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2026–2036
Cape York Peninsula Regional NRM Plan

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Help shape Cape York Peninsula's future

The future of Cape York Peninsula's extraordinary natural resources is in the spotlight, as Cape York NRM is developing a Regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) Plan to guide environmental stewardship across our iconic 137,000km² region through to 2036.

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This planning process will establish the priorities and strategies needed to protect Cape York Peninsula's natural assets and biodiversity, communities and cultural heritage, local livelihoods, land, water, and soil health, and will influence State and Federal Government investment decisions for the next decade.

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This isn't Cape York NRM's plan – it belongs to the entire Cape York Peninsula community. The plan's strength depends on capturing the full spectrum of views from Indigenous communities, local residents, farmers, graziers, Traditional Owners, scientists, tourism operators, and everyone who lives, works in and loves Cape York.

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A plan for our community, shaped by the community

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Take the survey

Over the remainder of 2025, Cape York NRM are leading future planning for the region’s natural resources, which will ultimately guide investment into new programs in the region over a period up to 2036. The natural resource management (NRM) region encompassing Cape York Peninsula is known as the Cape York NRM region.


The Cape York Peninsula NRM region is an extraordinary place – extending over 137,000 km2 from the north from the Mitchell River catchment to the tip of the Cape. It encompasses diverse landscapes including 16 complete river basins – most of which are unmodified. The region contains 30 broad vegetation groups including 72 different types of rainforests which represent 20% of Australia’s remaining rainforest. View map.


The Peninsula's lands, freshwaters and surrounding seas are the ancestral Homelands and Sea Country of many diverse and individually identifying Traditional owner and Custodian groups. Some 149 language varieties associated with 55 language groups across the Peninsula region demonstrate this incredibly rich living cultural diversity.


The Cape York Peninsula Regional NRM Plan will be about the region, for the region. It will belong to the regional community and aims to reflect their values and priorities around the future of the region’s natural resources – including air, land, water, flora and fauna.


As the authors of the plan, Cape York NRM hopes to engage all communities and interest groups within the region in the planning process, so we can understand your values, priorities, concerns and ideas for the future. This will provide Cape York NRM with the direction we need when designing new programs which responds to community and industry priorities and issues when developing new projects in your area and region.


We sincerely thank you for your contribution.

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our NRM Plan survey and share your insights, experiences and ideas. Your feedback is invaluable and will help guide the future of natural resource management across Cape York.

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We’re now reviewing all contributions as we continue developing the final NRM Plan, which will be launched in early 2026. 

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