VICTORIA'S 10 catchment management authorities and three coastal boards will merge to form five Natural Resource and Catchment Authorities, which will be established by the end of June 2011.

The overhaul is part of major reforms outlined in the Victorian Government's land and biodiversity white paper, Securing our Natural Future, which Environment Minister Gavin Jennings released this week.

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Mr Jennings said CMAs and regional coastal boards would form the basis of new regionally-based NRCAs, which would be responsible for co-ordinated management across catchments, coastal and marine ecosystems.

  • Melbourne Water, Port Phillip-Western Port CMA and the Central Coastal Board will merge to form the Melbourne Water & Catchment Authority.
  • East Gippsland and West Gippsland CMAs will merge with the Gippsland Coastal Board and Gippsland Lakes Taskforce to form Gippsland NRCA.
  • Glenelg Hopkins and Corangamite CMAs will merge with the Western Coastal Board to form the Western Districts NRCA.
  • Wimmera and Mallee CMAs will merge to form the Wimmera-Mallee NRCA.
  • North Central, Goulburn-Broken and North East CMAs will merge to form the Northern Rivers NRCA.

Victorian Farmers Federation Land Management Council chairman Gerald Leach welcomed the formation of the NRCAs.

Mr Jennings said the Government would also build on existing market-based programs such as EcoTender and BushTender to provide farmers with more incentives to improve the health of their land.

He said the Government would allocate $1.5 million towards creating a green corridor from Melbourne's west to the Grampians.

"Incentives will be offered to landholders along the link to protect and restore high-value native vegetation in key locations," Mr Jennings said.

Mr Jennings said other green corridors would also be created from the Mallee to the Wimmera connecting the Sunset Country to the Big and Little deserts, from the Murray River to the Alps and from Gippsland Lakes to Wilsons Promontory.