In March 2000, the NSW Government hosted a Salinity Summit in Dubbo, bringing together land managers, scientists, conservationists and representatives of Aboriginal communities and all levels of government to discuss the problem of salinity and develop ways to tackle it together.

'Taking on the Challenge: NSW Salinity Strategy' is the NSW Government's response to the Summit's recommendations. It is designed to slow down the increase in salinity over a ten-year period from 2000, and to lay the foundations for salinity management beyond that.

The Strategy is an important cornerstone in the Government's long-term commitment to complex natural resource management issues under the NSW government's reforms in natural resource management. Communities will be making the decisions about how to balance the environmental, social and economic objectives in their own catchments.