Whilst current initiatives to better incorporate climate science into Natural Resource Management Plans are to be applauded, their long-term effectiveness will be significantly limited if the science from these initiatives is not incorporated into the decision-making process that determine landscape transformation and the ultimate use of that landscape. Statutory land use planning is the traditional governance mechanism that governments at all levels employ to determine landscape change and to regulate approaches to management.

Hence, the questions arises as to how, if at all, future climate science enhanced NRM plans can inform the statutory land use plans which overlay the same areas that they are attempting to seek landscape improvements through strategic investments based on those NRM plans.

This paper will outline the challenges involved with attempts to “join up” science informed NRM plan with statutory land use plans. It will conclude with the considerations of options for integrating these normally disparate planning processes and systems.