air and Climate
• Coastal and Marine
• Freshwater
• Land and Soils
• Plants and Animals

The region’s natural riches are offset, to some extent, by population characteristics and a regional economy that challenge the capacity of residents to respond to “big changes”, such as climate change.  Regional data indicates that, compared to all of Queensland, in the Burnett Mary there are:

• relatively low personal incomes
• many residents over 65 years of age
• large numbers of people considered to be suffering high levels of socio-economic disadvantage.

The complete report that details Australian Bureau of Statistics data for the region is available.