soil-conservation-people-religion-and-land.pdf - South West NRM

SOUL CObJSERVATION 

PEOPLE, RELIGION AND LAND 

The Church's Role in Land Stewardship in Australia 

Dr Brian Roberts 

President 

Soil Conservation Association of Australia 

Darl i nq Downs Insti tute of Advanced Education 

Toowoomba. 

April 1986

PERSONAL WTE : 

I. have writ ten this inadequate 1 OF Christian Land 

Stmardsh~p at the i-nvitr1tion of a branch of the Ch~lrch in 

Australia. I accepted ti1 is challenqe not t,ec.luse I }lave .3ny 

special knm ledge? of doctrinal matters, hut simply because I 

am increasin qly aware of the need for ecological action on 

the one hand , and the stated need for the Church to clarify 

its stance on the environment on the other hanci. 

I can but scratch the surface of the literature on this 

subject and I do this with the humility of one who can bring 

only the somewhat disparate experiences of an ex-professor in 

agriculture and lay preacher, to bear on the issue. Like 

many scientists, I admit not only to bias and subjectivity, 

but to starting with the answer and seeking selective 

evidence to support my bigotted views. In the process I 

shall appear a Philistine to some, a heretic to others and a 

visionary to hardly anyone. If my ideas stir us to a greater 

realization of what's happening around us, this effort will 

have been worthwhile. 

My boldness in rushing in where angels fear to tread, is 

based not on any certainty of the best way of bridging the 

qap between religion and ecology, but simply on my conviction 

that erosion is costing us the earth and that the Christian 

community has a vital contribution to make in alleviatina the 

A - -- 

problem through changed attitudes tward the land. 

DR. B.R. ROBERTS 

Dean: School of Applied Science, D. D. I. A. E.

with " Generous sod", Dennis displays an insight and 

sensitivity to thz e.lLriuonment, which put him ahead of his 

time in Australia. 

A more direct 3ppreciat ion of the prinitive non-Christian 

view of land was +..,en by Chief Seattle in 1854 (see p. 13) 

when he xrote 3 bhe President explaining the Indian 

perce2tion of ~G.V, ci~e 3Thite Ymn's (Christian?) arrogant and 

unfeeling use of natllral I-~sources, differed from that of the 

indig?nous "sa7r3gesH. Some would argue that in its truest 

form, our biblical teachings came very close to Seattle's 

view 2f the relationship between man and the creation, except 

for t?e concept of redemption. No doubt differences occur in 

the zpiritual and

by the fact that, compared to the two other main 

opinion-shapers, politicians and businessmen, the Church is 

the only group able to take the long term vied. As Brown 

(1981) has pointed out, the sense of permanence and the 

merits of "seeing the horizon", can be espoused by the 

Church, far beyond the expediency of the next political 

electlon or the balance sheet at the end of the current 

financial year. And besides, nobody organizes people as well 

at local level as the Church. 

The Land Situation Today 

All the evidence is that, throughout the world, the stability 

and productivity of the available agricultural and pastoral 

land are declining at an increasing rate. 

The Worlbatch paper on Soil 'Erosion by Brmn and Wolf ( 1984) 

reflects the stark reality of the rate and extent of land 

degradation through erosion. This global picture is useful 

for those who have not had the opportunity to appreciate the 

global significance of this problem. The 3.1 billion 

Australia the combined effects of water erosion, wind erosion 

affected by water erosion, 14% by wind erosion, 13% by 

vegetation deterioration and 2% by salinity. It is no 

surprise to hear the Federal Minister for Primary Industry 

calling for the national adoption of a "land conservation 

ethic" under these conditions. 

The situation in Australia has been analysed in detail and 

the indications are that land degradation, despite our 

widespread efforts to control it, is getting worse in recent 

times. The official view of the present situation is given 

in "State of the Environment in Australia 1985" (Anon, 1985). 

53 to 

s attempt to build the ideal society - 

in which the ethic was, "From each according to his ability 

(potential), to each according to his need". 

Erosion and salinity surveys in Queensland (Gillies and 

Kamel, 1985) shcw similar trends to elsewhere in Australia, 

namely that we're not winning the fight to save our soil - 

the very basis of our nation. 

In short, our physical world is wasting away and, as the 

saying goes, "If you eat, erosion is your problem" - 

ecologists, humanists and believers. This has been true 

since the Cananites exported cedar timber from Lebanon in 

1300 B.C..

Stewardship - What Is It? 

Stewartlship has several connotations: in the sphere - of 

secular land stewardship it refers in its simplest physical 

terms to using the land in a way that at least maintains its 

productive potential. In spiritual terms it is a partnership 

between man and earth - a caring/sharing/respecting 

relationship. Strwarclship as a worthy human goal, is upheld 

by eco-ogists (because it maintains ecological processes), by 

humanists (because it preserves the earth's bounty for 

posterity) and by believers (because it obeys God's word). 

Why is stewardship important? From an ecological point of 

view it is essential that we do not live off our land capital 

'if our ecosystems are to continue to support an increasing 

world population. From the humanistic point of view, we have 

no right to act as though we are the last generation to 

inhabit this planet. From the theological point of view, 

sinful man has a duty to respect and keep fruitful, the works 

of the Almighty. The international environmental thinker 

Rene Dubois (1973) suggests in his chapter on Theology of the 

Earth, that the injunction in Genesis to dress and keep 

("cultivate and guard" in the Good News Bible) the Garden - - of -- 

Eden, is an early warning on our responsibility to the earth. 

Lwdermilk proposes his 1 lth Commandment (see p. 14). It is 

this lack of direct and unambiguous reference to the earth 

(environment, land, ecology ) in the Ten Commandments which 

has led many environmentalists to accuse Christianity - of both 

neglect and arrogance. Their view is. that while manv 

--A 

, . 

references are made to the earth in the scriptures, our 

western (Judeo-Christian) democracies based on the - - 

commandments as our legal cornerstones, receive little if any 

support from the Church in developing land ethics. 

Whatever our viewpoint, physical man cannot survive while 

ever he takes an arrogant, consuming, utilitarian view of his 

land and its produce. To alert the community to the need for 

- - 

a changed attitude tmard our land, the writer has proposed 

that specific concepts (Roberts, 1983) be taught in 

Australian schools, as listed in "What should we teach?" (see 

p. 15). It is nw suggested that the Church should develoo a 

complimentary "theology of the land" for our 

& 

education 

system. 

does the Church 

about Man/Land Relations? 

Scholars of the bible quote a comprehensive catalogue of 

passages which refer to the creation and man's place in it. 

The words "dominion, subdue, replenish and multiply" , have 

been variously translated from the Greek, Hebrew and Latin 

and have been interpreted in significantly different ways 

depending on the doctrine of the Church concerned. 

*R. 

Strelan (pers.com.) proposes that the list be headed by 

a fourth, namely the God/Earth relationship.

The writer's mn simplistic view recognises three * 

relationships: 

The writer suggests that if the (lestrnction of nature is any 

indication, Christian countries are guilty of gross neglect 

of this third relationship. While much has been written by 

theologians in defence of the Church's concentration on the 

first relationship, if a nation's culture is centred on its 

religious beliefs (albeit unconsciously for many), then the 

Church has a central role to play in propounding and 

explaining ~an/Earth relationships. 

It is difficult to avoid the impression that the Church is 

avoiding conservation issues and has put them in the 

ecclessiastical "too hard basket". Take Montefiore (1978) as 

an example: he says quite categorically, "The first priority 

of the church is God. The world has urgent pressing needs, 

but the church is not primarily in the welfare business - it 

is about God." While one cannot argue with his priorities, 

the impression is given of an escapism, at least from the 

social realities of our time. Closer to home, several 

branches of the Christian Church in Australia, while making 

doctrinal statements on social issues in general, are silent 

on land and stewardship, unlike their American counterparts. 

An example might be a Church with mainly rural members, 

deeply rooted in the rural tradition of perseverance, 

independence and "battling cockies" as the congregation 

stereotype. Its leaders are often men of the land whose 

background is one of hardship, economic survival and a battle 

against the elements. They are in daily contact with their 

people who are caught in an economic bind which often 

relegates the very idea of stewardship to the category of a 

luxury they can ill afford. These leaders understand why 

conservationists are often seen as a threat to financial 

survival rather than champions of Christian Land Stwardship. 

Hi storic perspective 

Few environmental writers have caused more of a stir in the 

Christian Church than Lynn White (see p. 16). White is 

strongly supported by eminent writers such as Toynbee (1974), 

Derr (1973) and Nash (1973). Equally reputable scholars like 

Southwick ( 1972) , Olsen-T jensvold ( 1978) , Elsdon ( 198 1 ) , B arr 

(1974), Imsland (1971), Farigy (1972), Richardson (1972), 

Reidel (1971) and Ruether (1978) dispute a number of White's 

basic tenets. Yaple (1982) has given a useful analysis of 

the proponents on both sides of the "Christian arrogance'' 

argument. White's original paper "The Historical Roots of 

our Ecologic Crisis" considers Christianity as one of the 

important factors which moulded technological man's attitudes 

to the world around him. Many Christians would disagree with 

White's "uncaringw interpretation of the Christian view of

the earth's resources. However, it is difficult to gainsay 

the conclusion that there is a strong correlation between the 

countries where Christianity is the "state religion" and the 

destructive use of technology which has led to extensive 

collapse of ecosystems. Of course similar outcomes have 

resulted from sheer population pressure in many non-Christian 

countries. White's statement on utility of earth resources 

to man, is important if not simplistic: "God planned all 

this explicitly for man's benefit and rule: no item in the 

physical creation had any purpose save to serve man's 

purposes. " This is a central concept for Christianity today. 

If natural resources, notably living resources, are not 

solely for man's use, what other inherent values do they 

possess? 

White's reference to the ,ancient ?beliefs which accepted 

guardian spirits, is contrasted with Christianity, which he 

suggests, allowed exploitation of nature without 

consideration of the "feelings" of non-human creation. If 

the present-day Church is concerned with alleviating land 

degradation problems, and it may not be, then serious 

consideration of White's central challenge is called for: 

"What we do about ecology depends on our ideas of 

man-nature relations. More science and more 

technology are not going to get us out of the 

present ecologic crisis until we find a new 

religion, or rethink our old one." 

White goes on to cite St. Francis as a leader in a new wave 

of thinking which emphasized humility in man relative to 

other species. There is no doubt a multitude of 

interpretations of hclw St. Francis' creed corrupted or 

complimented the Church's doctrines of his time. Important 

for us today in Australia is the acceptance of how he "tried 

to depose man from his monarchy over creation and set up a 

democracy of all God's creation." 

If our modern Church believes that the worsening degradation 

of our land is not its concern, the writer believes it should 

say so. If hmever the Church accepts that it has a role, 

nay an abiding responsibility, in preserving the creation on 

which man depends, it should vigorously pursue both the 

doctrinal basis for such a stance and propose clear action 

statements to this effect. It is the writer's sincere hope 

that all our Churches will recognize the scale of the 

physical crisis affecting our land, seek the relevant 

scriptural injunctions and make appropriate calls to action 

from their members. It is the writer's view, as inaugural 

president of the Soil Conservation Association of Australia, 

that our Churches have a vital role to play in developing a 

landcare ethic within our entire community. 

The scope of this paper should perhaps be widened beyond the 

bounds of Christian Land Stewardship, to include the more 

general concept of Christian responses to "Issues Facing 

Christians Today" as overviewed by John Stott ( 1984) .

Stott's clearcut distinction between easy optimism, dark 

pessimism and Biblical realism should be considered in the 

context of the springs of human action by the Church on 

social issues Like land degradation. Hawever, his comment 

that "the gloomy view of human depravity leads some in the 

Church to consider social action a waste of time", warrants 

evaluation. For if this view is widely held, then corrective 

environmental action is most unlikely to come from the 

Church. Personally I side with Ruether ( 1978) when she says, 

"When humanity mends its relation to God, the result must be 

expressed not in contemplative flight from the earth, but 

rather in the rectifying of the convenant of creation." Thus 

while the attempt to make Christianity the "ecological 

scapegoat1' may not be well founded, it must be conceded that 

though the Bible discourages affluence, Western man and his 

Church accept a lifestyle which is both greedy and wasteful 

in ecological terms. 

Stottls overview has been chosen because it demonstrates that 

the choice of optimism or pessimism confronts the scientist 

(despite his so-called objectivity) as much as it confronts 

the rest of us. Stott 's contention that, since God wns the 

earth, we have only leasehold, not freehold, tenure, is a 

point crucial to our approach to the land. The writer 

(Roberts, 1985) has dealt with this at length elsewhere. 

Stott maintains that in one sense we are "one with the rest 

of nature", but at the same time we are "distinct from 

nature". He emphasises that our dominion over nature gives 

us a position midway between God and nature in the grand 

hierarchy. Hawever, his support for von Rad's claim that 

- - 

"man is placed upon earth in God's image as God's sovereign 

emblem", is taking the dominion role a bit far. Stott easily 

translates all our technological achievements into 

"fulfilments of God's primeval command" - dominion. 

The chal 1 enge 

Most believers will find Stott more acceptable, than say 

White, because Stott makes comfortable statements which lead 

to what appears to be a happy marriage between technology and 

Christianity. But is it? His interpretation of all our 

t ethnological advances as "merely co-operat ing with the laws 

of fruitfulness which God has already established", 

disregards the acts of arrogant exploitation, where man is 

like a spoilt child, as if he is the last generation to 

inhabit the earth, producing exactly the opposite effect to 

the fruitfulness to which Stott refers. 

Stott stops short of emphasizing the obvious expectation - of 

"God's caretakers1' is to take care. While he quotes 

Schumacher (of "Small is Beautiful" fame), Stott seems to 

miss the central credo which is being propounded by this 

economist-turned-ecologist . The vital truth lies in the 

quotation: "He must conform his actions to certain natural 

laws if he is to maintain his dominance over his 

environment".

Certainly the earth and thus man, would benefit greatly if 

the organized conservationists and church-goers could combine 

forces on this central issue. The third group referred to 

earlier, the humanists, may have more in common with the 

Church's stance on man/land relationships, if their views on 

land tenure are compared. For instance, Stott 's 

interpretation of Leviticus 25 as limiting man to the status 

of "temporary residents", is very similar to the 

often-repeated assertion by land-use specialists (Roberts, 

1984), that all landholders should behave as "temporary 

trustees" of the communities resources. Kleinig (1986) 

brings considerable biblical support to bear on this view of 

ownership. As Stott poifits out, dominion is not a synonym 

for destruction, but his papal quote that "the right to 

private property is subordinated to the right to common 

(public) use", seems to be seldom included in modern 

Christian statements on man's responsibility for the 

environment. This matter is explained in detail in the 

writer's paper ",Hw free is freehold?" (Roberts, 1985) in 

which our responsibility to future generations, rather than 

to the creation or the ecosystem, is argued for. 

The section of Stott's work subtitled "The Conservation 

Debate" reflects some of the Church's dilemma of what its 

correct position on environmental issues is. Branches of 

Christianity have responded differently to this inescapable ' 

challenge to the Church. It is the writer's view that 

embracing the concept of social ecology, not ecological or 

social issues as if they were unconnected, would greatly 

enhance the Church's opportunity of making a real impact on 

this aspect of the human condition. When wrestling with this 

question the Church of England referred to earthly 

destruction as blasphemy and, according to Stott, "a sin 

against God as well as man". "Is it or isn't it?", is the 

question which the Australian Churches must ask themselves 

today. If it is, the silent Church is failing in its 

calling. 

The theological debate about biblical interpretation 

including both etymology and context of the original wording, 

fails to convince either thinking believers or others, that 

the church has accepted and preached a stwardship role as a 

clear statement of faith. A l l the evidence leads us to 

accept the criticism that the Church has not developed and 

articulated an ethic relating man to the environment. If the 

"others" in our "doing unto others" could include other 

factors in our ecosystem, we may yet have a future on this 

planet. 

Man's cleverness has outstripped his wisdom. This statement 

is at the crux of our problem, namely man's lack of vision to 

be able to use his awesome technological pmer for his best 

long term good. As Ghandi pointed out, the earth provides 

enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's 

greed. In an age when the technocrats are failing to display 

the wisdom required for survival, the Church is challenged to 

provide the perspective and vision to ensure man's future on

earth. W i l l the Australian Church answer the call or pass by 

on the other side? 

How does this challenqe fit our western tradition? 

At the risk of repeating some of the concepts touched on by 

White and Stott, recent Australian contributions to the 

subject of environmental ethics deserve attention here. Few 

have grappled more sincerely with the environmental ethic of 

our western democracies, than Robin Attfield (1984). He 

draws heavily on Passmore's interesting book "Mans 

Responsibility for Nature" (1974) and on the writings of the 

two Routleys in their "The Fight for the Forests" (1975). We 

would do well to take note of what these Australian writers 

have to say about the Christian view of nature and how the 

Hebrews, Aquinas and Calvin interpreted the relationship 

between man and other creatures. Attfield refers to the 

"Christian humanitarians" and explains their sensitivity to 

the earth's creatures (if not to the earth itself) in terms 

of Christian charity. Perhaps the time is ripe in Australia 

to examine the way in which a caring secular society and the 

Church can focus on those values common to both groups. This 

may reduce some of the unnecessary polarization and 

misunderstanding which leads to alienation. A checklist of 

the ingredients of a sustainable society could act as a 

useful basis for such a seekjng of consensus. 

In conclusion, I return to my own homespun philosophy, 

published in the South African Journal of Agricultural 

Extension (Roberts, 1974): "The real conservationist is a 

special kind of person, with sound motivations, patient 

confidence and above all a compassionate understanding of, 

and a humble unselfish approach to, his God-given 

environment. I cannot avoid the compelling similarity 

between the practicing environmentalist and the personality 

traits held up for us by the great religions of the world. 

Indeed the similarity deserves our closest attention ... it 

is my belief that our only salvation lies at the very deepest 

levels of our national character. " melve years later and on 

the other side of the earth I still believe this.

That each Church set up a commission, interdenominational or 

otherwise, with the responsibility to: 

1. Collect and summarize information on the extent and 

social significance of land degradation in Australia. 

2. Set up an Environmental Doctrine Committee to develop 

a draft statement for consideration by the Church, on 

environmental matters. 

3. Set up an Environmental Education Committee to 

recommend on ways and means of implementing the 

Statement on Environment in practical terms on a 

nation-ide basis.

"THE SPOILERS" 

Ye are the Great White People, masters and lords of the earth, 

Spreading your stern dominion over the world's wide girth. 

Here, where my fathers hunted since Time's primordial morn, 

To our land's sweet, fecund places, you came with with your kine and corn. 

Mouthing your creed of Culture to cover a baser creed, 

Your talk was of White Man's magic: but your secret god was Greed. 

And nw that your generations to the second, the third have run, 

White Man, what of my country? Answer, what have you done? 

N m the God of my Simple People was a simple, kindly God, 

Meting his treasures wisely that sprung from this generous sod, 

With never a beast too many and never a beast too few, 

Thro' the lean years and the fruitful, he held the balance true. 

Then the White Lords came in their glory; and their cry was: 

"More! Yet more ! " 

And to make them rich for a season they filched Earth's age-old store, 

And they hunted my Simple People - hunters of yester-year - 

And they drove us into the desert - while they wrought fresh deserts here. 

C.J. Dennis 

Circa 1930.

LET THE RED VAN SPEAK 

In 1854 "the Great White Chief in Washington" made an offer 

for a large area of Indian land and promised a "reservation" 

for the Indian people. Chief Seattle's reply, described as 

the most beautiful and profound statement on the environment 

ever made, challenges us today. 

"Of all the teachings we receive this one is the most 

important - Nothing belongs to you. Of what there is, 

of what you take, you must share. " 

How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The 

idea is strange to us. If we do not wn the freshness of the 

air and the sparkle of the water, hw can you buy them? 

Every part of this earth is as red to my people. Every 

shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the 

dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the 

memory and experience of my people. This we knm. The earth 

does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. All things 

are connected like the blood which unites one family. A11 

things are connected. 

Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. 

Man did not weave the web of life: he is merely a strand in 

it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. 

Even the white man, whose God walks and talks with him as 

friend to friend, cannot be exempt from the common destiny. 

We may be brothers after all. One thing we knm, which the 

white man may one day discover - our God is the same God. 

You may think now that you wn Him as you wish to own our 

land; but you cannot. He is the God of man and His 

compassion is equal for the red man and the white. 

This Earth is precious to Him, and to harm the earth is to 

heap contempt on its Creator. The whites too shall pass; 

perhaps sooner than all other tribes. Contaminate your bed, 

and you will one night suffocate in your m n waste. The 

white man does not understand our ways. One portion of land 

is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who 

comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. 

Teach your children what we have taught our children, that 

the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls * 

the sons of the earth. 

I am a savage. 

I do not understand. 

Chief Seattle 

1854.

11TH COMMANDMENT 

Thou shalt inherit the holy earth as a faithful steward, 

conserving its resources and productivity from generation to 

generation. Thou shalt safeguard thy fields from soil 

erosion, thy living waters from drying up, thy forests from 

desolation and protect thy hills from overgrazing by thy 

herds, so that thy descendants may have abundance for ever. 

If any shall fail in the stewardship of the land his fruitful 

fields shall become sterile stony ground and wasting gullies 

and his descendants shall decrease and live in poverty or be 

destroyed off the face of the earth. 

Walter Lwdermilk 

1939.

WHAT SHOULD WE TEACH 

What must the education system teach if future generations 

are to nurture this precious land? 

. It must teach that the arrogant, the dominating, the 

consuming view of non-renewable resources is 

short-sighted and ultimately doomed to fail. 

, . 

It must teach that land resource conservation does 

not necessarily mean non-use or protection as such. 

. It must teach that good husbandry must of necessity 

harvest nature at a rate that is sustainable over the 

long term. 

. It must teach that humans are an integral part of an 

interacting ecosystem f rom which they cannot separate 

themselves in the long run. 

. It must teach that all nations are in this global 

system together and pollution ultimately needs global 

solutions. 

. It must teach optimism and challenge and perseverance 

and dedication, not doom and gloom, hopelessness and 

despair. 

. . It must teach the limits of individual freedom within 

group well-being. 

. It must teach the desired ethics and responsibilities 

within our political system. 

a 

. It must teach the links between city consumers and 

rural producers, between tax-payers and trustees of 

the land, between present and future generations. 

. It must demonstrate the disasters of bad land 

management and the success and stability of good 

stewardship of the land. 

. It must teach the great satisfaction and achievement 

of well-husbanded land and the spiritual well-being 

of such fundamental achievement. 

. It must teach a national pride in conserving stable , 

resources and a willingness to help others less 

fortunate. 

. It must teach that with great riches in resources 

goes grave responsibility to future generations. 

Brian Roberts 

Opening Address to Australian 

Society of Sugar Technologists 

1983.

THE HISTORICAL ROOTS flF OUR ECOLOGIC CRISIS 

What people do about their ecology depends on what they think 

about themselves in relation to things around them. Human 

ecology is deeply conditioned by beliefs about our nature and 

destiny - that is, by religion. To Western eyes this is very 

evident in, say, India or Ceylon. It is equally true of 

ourselves and of our medieval ancestors. 

The victory of Christianity over paganism was the greatest 

psychic revolution in the history of our culture. It has 

become fashionable today to say that, for better or worse, we 

live in "the post-Christian age". Certainly the forms of our 

thinking and language have largely ceased to be Christian, 

but to my eye the substance often remains amazingly akin to 

that of the past. Our daily habits of action, for example, 

are dominated by an implicit faith in perpetual progress 

which was unknown either to Greco-Roman antiquity or to the 

Orient. It is rooted in, and is indefensible apart from, 

Judeo-Christian teleology. The fact that Communists share it 

merely helps to shcw what can be demonstrated on many other 

grounds: that Marxism, like Islam, is a Judeo- Christian 

heresy. We continue today to live, as we have lived for 

about 1700 years, very largely in a context of Christian 

axioms. 

What did Christianity tell people about their relations with 

the environment? 

While many of the world's mythologies provide stories of 

creation, Greco- Roman mythology was singularly incoherent in 

this respect. Like Aristotle, the intellectuals of the 

ancient West denied that the visible world had had a 

beginning. Indeed, the idea of a beginning was impossible in 

the framework of their cyclical notion of time. In sharp 

contrast, Christianity inherited from Judaism not only a 

concept of time as nonrepetitive and linear but also a 

striking story of creation. By gradual stages a loving and 

all-pwerful God had created light and darkness, the heavenly 

bodies, the earth and all its plants, animals, birds and 

fishes. . Finally, God had created Adam and, as an 

afterthought, Eve to keep man from being lonely. Man named 

all the animals, thus establishing his dominance over them. 

God planned all of this explicitly for man's benefit and 

rule: no item in the physical creation had any purpose save 

to serve man's purposes. And, although man's body is made of 

clay, he is not simply part of nature: he is made in God's 

image. 

a 

Especially in its Western form, Christianity is the most 

anthropocentric religion the world has seen. As early as the 

2nd century both Tertullian and Saint Irenaeus of Lyons were 

insisting that when God shaped Adam he was foreshadwing the 

image of the incarnate Christ, the Second Adam. Man shares, 

in great measure, God's transcendence of nature. 

Christianity, in absolute contrast to ancient paganism and 

Asia's religions (except, perhaps, Zoroastrianism), not only

established a dualism of man and nature but also insisted 

that it is God's will that man exploit nature for his proper 

ends. 

At the level of the common people khic, worked out in an 

interesting way. In Antiquity every tree, every spriny, 

every stream, every hill had its mn genius loci, its 

guardian spirit. These spirits were accessible to men, but 

were very unlike men; centaurs, fauns, and mermaids shm 

their ambivalence. Before one cut a tree, mined a mountain, 

or dammed a brook, it was important to placate the spirit in 

charge of that particular situation, and to keep it placated. 

By destroying pagan animism, Christianity made it possible to 

exploit nature in a mood of indifference to the feelings of 

natural objects. 

It is often said that for animism the Church substituted the 

cult of saints. True; but the cult of saints is functionally 

quite different from animism. The saint is not in natural 

objects; he may have special shrines, but his citizenship is 

in heaven. Moreover, a saint is entirely a man; he can be 

approached in human terms. In addition to saints, 

Christianity of course also had angels and demons inherited 

from Judaism and perhaps, at one remove, from Zoroastrianism. 

But these were all as mobile as the saints themselves. The 

spirits in natural objects, which formerly had protected 

nature from man, eyaporated. Man's effective monopoly on 

spirit in this world was confirmed, and the old inhibitions 

to the exploitation of nature crumbled. 

When one speaks in such sweeping terms, a note of caution is 

in order. Christianity is a complex faith, and its 

consequences differ in differing contexts. What I have said 

may well apply to the medieval West, where in fact technology 

made spectacular advances. But the Greek East, a highly 

civilized realm of equal Christian devotion, seems to have . 

produced no marked technological innovation after the late 

7th century, when Greek fire was invented. The key to the 

contrast may perhaps be found in a difference in the tonality 

of piety and thought which students of comparative theology 

find between the Greek and the Latin Churches. The Greeks 

believed that sin was intellectual. blindness, and that 

salvation was found in illumination, orthodoxy - that is, 

clear thinking. The Latins, on the other hand, felt that sin 

was moral evil, and that salvation was to be found insright 

conduct. Eastern theology has been intellectualist. Western 

theology has been voluntarist. The Greek saint contemplates; 

the Western saint acts. The implications of Christianity for 

the conquest of nature would emerge more easily in the 

Western atmosphere. 

The Christian dogma of creation, which is found in the first 

clause of all the Creeds, has another meaning for our 

comprehension of today's ecologic crisis. By revelation, God 

has given man the Bible, the Book of Scripture. But since 

God had made nature, nature also must reveal the divine 

mentality. The religious study of nature for the better

understanding of God was kntwn as natural theology. In the 

early Church, and always in the Greek East, nature was 

conceived primarily as a symbolic system through which God 

speaks to men: the ant is a sermon to sluggards; rising 

flames are the symbol of the soul's aspiration. This view of 

nature was essentially artistic rather than scientific. 

While Byzantium preserved and copied great numbers of ancient 

Greek scientific tests, science as we conceive it could 

scarcely flourish in such an ambience. 

However, in the Latin West by the early 13th century natural 

theology was follwing a very different bent. It was ceasing 

to be the decoding of the physical symbols of God's 

communication with man and was becoming the effort to 

understand God's mind by discovering hw his creation 

operates. The rainbw was no longer simply a symbol of hope 

first sent to Noah after the Deluge: Robert Grosseteste, 

Friar Roger Bacon, and Theodoric of Freiberg produced 

startlingly sophisticated work on the optics of the rainbow, 

but they did it as a venture in religious understanding. 

From the 13th century omard, up to and including Leibnitz 

and Newton, every major scientist, in effect, explained his 

motivations in religious terms. Indeed, if Galileo had not 

been so expert an amateur theologian he would have got into 

far less trouble: the professionals resented his intrusion. 

And Newton seems to have regarded himself more as a 

theologian than as a scientist. It was not until the late 

18th century that the hypothesis of God became unnecessary to 

many scientists =.... . 

We would seem to be headed towards conclusions unpalatable to 

many Christians. Since both science and technology are 

blessed words in our contemporary vocabulary, some may be 

happy at the notions, first, that, viewed historically, 

modern science is an extrapolation of natural theology and, 

second, that modern technology is at least partly to be 

explained as an Occidental, voluntarist realization of the 

Christian dogma of man's transcendence of, and rightful 

mastery over, nature. But, as we nw recognize, somewhat 

over a century ago science and technology - hitherto quite 

separate activities - joined to give mankind powers which, to 

judge by many of the ecologic effects, are out of control. 

If so, Christianity bears a huge burden of guilt. 

Lynn White 

1967.

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verse f rom the Herald, Hallcroft Publishers, Melbourne. 

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ethics", should become a challenge. United Methodist 

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environmental crisis. Inter Varsity Press, Downers 

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the good earth. A Stef ferud (Ed. ) Friendship Press, 

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environmentalism and the theology and ethics of H.R. 

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Lectures, Diocese of Wangaratta, Australia. 

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crisis. Christianity Today, April, U.S.A. 

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are we losing ground? Proc. Aust. Soc. Sugar Tech., 

Mackay . 

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A.N.U., Canberra. 

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Potential by J. Cairns. 

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environment. Van Nostrand Co., N.Y. 

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Publ., U.K. 

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environmental crisis. In: Ecology and religion in 

History, D. & E. Spring (Eds.), Harper and Rm, N.Y. 

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education. Ph.D. thesis. U. Syracuse, U. S.A.

PREFACE : 

This paper has been written at the invitation of the Centre 

for Resource and Environmental Studies of the Australian 

National University in Canberra. The paper is a contribution 

to A.N.U.'s Fundamental Questions Programme which in turn 

submits material to the federal government's Commission for 

the Future. 

The Fundamental Questions Programme is based on the need to 

identify corrective change in the ecological and biosocial 

situation, if society is to be sustainable. This invited 

paper draws on the thoughts of leading Australian and 

international thinkers .in the sphere of Man/Land relations 

over the past two decades. 

The A.N.U. programme is particularly timely since 1989 has 

witnessed the greatest increase in environmental awareness 

ever experienced in this country and it is hoped that the 

Darling Downs Institute's contribution to this sphere of 

scholarship will assist in the emerging attitudinal change in 

our society.

HOW GREEN IS MY MALLEE: 

ATTITUDES TO T 

AUSTRALIAN 

Dr Brian Roberts, DDIAE 

Background to Today's Ecological ~ealities 

If you visit the Botanic Gardens in Sydney you will see a very 

small monument with a plaque stating that agriculture 

commenced in Australia on that site. It was from there that 

our land-based industries grew, from the 10 acres at Farm Cove 

to the impressive export industry of today. From those 

original battlers grew the unique independent cockie of today. 

To put our farmers in today's perspective we must slcetch the 

global situation in which we find our Australian landholder 

and his relationship to his land. 

Only 11% of the earth's surface is arable land suitable for 

crop production and from this we must feed 5 billion people. 

Asia, Africa and South America have population doubling times 

of 38, 24 and 30 years respectively. This year 11 million 

Chinese and 14 million Indians will be born, while world land 

resources are lost through erosion and salination at the rate 

of 7% per decade. China, with 23% of the world's population 

was able to reduce its population growth from 3.4% to 2.0 

after introducing the one child family policy in 1979 (Davis & 

Wilsher, 1986) . India's advantage gained from the green 

revolution in grain production, has been lost through the 

failure of its birth control programmes. In Bangladesh, Kenya 

and Ghana, birth control is used by only 8%, 7% and 4% of 

couples respectively (Anon, 1981). 

The good news is that while the world population was 

increasing at over 2% during the 1960s, it has declined to 

1.63%-today. The bad news is that two thirds of the world 

rema.in hungry while the gains made by improved food production 

technology are cancelled out by land degradation in many 

countries including Australia. 

Fifteen years ago the writer (Roberts, 1974) described our 

predicament as follows: Despite numerous warnings over the 

years, Man has recently been somewhat bewildered by the fact 

that Nature has slapped him in the face for insulting her 

ecosystem. The animal which inhabits the urban habitat has 

become aware of uncomfortable changes in his immediate 

environment. Nature has answered back and Man has stumbled 

into an ecological trap. Civilizations have been living on 

promisory notes for generations and now they're falling due 

all over the world. The wilderness is no longer an 

environment to be conquered by Man, but a shrinking source of

vital supplies. The once-heroic pioneer, developer and tamer 

of Nature, is seen in a more critical light today, against the 

background of the basic problem confronting modern Man, namely 

the provision of the necessities of life for an infinite 

population from a finite global potential. 

For educational purposes, Man's environmental problem can be 

divided into imbalances on three main fronts, namely, 

population increase, resource depletion and environmental 

pollution. We have been living off a Natural economy while 

accepting no responsibility for it, and in ignorance and 

arrogance we have been drawing on the capital of the world's 

ecosystems, without making any substantial deposits. In 

addition, we have come to realize that we can ignore Nature's 

laws only at our own' peril, and that the eternal truths that 

govern Natural systems, inevitably catch up even with the 

species Homo sapiens, despite his advanced brainpower. 

Essential elements of any permanent ecosystem are, firstly, 

the control of populations, secondly the recycling of 

nutrients and, thirdly, the efficient use of energy sources. 

Man has ignored all three in his wasteful economy of planned 

obsolescence. 

In spite of the writing on the wall, ignorance, vested 

interest and complacency make Man go on doing what history has 

clearly shown him to be wrong. Today we stand to be judged on 

the intrinsic values of our Western cultures in so far as they 

are compatible with reality and the naked truth concerning the 

requirements for our survival. Nature has sent us a final 

notice - payment is due, and we now need to decide how we 

shall pay, not whether we shall pay. There are no further 

opportunities to shirk our responsibilities or pass the buck 

internationally. The chips are down and only complete honesty 

and acceptance of realities are operative. So we find that 

today- the status of the ecological problem is not determined 

by its age or its academic merit, but simply by its urgency. 

Two points need to be made here; firstly we cannot return to a 

past Utopia, and secondly we cannot maintain the present 

wasteful and unrealistic way of doing things much longer. 

If we . accept .. these premises ..we. are .bound.-to ... admit. that Man's 

survival will depend on his willingness to change established 

views on birth control, resource exploitation and recycling of 

wastes. This then is the essence of the task that lies before 

governments and individuals, and to carry out this task we 

need to establish goals, priorities, action plans and global 

cooperation in bringing these plans to fruition. It is also 

worth noting that both ecology and economics are derived from 

the same Greek root - ~loikos~l a home (Roberts, 1974) .

Writing in the modern Australian context O'Connor notes that 

there is emerging in our society an attitude of concern based 

upon : 

a 

the acknowledgement that man can inflict damage on the 

environment comparable with the great natural disasters 

of the past; 

. a concept of stewardship of our finite resources for our 

own use and for future generations; 

a 

an awareness that our environment has a limited capacity 

to absorb the debris of our society; 

. the acknowledgement that a finite world with finite 

resources cannot support continually expanding population 

and burgeoning technology beyond a certain level 

(O'Connor, 1986). 

Whatever our particular forte, if we in land use planning are 

to be worthy of the name Ecologist, we cannot but see ecology 

as a Synthesizing, Applied Social Science concerned primarily 

with the study of communities. Thus, despite the growing 

multiplicity of interests within ecology, its most important 

application is likely to remain the broad field of resource 

management relative to human welfare. 

Many analysts, confronted by the complexities of land use 

legislation, have recognised the need to bring together the 

natural world and the world of human society. Boer (1984) 

draws on Bookchin's (1982) central statement on this issue: 

'. . . We must develop a more rounded critical analysis of our 

relationship with the natural world. We must seek the 

foundations for a more reconstructive approach to the grave 

probl'ems posed by the apparent v~contradictions~~ between nature 

and society.' The new subject area termed 'social ecology' 

has been- developed to bridge this gap through a better 

appreciation of humankind in nature. Boer points out, 

however, that environmental law as it presently stands, could 

be incompatible with social ecology. This is because the law 

is presently a crude mechanism.. for administering the 

environment. These concepts equate with Bookchin's shallow 

and deep ecology which concern humankind's social sy-stem and 

its environmental system respectively. The relevance of these 

apparently esoteric distinctions to land degradation problems 

is that because these two systems interact, our understanding 

of natural ecology must now be followed by a parallel study of 

social ecology. 

The concept that members of the community should be regarded 

as more than 'consumer citizens' has been argued by Craig 

(1982). He suggests that in the past we have used an approach

to land use decision-making which treats individuals as 

isolated private consumers interested only in materialism, 

with no ethical or spiritual dimension. 

Civilization and Land Degradation 

Many writers since the first Sumarian chronicles on 

agriculture, have recorded the effects of civilization on the 

landscape and the soil. From the Tigris and Euphrates to the 

Yellow River, the march of Man's early llprogresslq was marked 

by ruination and desolation, followed by migration and 

abandonment. In one sense the history of civilization is the 

history of the soil, since the impoverishment of the soil was 

followed by a poverty of body and spirit of the people. 

did the New World learn the lessons of the Old World - it has 

been said that what Man learns from history is that Man 

doesn't learn from history. So it is not surprising that the 

ratio of forest clearing to forest planting in Asia is 

presently 5:1, in South America 10:l and in Tropical Africa 

29 : 1 (Anon, 1982) . The writer (Roberts, 1986) has elsewhere 

quoted the well-known statement by the Red Indian Chief 

Seattle to highlight the fundamental difference that western 

development has made to our relation to the land. Other 

seldom-quoted responses from the Indians emphasize this lack 

of empathy on our part: "How can the spirit of the earth like 

the White man? ... Everywhere the White man has touched it, it 

is sore. The wise old Lakota knew that man's heart away from 

nature, becomes hard. He knew that lack of respect for 

growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans 

too. So he kept his youth close to its softening influence. 

Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my 

people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, 

has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long 

vanished. The very dust upon which you now stand responds 

more iwingly. to their footsteps than to yours, because it is 

rich with the blood of our ancestors and our bare feet are 

conscious of the sympathetic touch.1u We in Australia would do 

well to consider these views, as Nature rebels against our 

ever-increasing demands. 

When Jacks .and Whyte wrote their-ouwRape of the -Earthtf - in 1946, 

they explained in graphic detail how the younger nations like 

North America, South Africa and Australia had not only ignored 

these lessons of history but had used the new-found power of 

technology to ruin the land at a pace unknown to the ancients. 

What we lack in Australia today is the wisdom to apply our 

power correctly. The impact of passages such as the following 

from "Rape of the Earth" could have a far-reaching influence 

in moulding the perspectives and appreciations of the present 

generation: Erosion is the modern symptom of maladjustment 

between human society and its environment. It is a warning 

that Nature is in full revolt against the sudden incursion of 

Nor

an exotic civilization into her ordered domains. Men are 

permitted to dominate Nature on precisely the same condition 

as trees and plants, namely on condition that they improve the 

soil and leave it a little better for their posterity than 

they found it. Agriculture in Europe, whatever its other 

weaknesses, has been, and perhaps still is, a practicz tending 

on the whole to increase soil fertility. When ad(:r.zed and 

adapted elsewhere it has resulted, almost invariak .I-, in a 

catastrophic decrease in fertility. The illus-~n that 

fertility can always be restored by applying some of the huge 

amounts of artificial fertilizers now available has been 

shattered by the recognition that fertility is not merely a 

matter of plant-food supply (for even exhausted soils usually 

contain ample reserves of plant food), but is also closely 

connected with soil stability. 

Leaving aside for the moment the question of how present 

agricultural systems and methods of land utilisation have 

produced such disastrous consequences, we may enquire why 

these malpractices, which seem to threaten the whole future of 

the human race, should have been adopted and have become so 

prevalent in the newer countries. In the first place, the 

general principles and methods of land management that had 

been found eminently suitable for European conditions were the 

only ones fully understood by the colonising peoples. 

Thereafter, the necessary modifications introduced in 

different countries into land management practices were 

dictated not so much by natural environmental factors as by 

external economic circumstances, particularly those created by 

the rapidly developing opportunities for international 

commerce throughout the world. Thus the development of land 

in new countries has not been a gradual evolutionary process 

dependent upon local conditions, but part of a sudden and 

explosive surge of immense and uncoordinated human power into 

unprepared territory (Jacks & Whyte, 1946). 

Powell~s~writings make interesting reading for those seeking 

to understand the ethos of Man and Nature through a number of 

progressive stages of development of the Australian nation. 

Because ours is one of the youngest of nations, our 

conservation ethos drew heavily on the experiences, writings 

and values originating elsewhere. As Powell (1976) explains: 

Students of environmental history in ~ustralia cannot draw 

upon a rich tradition of local scholarship in their chosen 

field and it seems reasonable to suggest that an examination 

of the American experience showed an indispensable general 

perspective. Indeed, many leading figures in conservation and 

resource management in Australia were (and are) keen observers 

of the American scene. But there is a distinct temptation, in 

this as in several other matters, to allow simply for the 

familiar I1cultural lag" and to press on with a lfcomparativell

a 

approach for Australia. The dangers are obvious enough - the 

special environmental problems facing Australians, and their 

sustained relationship with Britain, for instance, must never 

be discounted. 

However, while some things have changed in our political 

arena, the following letter to the editor of the Melbourne 

Argus of 1st July, 1871, indicates that preoccupation by 

politicians with short term advantages has not changed: 

"1871 also promised to be a good year, for example, for the 

conservation and acclimatisation campaign of Edward Wilson and 

the Melbourne Argus. Following Mueller's public lecture by 

little more than a week, a letter in the correspondence 

columns of that paper again raised the issue of forest 

reservation and plantation, and the writer's urgent appeal for 

support in this 'truly national work' is worth recording. The 

true interests of the country find an advocate in you, so I 

make bold to ask your assistance in this good work. Our 

legislators, I fear, with very few exceptions, are too much 

intent on the loaves and fishes of the present day to allow 

time for the consideration of what would be an enduring and 

living testimony of their patriotism.' 

Sustainability and the Steady-State 

A useful analysis of lasting systems has been given by Birch 

and Cobb (1981) who follow their view of sustainability with a 

list of characteristics of a sustainable society: 

"The meaning of sustainability is somewhat easier to express: 

to be sustainable is to be capable of indefinite existence. 

Sustainability came into use in the global context in relation 

to the environmental crisis. In 1966 Kenneth Boulding 

contrasted the wasteful 'cowboy economy8 with a 'space-ship 

economy?i In the cowboy economy resources are regarded as 

infinite-;and are exploited wastefully and extravagantly. In a 

space-ship economy resource use is geared to the finite amount 

available (Boulding, 1971). The same idea was presented by 

Meadows et a1 (1972) in The Limits to Growth, Daly (1973) in 

Towards 24 . Steady State Economy. and later in . Steady State . - 

Economics (Daly, 1977) and Henderson (1978) in Creating 

Alternative Futures. These authors refer to the steady-state 

economy in contrast to the ever-growing economy whose destiny 

is to collapse upon itself because the planet is finite. It 

was the lack of a positive connotation of the phrases 

'steady-state', 'stationary-statet or 'equilibrium state' and 

their unacceptability to the third world that led to the 

phrase 'sustainable society' being coined at a meeting of the 

World Council of Churches on this subject in 1974 (World / 

Council of Churches 1974, p 12). This use of the word 

sustainability emphasised the necessity of sustaining the

life-support systems of the earth and the resources on which 

they depend. It is an ecological sustainability. However, 

sustainability has a wider connotation when it indicates as 

well as ecological sustainability the sustainability of social 

structures and political systems. It could be argued, for 

example, that neither capitalism nor socialism, as at present 

practised, are sustainable political systems. Sustainability 

in the real world is a relative matter, just as is justice. 

The call for a sustainable society refers to the indefinite 

future not 'the infinite future'. We will do well indeed to 

envision social forms that can persist for even a few hundred 

years, although that is a short time from an evolutionary 

point of view. From these considerations some conclusions can 

be drawn about the characteristics a sustainable society will 

have : 

1. The population will be well within the carrying capacity 

of the planet. What that population would be depends on 

the economic habits and social organisation of the 

society. 

2. The need for food, water, timber and all other renewable 

resources will be well within the global capacity to 

supply them. 

3. The rate of emission of pollutants will be below the 

capacity of the ecosystem to absorb them. 

4. The rate of use of non-renewable resources such as 

minerals and fossil fuels will not outrun the increase in 

resources made available through technological 

innovation. 

5. Manufactured goods will be built to last: durability will 

replace inbuilt obsolescence. Wherever possible 

materials will be recycled. 

6. social stability requires that there be an equable 

distribution of what is in scarce supply and that there 

be common opportunity to participate in social decisions. 

7. The emphasis will be on life not things, on growth in 

quality not quantity, on services not material goods." 

Ofconnor (1986) suggests that in practice it will only be 

possible to implement sound development principles if we go 

beyond the superficial conceptions of economic growth which 

have been so prevalent. We need to understand that growth is 

neither ''@goodw nor "badg1 per se. It is only meaningful to 

speak of growth if the factors of rate, direction, context and 

quality of growth are specified. "To speak simply of 'progrowthg 

versus 'anti-growth' or 'zero growth' is nonsensical.

As Ashby points out past experience with societies in a state 

of zero growth is far from reassuring. He makes the point 

that they usually stabilise with a small dominant minority of 

wealthy people and a large oppressed minority of permanently 

poor people with a minimum of mobility between the classesf1 

Following the classic work of Daly on no-growth economics, 

Boulding (1975) has given a useful overview of how we might 

move into a steady-state economy: "The key then is for 

economists and environmentalists to work together toward three 

important goals: controlling pollution, transforming our 

present linear or frontier economic system to a steady-state 

economy, stabilizing rather than continually increasing the 

flow rate of materials and energy, and achieving a more just 

distribution of the world's finite resources. The first goal 

is essentially a short term one, based on controlling or 

redirecting output. Why must we change to a steady state? By 

now the answer to this question should be obvious. As long as 

we live in a finite system with finite supplies and capacity 

to absorb and renew our output a steady state is eventually 

inevitable. we cannot continue our linear lifestyle of 

acquisition - consumption - disposal - human dissatisfaction - 

environmental disruption. The American dream can no longer 

be, as social commentator Russell Baker phrased it, I1to 

convert goods to trash as fast as possible". 

The only arguments among scholars are how close we are to the 

limits of the earth. Increasing evidence points to the idea 

that we must make this transition within the next 30 to 100 

years to avoid nature's more harsh methods of achieving a 

steady state. Whether the transition can be accomplished by 

some major changes in existing economic systems or whether it 

will require a totally new approach no one really knows. Man 

perhaps - represents the latest in this long series of 

catastrophes. He has certainly eliminated a large number of 

species,; though I have seen no estimate of how much he has 

diminished the genetic pool of the ecosphere. The fate of the 

mammoth, the dodo, and the passenger pigeon (and perhaps now 

the whale) testifies to man's skill as a predator. Perhaps 

because . of- man's remarkable- capacity for surviving in an 

unprecedentedly wide variety of environments, including now 

even the moon, and his consequent propensity for introducing 

old species into new environments, the earth is no longer a 

collection of relatively isolated and unrelated ecosystems but 

has become a single ecosystem with man, his artifacts, and his 

domesticated plants and animals as the dominant comple~.~~ 

To draw further from Kenneth ~oulding (1975): IUHerman Daly 

shows us several types of growth that must level off in a 

steady-state world: population growth, blind economic growth, 

and the growing gap between rich and poor. What kinds of

growth would be encouraged? It is scarcely necessary to 

remark that a stationary condition of capital and population 

implies no stationary state of human improvement. There would 

be as much scope as ever for all kinds of mental culture and 

moral and social progress; as much room for improving the Art 

of Living and much more likelihood of its being improved. 

(Perhaps the reader would be surprised to learn that this 

statement was made by John Stuart Mill in 1857.) In a steady 

state all kinds of things can and must grow, mostly those 

pursuits that many would list as highly desirable and 

pleasurable - art, music, education for living instead of how 

to make a living, athletics, philosophy esthetics, religion, 

creating and promoting diversity rather than sameness, 

scientific research, and cooperative rather than competitive 

interactions with other humans. Any activity that does not 

require a large flow of nonrenewable resources or produce 

serious environmental degradation could grow indefinitely. 

Leisure rather than work would be emphasized, since full 

employment for a forty-hour week would be neither possible nor 

necessary. We would trade the freedom to have unlimited 

children and to consume uncontrolled amounts of resources for 

increased leisure, education, creative opportunities, and 

freedom from hunger, poverty, and hopefully war. 

The kinds of economic institutions required follow directly 

from the definition of a steady-state economy. We need an 

institution for maintaining a constant population (such as 

Kenneth Boulding's marketable license to have children): an 

institution for maintaining a constant stock of physical 

wealth and limiting thoughput (such as transferrable depletion 

quotas auctioned periodically by government to resource 

users) ; an institution for limiting inequalities in the 

distribution of constant physical wealth among the constant 

population (such as minimum and maximum limits on personal 

income and maximum limits on personal wealth)." All these 

fundament-a1 issues have a direct bearing on the Australian 

sense of value and the way we see ourselves and our natural 

resources. 

Lessons from 200 Years of Land Use 

If Australiansf attitude to their land during the past 200 

years, is repeated in the next 200 years, the nation's future 

as one of the world's leading food producers will be in 

serious jeopardy. An incisive evaluation of Australian 

attitudes toward their land must recognise the complex 

interfaces between ecology, economics and human nature. In 

his book on farming in Australia and social attitudes in the 

1940s, Hugh Roberton makes the following statement: In 

Australian conditions there are no difficulties except custom 

and the idea that, because we bought the land, we can do what 

we like with it ... We don't buy the land. We buy the

exclusive right to use the land, neither more nor less than 

that. We are the custodians of the land. The land is not for 

sale, it belongs to po~terity.~~ 

We have already considered lessons not learnt from world 

history. In the Great Southland we have learnt the hard way 

and Nature has. paid our educational . costs. It is worth 

identifying and summarizing the key points of our lessons and 

of our present dependence on land in Australia: 

1. Australia's economy is primarily dependent on agriculture 

and mining. 

2. Agriculture is dependent on the maintenance of soil 

productivity. 

3. Soil productivity is declining as a result of erosion and 

salinity in both cultivated and pastoral regions. 

4 . The economic significance of land degradation is such as 

to make it Australia's most important environmental 

issue. 

5. Despite decades of organised soil conservation activity 

in most States, erosion is increasing rather than 

decreasing. 

6. The national erosion survey of 1978 indicates that soil 

erosion in certain States has reached disaster 

proportions. 

7. Economic studies indicate that early preventative action 

is able to control erosion at relatively low cost. 

& 8. Analysis of the land degradation problem indicates that 

.. * the--- solutions lie in three areas : financial assistance, 

regulatory -policy and attitudinal education. 

9. Experience in the extension field indicates that positive 

financial incentives and negative legal incentives have 

limited effectiveness.in.the long term. 

10. All indications are that without attitudinal chanae 

through education, little can be achieved in combattiGg 

land degradation. 

11. Research on present attitudes toward erosion and salinity 

indicates that the significance of the problem is totally 

under-rated by a large majority of the rural and urban 

population. 

I

12. The funding of research into degradation awareness and 

education is totally inadequate and compares very 

unfavourably with commodity research funding in animal 

and crop product ion. 

13. Being an unsaleable commodity, soil and its maintenance 

has been neglected by agricultural research funding 

bodies, despite the dependence of all commodity 

organizations on this basic resource. 

14. There is a clear responsibility on rural organizations to 

support research and education which aim to maintain the 

productivity and thus viability of soil-based 

commodities. 

Analysis of the erosion situation in Australia indicates 

that many rural commodities are presently being produced 

at the expense of soil capital - 13 tonnes of soil for 

every tonne of grain in some districts. 

16. There is an urgent need for rural organizations, 

commodity boards and government agencies to recognize and 

act on the need for direct funding of research into the 

most appropriate methods of .increasing awareness of 

degradation and its significance. 

17. The present minimal responsibility shown by researchfunding 

organizations toward landcare has led to 

voluntary groups of concerned citizens giving the 

initiative in community education and attitudinal change 

(Roberts, 1983). 

John Kerin, Federal Minister for Primary Industries and 

Energy, has spoken forcefully on these matters in recent 

years. = His comments reflect growing concern at the highest 

levex abeut our lack of progress in soil conservation, and 

they warrant -- quoting here: 

"It is a constant source of frustration to me that while this 

country is facing a massive land degradation problem, I am 

constantly receiving requests from people, and this includes 

politicians, who are seeking funds either to prop up 

inappropriate systems of land use or develop more of the same. 

Despite the obvious lessons of the past, I can assure you the 

political pressure to flood the inland, irrigate saline soils, 

drain swamps and release marginal land for cropping is as 

strong as ever. 

Many authorities believe that it is the Commonwealth's 

function to provide leadership and the support for a national 

soil consenration program. The Federal Government cannot 

simply pass off the management of this resource as a State

matter. They certainly don't do that for other national 

resources such as uranium and petroleum. Our problem today in 

Australia, is deciding on the appropriate role of laws and 

ethics in tackling our land degradation problems. Boer (1984) 

notes that if we are to apply our new ethic within our new 

found social ecology, we will probably have to re-write our 

environmental legislation. This he believes would have to 

include redefining 'environmentr, reformulating the 'objectsf 

of existing Acts and enabling active participation by the 

community in formulating and implementing the law. The writer 

suggests that, at a very basic level, we shall have to agree 

with the American Indian chief who, having observed the 

effects of overgrazing by cattle in the American West, said to 

the President: "This we know - the earth does not belong to 

Man; Man belongs to the earth". However, we have yet to 

decide what we should do to achieve sound land use. Should we 

preach, prohibit, sue, regulate, provide incentives, sell 

rights, or tax? Maybe all these have a complementary 

persuasive role. 

Birth of a Western Land Ethic 

Ethics are concerned with doing things the correct and proper 

way so that the group rather than the individual benefits. 

Ethical behaviour is acting in such a manner that, 

irrespective of legal requirements, the behaviour is regarded 

by the community at large as acceptable and as what would be 

seen to be considerate of the needs of others. An ethical 

person is thus unselfish, mindful of the needs of others, farseeing 

and recognizes the norms set by the community. 

Ethics and Land are not usually associated but just as there 

is consideration 

.--- 

for others in social ethics, so there is 

awareness of the needs of future generations in 'conservation 

ethics8 'ecological ethics * or 'land ethics'. The term Land 

Ethics -simply reflects the respect, stewardship, husbandry and 

properuse of land resources. It appears in many forms of 

behaviour of land users and is referred to by many different 

names. The respect for the land is born of a whole range of 

human values and relates to a very fundamental view of the 

association. of Man and Nature, the mutual benefits which flow 

from good husbandry and an ability to live with Nature rather 

than battling against it (Roberts, 1983). 

In a contribution to the uniting Church's Bicentennial 

publication on Australians and their land, the writer 

(Roberts, 1988) noted the sequential development of positive 

attitudes.

A number of views of the humanity/nature relationship have 

been held by leading philosophers. The Routleys recognise 

three views which have bearing on land use attitudes in 

Australia: 

. Humanity the tyrant 

. Humanity the steward 

. ~umanity the cooperator. 

Moving from tyranny over, to cooperation with, the landscape 

presupposes a movement from humanity-centred values to ecocentred 

views. This trend holds more hope for achieving an 

ecologically sustainable society than either of the 

alternative views articulated by Tribe, namely total 

manipulation of nature by people ('transcendence') or treating 

the natural order as sacred ('immanence'). The land ethic 

under consideration should be seen as an ever-developing and 

changing mirror of community awareness, resulting in 

increasingly eco-centred policy, education and law. Garret 

Hardin in his classical essay 'Tragedy of the Commons' reminds - 

us of how individualistic self-interest was leading us to 

disaster. The time for the committed application for a 

nation-wide program of land care has arrived in Australia. 

Our future depends on its success, for we cannot afford not to 

act. 

While the Orient and the Middle East can point to many great 

individuals and whole movements which embraced a respect for, 

indeed an admiration of, Nature, the Western tradition 

reflects a poverty of spirit in this regard. Not that we 

haven't had writers who proclaim the beauty of Nature or the 

joys of'communing with Nature, but rather that our cultural 

and religious foundations have set us apart from, often above, 

the rest of the Creation. Lynn White (1967) has written at 

length . on- the role played by our Christian-Judeo roots in 

moulding aur utilitarian view of our natural resources. 

. - 

For my part I regard the little-known Aldo Leopold (1966) as a 

latter-day St Francis in his spiritual regard for the land and 

in his proposed land ethic. One way of understanding land 

ethics as a concept is to recognize a sequence of developing 

moral responsibilities to humans, to other living organisms, 

to the land, and to the environment in which we live. Leopold 

saw the extension of ethics to the land as a process of 

ecological evolutionary thought. An ethic may be regarded as

a constraint on our freedom of action in our effort to 

survive. In philosophical terms, our social ethics have 

distinguished social from anti-social behaviour. The need for 

such a distinction arises from the requirement to live 

together - the biologistsF symbiosis. Thus our political and 

economic systems represent structured cooperative mechanisms 

for evolution. 

The paramount question when identifying a sound ethical basis 

is whether we view "nature", on one hand, and "human societytq 

on another, as distinct realms with a dichotomy between them, 

or whether we see them as different aspects of the same 

system. The former view leads to q'conservationll and 

lqdevelopmentlv being seen as opposed with continual "tradeoff 

sf' necessarily resulting. This view appears to have 

dominated the debate in Australia to date, with the 

unproductive polarization between llconservationistsl~ and 

vqdevelopmentalistsqt ensuing. There are signs that the latter 

view is now beginning to be taken seriously. 

"Nature should not be viewed simply as a pristine wilderness 

to be revered, nor only as a quarry to be exploited, despite 

the fact that both of these perspectives have their advocates. 

An enlightened, ethical' basis for environmental legislation, 

which would also be consistent with our cultural heritage, 

would view nature as a fertile garden to be nurtured and 

cultivated by human beings" (OrConnor, 1986). 

The earliest ethics dealt with relations between individuals, 

later between groups, and in some eastern cultures, between 

people and Nature. In the West however, we have never broken 

away from the assumption that Nature is there for our use. 

This, we have agreed, is Nature's raison dretre. Leopold 

points out that we have developed no ethic toward the land or 

toward the plants and animals that grow on it. He points out 

that this deficiency stems from our view of land as a 

possession and compares our rape of the earth to the ancient 

Greek Odysseus who slayed all his slave-girls because they too 

were simply another lot of possessions in that society. So 

too our modern Australian relation to the land has been 

strictly economic, having privileges without obligations. 

Though even in Ezekiel and lsaiahJs time they regarded land 

the greenhouse effect on our survival, the ecological 

imperative of nurturing the ecosystems we depend on has become 

a sine qua non for humankind.

The writer has elsewhere (Roberts, 1986) highlighted the 

manner in which our own religious base has stressed the 

Man/God and Man/Man relationships and neglected the Man/Nature 

(Creation) link to the detriment of our permanence on earth. 

It was thus heartening when in 1983 the National Soil 

Conservation Programme was launched, with one of its prime 

objectives that Australians adopt a land ethic. This 

reflected the writer's call in an invited lecture (Roberts, 

1984) to the Australian National University entitled "Land 

Ethics - a necessary addition to Australian values". This 

concept draws on much of the sentiment of Routley (1975), 

Passmore (1974), Birch (1988) and Elliot (1978) who have 

written so eloquently on Man/Land relations in Australia. 

However, as Judith Wright points out we must fight not only 

for Nature but against our 

's 

traditional values. 

Ethical and moral values suffer a real disadvantage in a world 

obsessed wit 

m 

P 

(1985) points out, comp only use "hard 

data" and ignores Hume's dictum that no ethical value can be 

derived from a factual premise, or in his words ''No ought from 

an is". It is after all, value judgements not objects, which 

make for quality of life in its true sense. 

Religion as a Contributor to Man/Land Relations 

The "exploitation moralityit of many cultures stems from an 

inborn confidence that Man is set in dominion over the earth 

and that the purpose of all the milk and honey produced by 

Nature is for his benefit. The boundaries of religion and 

philosophy are not clear to me, but I take comfort from 

Godfrey-Smith of the Australian National University who says 

'When you find you. are not at all clear what you are talking 

about, or how you should continue - or even start - the 

chances 'are you have entered the realms of philos~phy~~ (Webb, 

1985). Religion usually implies a spirituality and the 

presence of a deity of some kind, but emotion can of itself 

evoke a conviction of, and fervour for, Nature's intrinsic 

value. As Judith right says, "There is no stronger force 

than emotion ... For it is feeling that establishes values, 

and if we are ever to move from economic values to a 

reassertion of ecological values, our feelings and sympathies 

must be engaged first. It doesn't seem necessary for Nature 

to have been "createdt1 by a supernatural being for 

appreciation and respect for other living things to become a 

basic value of any society. Charles Birch and the American 

theologian Jay McDonald have made a radical proposal on our 

respect for the life of non-humans, which they believe vq... 

should refer to the integrity of the intrinsic value of each

and every individual creature and the integrity of the 

relations of each creature to its environment. In other 

words, we are to respect the life of kangaroos and whales, the 

relations they have with the environment that will preserve 

their intrinsic value, and also their instrumental value to 

other creatures. It is to respect all life in terms of its 

value to itself and to God, and its value to humans and other 

creature^^^ (Birch, 1986) . 

The writer has elsewhere 

humanitarian motivations 

premises on which various 

land ethic. 

noted that religious, ecological and 

(Cook, 1970) are all equally sound 

sectors of the society could adopt a 

Although St Francis of Assisi has been proposed as the patron 

saint of ecology (White, 1967), religious orders have no 

monopoly on land care. Thus Len Webb has re-defined the term 

"moralvw as "respect for all things livingmt. Respect for 

Nature often has no theological basis, and reverence for 

ecosystems often stems from wonder at purely biological 

phenomena. 

The ecology/theology nexus has been given special attention by 

Caldwell (1975) who gives the following overview: "In the 

theological or religious approach there are a number of 

different emphases. Lynn White (1967) suggests that we use St 

Francis as a model of respect for all life. Ecological ethics 

must not be based merely on the man-centred view that we 

endanger ourselves when we endanger the ecosphere but also on 

recognizing our obligation toward all life (Clarence, 1970). 

This theme of a reverence for life was also developed earlier 

by Albert Schweitzer, by the eminent theologian Paul Tillich 

(1955), and more recently by Paul Santmire (1970). Francis 

Schaef fer (1970) , however, disagrees strongly and sees our 

obligation to be toward God and man and not toward all life. 

Rene Dubos (1972) , Harold Schilling (1972) , and theologian 

Gabriel. Fackre (1971) suggest that our guide not be the 

passive conservation ethic of St Francis but the stewardship 

ethic of St Benedict, in which we use, guide, cultivate, and 

cooperate with nature in a wise, creative, and respectful 

manner ., - - 

Theologians such as Harvey Cox (1965) and Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

(1953) have attacked the false dichotomy that separates the 

"secular1f from the twsacredw. Instead of waiting for life 

after death, the ~hristian has the responsibility to express 

his concern for others by responsible involvement in the 

world. Again concern for our fellow man by involvement in the 

world requires that we protect and maintain the integrity of 

the ecosphere, which sustains all mankind.

Some have suggested that the answer does not lie in Western 

but in Eastern religions that contain a view of man in nature 

(Smith, 1972). For example, Taoism includes the idea of man's 

harmony and unity with nature, and ~uddhism fosters reverence 

for all living creatures and an appreciation of the beauty of 

nature. But the nonowestern civilizations have also had 

drastic impact on the land through overgrazing., soil erosion, 

and excessive deforestation. 

It appears that all of the great religions, regardless of 

origin, have some ethic of responsibility toward nature built 

into their rich and diverse teachings. Each offers ethical 

guidelines for those who follow its basic tenets, but too many 

men and women in all parts of the world choose not to obey the 

imperative that we care for the earth and our fellow humans. 

According to Birch (1986) "Churches have not been in the 

vanguard of movements pressing for a life-centred ethic. The 

reasons include the notion that our main job is to remove 

oppression and injustice to humans. To add another task to 

that immense one is a distraction from the main task. But 

this is not a case of either/or but both/and; to fight 

oppression wherever it exists, both in human lives and in nonhuman 

lives. Is the one and only object to work for healthy 

and free people? Do we really believe that this one objective 

can be achieved without concern for the rest of the creation? 

If so, it shows how narrow our horizon is. In the long run, 

we look after ourselves by looking after nature because nature 

and its inhabitants look after us. This is an empirical 

reason for being concerned about nature. But it is not a 

sufficient reason. It is not enough to give the non-human 

creation instrumental value only. For that is to see nonhuman 

lives as means only and not as ends in themselves, as 

objects and not as subjects. To do that is to deny any 

intrinsic value to creatures other than ourselves, and 

therefore to deny them any value to God.l1 

Which paw is best? Will ecology, humanism, various forms of 

Western religion, or the teachings of Eastern religions 

provide us with the imperative that will help us cherish and 

preserve life? There seems to be no one way for all humans. 

History provides. us with examples of. men and women who have 

acted with ultimate concern for nature and human life by 

following each of these diverse teachings. As. an unknown 

theologian once asked: 'How dare we mere mortals restrict God 

to only one path?'18 

Even without an Eleventh Commandment calling humankind to 

cherish Nature and ensuring all living creatures a right to 

co-exist, much spiritual reward is obtained by those true 

"deep ecologist^^^ who practise what they preach. In the 

writer's first contribution to this subject (Roberts, 1974) 

the similarity between good land managers and sensitive

Christians was noted. Both display a gentle humility, an 

absence of arrogance and of violent behaviour; both are 

considerate of others, unselfish and helpful. A contrary view 

is that of Lynn White (1967) who has given us what is arguably 

the most well-known essay on the effects of the Christian 

religion on our attitudes to the land. He says "We are 

superior to Nature, contemptuous of it, willing to use it for 

our slightest whim ... What we do about ecology depends on our 

ideas of the Man/Nature relationship. More science and more 

technology is not going to get us out of the present 

ecological crisis until we, find a new religion, or rethink our 

old one. White's damnation of the ecological effects of 

Christian teachings and his praise for Oriental attitudes to 

the land are challenged by others like Tuan (1968) who point 

out that human nature, irrespective of creed, has put survival 

first and as such, even those cultures claiming spiritual 

harmony with Nature have caused irreparable damage to the 

environment. 

Perhaps we need a radical like St ranc cis who broke from 

tradition in the ~hristian church and espoused the virtues of 

humility, not only for individuals but for us as a species. 

As White describes him, "Francis tried to depose Man from his 

monarchy over creation and set up a democracy of all God's 

creatures". White is hard on ~hristianity when he says, "To a 

Christian a tree can be no more than a physical fact. 

whole concept of a sacred grove is alien to ~hristianity and 

to the ethos of the West. For nearly 2 millennia missionaries 

have been chopping down sacred groves, which are idolatrous 

because they assume spirit in nature . . . Both our present 

science and technology are so tinctured with orthodox 

Christian arrogance toward nature that no solution for our 

ecologic crisis can be expected from them aloneovV (Authors 

note: As I write, ABC-TV's Sunday Compass programme announces 

that Environmental Education Kits are available to the public 

from any State church head office - 6 August 1989.) 

_ 

Some would say that the personal choice for us today is 

between theism and some form of pessimism, and that religious 

belief has been reduced to "a God of the gaps1' in our 

scientific knowledge..and.. dominance. Perhaps to .meet modern 

problems of the environment, like the greenhouse effect and 

the population explosion, Christianity needs to be modernized. 

If we look at religion's potential contribution to solving the 

environmental crisis, Marx's 1847 reference (Niebuhr, 1964) to 

religion being the opium of the people, and to Christians 

preaching 8ocowardice, self contempt and submi~sion~~ may well 

have a very positive side. similarly if Freud's view (Brown, 

1967) of religion as "the universal obsessional neurosis of 

humanityB1 can translate into deep concern for the all living 

creatures, religion may well have a dominant role to play in 

changing our attitudes to our land and our ecosystems. 

The

Whether Pell (1988) is correct in predicting that politicians 

and scientists will be looking to Christian communities as 

allies to explain environmental dangers and prepare them for 

the cost to overcome them, remains to be seen. Surveys show 

that 84% of Australians believe in God, 73% call themselves 

Christians and 12% don't acknowledge any religious affiliation 

(Ireland, 1988) . 

The possible role of religion in helping to develop an 

ecological consciousness may be weakened by the obvious rise 

of secularism. Pell says, "In the long run Australians are 

unlikely to embrace some higher form of Enlightenment wisdom; 

our style is not that of a gentle scepticism or balanced, 

nuanced secularism. Most are not likely to embrace scientific 

humanism. In the long run the alternatives are likely to be 

Christianity or a reversion to paganism, a worship of the 

earth, an irrational world of superstition, the oppression of 

the weak: a sometimes escapist and self indulgent fantasy 

nourished on drugs and alcohol." 

There is sufficient evidence for all to see that as a nation 

we lack the respect and appreciation of our (God-given?) 

resources. A nation built on clearing, ploughing and burning 

has a pioneering heritage to be proud of, to admire and to 

give confidence in future ventures. However, while the heroic 

achievements of the past deserve our admiration, there are 

aspects of the 'frontier mentality8 which warrant serious 

reconsideration in modern times. with the 'wisdom of 

hindsight' we can see clearly how certain effects of our 

predecessors' actions are having a serious effect on the longterm 

productivity of the resources. This applies to soil, 

water supplies, natural grazingland, forests and fish. 

In the present era of environmental awareness, the need to 

accept-and apply conservation principles is widely recognized. 

Even in earlier years there were individuals who recognized 

the need for a less arrogant, dominating, conquering, 

exploitative attitude, towards non-renewable resources 

particularly. The following extract from Powell's (1976) 

history of environmental management in Australia since 1788 

gives an indication of such early awareness: 

"It is not entirely extravagant to claim that, with the 

exception of Charles Darwin's 'Origin of Speciesf and the 

Bible itself, no book has had more direct and indirect 

influence upon Western man's perception and use of his 

environment than George Perkins Marsh's 'Man and Nature', 

published in New York in 1864. The fifth and final volume of 

Humboldt's 'Cosmos', was completed shortly before the 

publication of 'Origin of Species' in 1859, yet the title of 

Marsh's book was originally to be 'Man the Disturber of

Nature's Harmonies'. As David Lowenthal indicated in his 

introduction to the centenary edition, Marsh shared the view 

of other highly educated men of his time - he believed in a 

more or less static natural harmony. But he surpassed both 

Humboldt and Darwin in communicating the almost revolutionary 

concept that Man's dominant role in nature displayed an 

immense, unrecognized and largely destructive power. 

According to the accepted Christian ethic man was God's own 

terrestrial steward, given special powers to subdue and 

cultivate the earth, and there was something very modern in 

the way Marsh challenged this fundamental assumption: 

'Man has too long forgotten that the earth was given to him 

for usufruct alone, not for consumption, still less for 

profligate waste. (Author's note: 'usufructr is a legal term 

meaning 'temporary use of'.) Nature has provided against the 

absolute destruction of any of her elementary matter, the raw 

material of her works; the thunderbolt and the tornado, the 

most convulsive throes of even the volcano and the earthquake, 

being only phenomena of decomposition and recomposition. But 

she has left it within the power of man irreparably to change 

the combinations of inorganic matter and of organic life, 

which through the night of aeons she had been proportioning 

and balancing to prepare the earth for his habitation, when, 

in the fulness of time, his Creator should call him forth to 

enter into its possession.' 

Despite its minor literary and scientific defects, 'Man and 

Nature' was essentially a timely and comprehensible call to 

action, and this is the real measure of its achievement. It 

included innumerable bold 'revelationsf which Marsh widely 

publicised in attractive style, but he clearly had great faith 

in the power of man to redeem himself by restoring his natural 

support-systems and fulfilling his moral obligation to 

bequeath them intact to his descendants. This marked 

commitment to the future was not only an American 

characteristic; it has probably been fairly common in most 

immigrant societies, including that of Australia.IV 

As to the role of the present-day church in Australia, the 

writer (Roberts,, 

1988) has noted that, "Central to the 

unwillingness of many church apologists to face the ecological 

facts, are unconvincing attempts to rationalise: (i) the 

primacy of human society, (ii) the divine right to produce 

large families, (iii) the 'dominion over the earthr creed, and 

(iv) the inferences of guilt on the part of secular critics. 

Today the 'churchies and the greeniesr have so much in common, 

particularly in the virtues of frugal living and the 'eye of 

the needlef. Important differences of opinion remain on the 

issue of the 'conquest of Naturef and how this relates to 

greed and doing unto others. Indeed it is a widely held view 

that a truly ecological philosophy of life has inbuilt

eligious overtones. Some traditional Christian spokespersons 

see contemporary environmentalism as a dangerous fad, a trendy 

cliche based on mystic spiritualism. However Andrew Dutney's 

(1987) view that the church can, and must do something and not 

merely 'shrug its ecclesiastical shouldersu is a view held by 

many in Australia today. 'If rehabilitation of Australian 

Christianity is to get anywhere, theologians must break out of 

the cloister and begin to work closely with the scientists and 

philosophers who can help them develop a coherent and credible 

ecological theology. Birch (1986) says "The call to 

Christians is for a deeply developed non-anthropocentric 

ethic, that is to say a life-centred ethic. I believe this is 

the same as calling for a theo-centric ethic because God is 

concerned about all life and not human life alone." 

Of the several recent Australian writers who have grappled 

with the environment/church relationship, 0'Connor (1988) has 

searched for a new perspective. He says, tlBlack (1970) tries 

to trace features of the western philosophy of life and what 

he calls its uncompromising treatment of the natural 

environment and its resources which led us to our present 

state of concern over ecological crisis. He sees the four 

most important aspects of our western world as: 

. the conviction that man's role on earth is to exploit the 

rest of nature to his own advantage; 

an expectation of continuing population expansion; 

a belief in progress and history; and 

. a concept for posterity. 

Black traces the origin of these points to the origins of our 

culture, and makes the very important point that ideas brought 

into being from any particular cultural source may persist 

even when, with the decline of the influence of religion, the 

source itself is no longer important or has been forgotten - 

ideas once assimilated acquire a momentum. He feels that many 

of our views incorporate many of the fundamental concepts of 

the Judaeo-Christian tradition - man moved from a position of 

integration within nature to one of domination over nature. 

This emerged from two processes: the development of the 

technical ability to modify the environment, and the desire to 

do it and to intervene in natural- processes for-the benefit of 

the human race. Black claims the book of ~enesis has provided 

the essential clues to the way in which the relationship 

between man and nature developed in our culture, and it is 

still the central component of our world view today. The two

key phrases in Genesis are: "Have dominion over the earth and 

subdue it" and "Be fruitful and multiplyw. There is no doubt 

that the driving motivations of dominion and multiplication 

have persisted and have intensified. because they are somehow 

at the root of all environmental problems we are experiencing 

today. The question is how to evolve from this an 

environmental morality and an environmental ethic. 

At first reading, it seems that man was set apart from nature. 

However, OfConnor believes it is wrong to immediately identify 

the idea of dominion over nature with the ideas of wasteful 

exploitation. He says "It is to the credit of mankind, 

starting with the Hebrews, that they evolved a concept of 

responsibility for husbanding the earth's resources. There 

seems to be no doubt that the Hebrews believed that one prime 

reason for their presence on earth was to look after the earth 

and be responsible for the lower orders of creation the same 

way as God accepted the responsibility towards them. It is 

from this that a concept of stewardship and proper management 

emerged. 

So a central part of our cultural tradition is the emergence 

of concepts of stewardship, responsibility; and accountability 

for the earth. This leads us on to the idea that we should 

not waste the things under our control and stewardship, and is 

basically compatible with what we might call today sound 

environmental management, leading to the interpretation that 

we should avoid letting things go to waste yet provide wisely 

for future generations. Our tradition seems to provide the 

basis for an environmental ethic, a basis which is very 

largely lacking in most of the preservation philosophies of 

our time which are based on self-righteous or pragmatic 

approaches, depending on what side you happen to be on. If we 

are to generate any change in our attitudes to the way we 

handle our environment and provide for future generations, we 

have to. have such an ethic as a basis for action in the legal 

and econnmic fields as we make the transition from a young to 

a mature society" (08Connor, 1986). 

The most significant contributor to Man/Nature relations in 

Australia is Passmore (1974) whose incisive- analysis of the 

Christian influence on western environmental values is now 

well-known. To quote Passmore, "We shall begin, rather, with 

the principal accusation - that Western attitudes to nature 

are infected with 'arrogance', an arrogance which has 

continued into the post-Christian world and makes men think of 

nature as a 'captive to be raped' rather than as a 'partner to 

be cherished'.

In the early decades of the present century, Christian 

apologists were particularly anxious to establish that science 

and technology were of Christianity's making, for science and 

technology were widely esteemed as the secular saviours of 

mankind. Now, ironically enough, Christianity finds itself 

condemned-as the progenitor of a diabolic technology. If both 

views exaggerate Christianity's historical role in this 

regard, it is still not an accident that technology flourished 

in the West for which nature was not sacred. We might in 

general define 'the West' a as those civilizations whose major 

ideas and attitudes derive from Greek and Hebrew sources. 

Taken thus, it includes, of course, the Muslim regions. 

It will at once be obvious that, in the Christian separation 

of man from the animals and the Christian view that nature was 

made for man, there lie the seeds of an attitude to nature far 

more properly describable as 'arrogant' than the purely Old 

Testament conception of man's dominion. 

Christianity has encouraged man to think of himself as 

nature's absolute master, for whom everything that exists was 

designed. They are wrong only in supposing that this is also 

the Hebrew teaching; it originates with the Greeks. 

To sum up, so far as we can yet do so, the critics of Western 

civilization are to this extent justified in their historical 

diagnosis: there is a strong Western tradition that man is 

free to deal with nature as he pleases, since it exists only 

for his sake. But they are incorrect in tracing this attitude 

back to Genesis. Genesis, and after it the Old Testament 

generally, certainly tells man that he is, or has the right to 

be, master of the earth and all it contains. But at the same 

time it insists that the world was good before man was 

createdj--and that it exists to glorify God rather than to 

serve man. VJ (Passmore, 1974) .

Can Values and ~thics be Taught? 

Plato wrote, "Education makes good men and good men act 

nobly". v1Noble19 can be equated to flresponsiblevl in today's 

era of environmental awareness, but the task of changing 

values through education is a daunting one in a dollar-driven 

society-where-success.has only material. criteria. Would it be 

old fashioned to introduce "Moral Philosophyvw as a subject in 

today's curriculum in an effort to nurture a sensitivity to 

Nature and the environment? Could this result in moral and 

ethical responsibility for our actions toward the land and its 

elements? Some would argue that such fundamental values are 

Itcaught not taught", inferring that role models and exemplary 

behaviour are the key to passing on such noble community 

values. In this time of vocational training, many would argue 

that the desired lqsensus communi~~~ in our teaching 

institutions is absent to such a degree that they are 

ltsoullesslt and perhaps even valuef ree. It has become 

fashionable not to moralize and not to be dogmatic in teaching 

what is right. The l'should-oughtll notion is now seen as 

subjective personal bias. 

Why have ethics and morals moved from the centre to the 

periphery of our education? One reason is that religion, as a 

basis for community values, has waned. Another is the 

increase in pluralism and relativism. The rise of alternative 

ideologies has led to what has been termed a "free market of 

ideasvt, all seen as equally acceptable options. A discussion 

of land ethics does not allow for an evaluation of the role of 

educational institutions but it is timely to consider what is 

expected of Australian universities when policy changes are 

challenging their role. Their role may be to seek out and 

transmit knowledge and to train students in the processes 

whereby truth is made known. To attempt to convert students 

to a particular view is regarded as unacceptable to the 

dispassionate search for knowledge. Where it is necessary to 

consider social or political viewpoints, these are not taught 

but rather dissected and examined objectively. The logic of 

the facts is not allowed to tip the scales toward any 

particular conclusion on desirable social values. Many 

academics would argue that moral and ethical. values are best 

taught by not focussing directly on them, but rather by 

inference. 

The fact is that unless a philosophy based on modern 

ecological realities is embraced by future decision-makers, 

the resource base of all alternative economic and social 

systems will collapse. This irrefutable situation narrows 

down the acceptable alternative lltruthslt considerably when the 

long term global perspective is taken. The inherent inability 

of the majority to recognize the unsustainability of the '@Me- 

Now" desires of human nature is shown in the simple diagram

elow in which Chiras (1985) reflects most people's space-time 

values: "Individual interest can be identified by a single 

point that denotes one's space and time concerns. Most 

people's interest lies toward the lower ends of the scales, 

tending toward self-interest and immediate concerns. This 

tendency to be concerned with the self and the present is very 

- much a biological characteristic. In evolution we see that 

awareness of the needs of other organisms of the same kind is 

found in social animals such as monkeys and lions; however, 

concerns for the upper ends of the time and space scales are 

found in only the most social of all animals, Homo sapiens. 

This capacity to consider the consequences of our actions, 

notably, how they will affect others and what impact they will 

have on the future, is a fortunate feature of our kind. It is 

fortunate because humans have reached a position of 

unprecedented power as moulders of the world's environment. 

Our power to fashion the world to our liking has never been 

greater, nor has our power to destroy ever attained such 

heights. (Chiras, 1985) . 

This simple demonstration shows graphically how our 

predictable concern with our personal comfort in the short 

term forms the basic problem in gaining acceptance of a land 

ethic which concerns other people in the future. Perhaps 

Harvard University's bold experiment in including Moral 

Reasoning and Social Analysis in its core curriculum, will 

show the way. As Frederick Borsch (1984) of Princeton says:

"The university's job may not be the teaching or imparting of 

a particular set of values so much as helping students to see 

where values come from, how they are shaped and kept, and how 

they in turn shape actions and institution^^^. 

The most important contribution which ecological education can 

make is the development of what we may term the Ethic of 

Responsibility. Only in this way will the clash between 

private convenience and public welfare be resolved. The prime 

difficulty lies in persuading people to make sacrifices 

concerning their so-called standard of living, the size of 

their families and the cost of recycling wastes which, in 

turn, affects consumer prices. 

We might start with James Thurber's suggestion, that is: "Let 

us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in 

awarenessf1. I would add, "not with arrogance but with 

humility, not as though we were the last generation to inhabit 

the earth, but as temporary trustees of posterity's 

resource^^^. 

Conservation is essentially a concern for the human species. 

Ecological action, in the long run, can only be based on 

compassion, respect, understanding and a willingness to share 

with others. Not, "The land belongs to us" but "We belong to 

the land1'. Not "We are the conquerers of the eartht1 but Ifwe 

are a part of the earthly systemu. 

One of the greatest services which ecological education could 

render, would be the development of a clear understanding of 

the difference between sentiment and ethics. Sentiment is an 

unreliable guide; but ethics give us benchmarks, priorities, 

value judgements and accepted norms. Thus the starting point 

for ecological education is the development of realistic 

attitudes toward Man's treatment of his environment, and the 

end point of such an education is the cultivation of 

ecologically sound habits toward Nature. Between these points 

lies all the biological, physical, economic and social detail 

which gives an understanding of Man relative to his 

environment. 

In making a case for ecological education, may I plead for an 

end to the churning out of academic barbarians whose only 

ability is to analyse and pull apart. What we need is broadly 

trained synthesizers with perspective and balance, able to 

evaluate whole human situations. At the same time I would 

warn against our using the scarcity of precise information on 

environmental problems as an excuse for inaction. 

Ecology teaching is many things. It is showing a baby a 

beautiful flower, it is teaching a child to pick up papers, it 

is explaining the ecosystem to school pupils, it is studying

energy flow at undergraduate level, it is analysing nutrient 

cycling with post graduates, it is family planning clinics, it 

is the study of environmental reports by politicians, and it 

is learning to live safely and successfully in a changing 

world. 

If we as ecologists are to successfully fill the role of 

horizontal specialists who form a bridge between natural and 

social sciences we will do well to concentrate our energies on 

the following four educational activities: 

1. Developing an ecological conscience by re-thinking the 

place of Man in Nature. 

2. Extending moral'ethics to include a responsibility toward 

the environment. 

3. Persuading the masses that the concept of "human rightsr1 

extends beyond inter-group relations to the Manenvironment 

interface. 

4. Examining the adequacy of the output of ecologists to 

meet the growing need for their services. 

I like the classic simplicity with which J.M. Stycos explains 

the way major social changes go through four stages: 

Phase 1: No talk, no do 

Phase 2: Talk, no do 

Phase 3: Talk, do 

Phase 4: No talk, do. 

I suggest that Australian environmental action is now entering 

Phase 3. 

Changing Australian Attitudes - the Way Ahead 

Leopold suggests that all ethics are based on the single 

premise that individuals are members of an interdependent 

community. Man's instincts make him compete, his ethics make 

him cooperate. The land ethic extends the boundaries of the 

community's moral concerns beyond people, to the environment 

on which they depend. This changes the role of Homo sapiens 

from conqueror to member of a community of living things. In 

this way the tlresourceslv, while altered by management for 

production, are given a right to existence, ie they have an 

intrinsic value of their own. 

Ecology is the study of living organisms in relation to their 

environment, and conservation is the achievement of an 

equilibrium between Man and his land, but how do we develop an 

ecological conscience and what should we be teaching the

coming generations. The list below was proposed in 1984 by 

the writer, who makes no apology for the "should" value 

judgements implied: 

. We should teach that the dominating and consuming 

approach to our non-renewable resources is short-sighted 

and has caused failures. of civilizations throughout 

history. Our view that Nature is there primarily for 

Man's use should be reconsidered, 

. We should emphasize that conservation does not - / 

necessarily imply non-use or protection for its own sake. 

It means maintenance of productive potential. 

We should teach that good farmers are in fact good 

applied ecologists, for both seek to harvest nature at a 

level that can be sustained by ecosystem equilibrium. 

We should teach that Man is not an independent controller 

of Nature, but an integral part of the global systems on 

which he depends. It is the lack of awareness of this 

interdependence that has caused the environmental 

problems which the world presently faces. 

We should teach that environmental problems are complex 

and require national and international solutions - that 

our planet is a closed system where actions and reactions 

are of global proportions requiring global cooperation. 

We should bring home to coming generations the old Greek 

truism that men apparently don't learn from history - 

that each generation seems to' have to learn its own 

lessons on ecological behaviour, at great expense to the 

earth. 

We should avoid the despair and gloom which so easily 

arise from consideration of environmental problems but 

rather we must teach the optimism and challenge which is 

demonstrated by the successes of dedicated and 

persevering individuals and organizations. 

We should teach that even in our democracy, the common 

good of the community takes precedence over the 

unfettered freedom of the individual to act irresponsibly 

towards the environment. 

We should stress the need for political ethics in our 

system of government, together with the desirability of 

more vision and less expediency, more statesmanship and 

less politics.

. We should emphasise the links and interdependence of 

landholders and city dwellers, of taxpayers and 

consumers, in such a way as to develop an understanding 

of resource conservation as an issue concerning the whole 

community. 

a 

We should demonstrate case-studies which bring home the 

disasters of poor land management and the achievements of 

sound planning as a basis for sustained stable 

production. 

We should imbue in the next generation a pride in good 

stewardship of the land, a lasting satisfaction from 

well-nurtured land. The spiritual well-being which flows 

from such fundamental achievement should become an 

integral part of our national ethos. 

We should insist that together with a national pride in 

conserving non-renewable resources, must be acceptance of 

a land ethic which not only values our good fortune but 

develops an awareness of others less fortunate and how we 

might share our luck. 

We should emphasize that as a resource-rich western 

nation set in the eastern arena, we have grave 

responsibilities which accompany our role as trustees of 

such natural wealth, 

Finally we should teach the place of Man in the grand 

scheme of things - that we are on this earth for but a 

fleeting moment in the life of our land. As such we 

cannot be end-users with a right to consume the potential 

of the land. Rather we have the privilege of using and 

leaving the land in a better condition than we found it. 

(Roberts, 1984a) 

National- Goals - do we have any? 

material goals is clear but Birch suggests that in some ways 

our goals have hardly changed in 30 years and that we continue 

to measure the health of our nation in terms of economic 

growth. He calls for a broader life-centred ethic to replace 

the people-centred ethic. his means accepting that all 

creatures have intrinsic value, apart from their utilitarian 

value to Man.

National goals should change as progress is made and as new 

global scenarios emerge. So apart from the motherhood goals 

of freedom, liberty and equality, the "public culturew can be 

predicted to favour certain groups - the rich, the whites or 

the males. Donald Horne (1988) has called for a radical 

reconstruction..of Australia's public culture-(national goals?) 

in which the work ethic and the production/consumption 

calculus of modern society is replaced. He wants a different 

basis for thought and action but to what extent that will be 

ecologically based is not very clear. - , 1 

' 1 

1 1 

I 

Scott Paradise (1969) suggests that the American attitude (and 

presumably that of all industrialized nations) toward nature 

can be reduced to seven basic values: 

1. Man is the source of all value. 

2. Nature exists only for man's use. 

3. Man's primary purpose is to produce and consume. 

Success is based on material wealth. 

4. Production and consumption must continue endlessly 

because man has a right to an ever-increasing material 

standard of living. 

5. Material resources are unlimited. 

6. Man need not adapt himself to the natural environment 

since he can remake it to suit his own needs using 

science and technology. 

7. A major function of the state is to make it easy for 

individuals and corporations to exploit the environment 

to increase wealth and power. The most important nationstate 

is the one that can command and use the largest 

fraction of the world's resources. 

8. The ideal person is the self-made individualist, who does 

his own thing and hurts no one. 

Tyler Miller suggests that although most Americans probably do 

not see or accept these as their attitude toward nature, their 

individual, corporate, and collective governmental behaviour 

in the commons operates as if these were their beliefs - and 

this is what counts. 

These eight values must be replaced by new ethical guidelines 

which the writer suggests apply as much to Australians as to 

the Americans that Scott Paradise refers to when he calls for 

a credo which accepts the following revised statements: 

1. Man is not the source of all value. 

2. Man must be the wise caretaker and steward of the earth 

for present and future generations. 

3. Man's primary purpose is not to produce and consume but 

to conserve and renew, replenish not ravage the earth. 

I 

I

Improvement of life quality, not ever-increasing 

production and consumption of material things, must be 

our goal. 

Earth resources are finite and must be cherished and 

renewed, not wasted. 

Man's relationship to nature must be that of man and 

nature, a symbiotic partnership based on ecological 

understanding and cooperation. 

Man is to preserve stability and enhance life quality by 

preserving and encouraging physical, biological, and 

cultural diversity. 

A major function of the state is to supervise long range 

planning and to prevent individuals and corporations from 

exploiting or impairing the quality of the environment 

and human freedom and dignity. 

Because no one can or should exclusively do his or her 

own thing, the ideal human goal is that of sharing and 

caring, not complete individualism and domination. 

Each human being on this planet is unique, unprecedented, 

and has a right to a basic share of the ecosphere's 

resources. 

No individual, corporation, or nation has a right to an 

ever-increasing share of the earth's finite resources. 

National goal identification requires clarity on the quality 

of life to be aimed at for Australians. O'Connor (1986) has 

this to say: 

"The environment is seen as one of the great Quality of ~ife 

issues of this age. The idea of introducing the Quality of 

Life concept as a tool for decision makers has immediate, if 

superficial appeal, but it has so far delivered little of 

practical, as opposed to academic, value. A comprehensive 

investigation of the potential of the Quality of Life concept 

was undertaken by the United States Environmental Protection 

Agency: via the Airlie Symposium, in Virginia, 1972. The 

objectives of the symposium were to explore the Quality of 

Life concept, define it in terms of its components and to 

develop suggested quantitative approaches to its use in 

guiding public policies. The Symposium provides one of the 

most comprehensive reviews of the Quality of Life concept in 

its potential application to the environmental objectives of 

the State Conservation Strategy. For the purpose of the 

Symposium the term Quality of Life was seen as referring to 

the well-being of people, primarily in groups, but also as 

individuals, as well as the well-being of the environment in 

which these people live. It means different things to 

different people and there is as yet no consensus as to what 

it means in precise terms. Although the literature offers no 

consensus on a Quality of Life definition, there is a clear 

consensus on the importance of the concept. This is largely 

stimulated and contemplated by the paradox that economic

indicators can continue to progress in the face of growing 

discontent and unrest. At the Symposium Richard Nixon was 

quoted on this matter: "In the next ten years we will 

increase our wealth by 50%. The profound question is: does 

this mean that we will be 50% richer in any real sense, 50% 

better off, 50% happier?" Ted Gordon, President of the 

Futures Group presented some startling data regarding the 

values and priorities of the American people, many of which 

apply in Australia. His data were based on analyses of polls 

taken over the last 25 years. These polls indicated: 

a There is growing cynicism and distrust of government. 

a Optimism about the future is declining. 

6 Cultural and political views are becoming uncoupled. 

A better standa'rd of living remains at the top of the 

personal hopes list. 

. Owning a house is still the number one goal of Americans. 

We have seen that the quality of life concept is by no means 

precisely defined. The multidimensional nature of the concept 

limits the usefulness of it in a practical sense but the 

Symposium agreed that there was some need for making an 

attempt at quantification of it. Two schools of thought 

developed over this - one that you cannot do it, and the other 

that you should not do it. The first school felt that there 

are so many parameters involved and that the term relates so 

much to the individual, that it was impossible to project this 

to describe the Quality of Life for a group. Concern that you 

should not do it relates to the apprehension of sublimation of 

the individual to group statistics. It was felt that a 

Quality of Life index could be put to harmful use. 

The first step in an attempt to quantify the Quality of Life 

is the definition of what the concept actually means. Even 

this step proves extremely difficult although there is a big 

literature on parameters useful for measuring the state of 

society. 

The Airlie Symposium participants were asked to list the 

conditions they felt were appropriate for Quality of Life 

under the. following- headings :. . 

1. economic environment 

2. political environment 

3. physical environment 

4. social environment 

5. health environment 

6, natural environment.

' 

It was agreed that there are serious and difficult research 

problems to be solved before we can introduce into the 

planning and decision-making process a Quality of Life index 

that can be used with confidence. In the local context 

(Western Australian) it is difficult to see that this should 

be pursued in association with the State Conservation 

Strategy, yet the result of a large-scale study carried out by 

the American EPA showed the eleven most highly weighted 

factors were, in order of importance: 

Democratic process 

Public participation 

Health 

Choice in life 

Housing 

Economic security 

Education 

Land use 

Essential living costs 

Economic opportunity 

Ecosystem. 

The two significant conclusions from this are that: 

. the factors on the list come from among the objectivelybased 

social-indicator types rather than from the class 

of psychological factors; and 

economic factors are well represented in the top ten, 

thus indicating that economic indicators cannot be 

ignored in developing a Quality of Life index. 

One rather surprising feature of the factor-weighting results 

is the rather low weight given to environmental pollution 

factors. Housing, land use and ecosystem are the three most 

highly rated factors in the environmental component, and 

specific pollution factors are far down on the list. 

In total, the economic, political, social and environmental 

groupings were rated to be about equal, but in the breakdown 

the environmental factors tended to be more towards the bottom 

of the scale, 

With his unique combination of intelligence and will, man can 

develop a consenration strategy built upon the knowledge 

acquired from past generations, caring for his contemporaries 

and benefiting from his association with them, and operating 

with a sense of obligation and duty to posterity. Providing 

for posterity is a noble ideal, but there is no guarantee that 

posterity will appreciate any plans we might make for it. It 

is often easier to plan unattainable Utopias than grapple with

the problems of the present. It should be possible to accept 

that the world and its resources are for the benefit of man 

providing we see the idea of benefit extending to all mankind 

over the continuum of time. I believe that the seeds of a 

system of stewardship for the earth's resources has come down 

to us largely from the Judaeo-Christian tradition. As a basis 

for caring and-responsibility, a motive above the pragmatic is 

clearly required even though we might continue to debate just 

what it might be. A balance has to be struck between catering 

for the needs of posterity and redressing the problems of our 

own timeit (O8Connor, 1986). 

Hope and Action 

"Is there really any hope?" asked Heilbroner. The answer to 

this question is a resounding yes, probably the most important 

yes in the history of mankind. Teilhard de Chardin (1966) has 

said, "It is too easy to find excuses for inaction by pleading 

the decadence of civilization or even the imminent end of the 

world. Three human attitudes can kill us: (1) the blind 

technological optimism of those who believe that some 

scientific innovation or -unknown factor will always save us: 

(2) the gloom-and-doom pessimism of those who have given up 

hope: and (3) the greed, apathy, and refusal to face reality 

of those who have given up concern and involvement through 

easy fatalism or a naive view of reality." 

Psychologist Rollo May says that many of us are losing our 

ability to care about anyone or anything because we feel 

overwhelmed. We have a feeling of powerlessness - our lives 

seem to be managed by impersonal and uncontrollable forces. 

However, I give Tyler Miller (1975) the last word, which I 

believe applies very much to Australia today: 

"There are grounds for cautious hope that a value revolution 

is underway in this country (USA). People are stirring, 

questianing, listening, and organizing. They are asking, 

"What is true wealth? What have we done wrong? What should 

be the true aims of our affluent nation?" It is particularly 

significant that some of our youth are educating their elders 

by showing them a fresh perspective on these. crucial 

questions. There is a growing awareness that we must elect 

earthmanship leaders who will tell the people the truth - that 

we can8t have everything, that we are in deep trouble, that we 

must make some significant and difficult changes, that for 

everything we want to preserve we will have to give up 

something, that the heaping of crisis on crisis need not be 

taken as a sign of doom but as the emergence of a world where 

we finally face up to the questions of what man is and what 

his place is in the world.

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. .

Australian Soil Conservation Conference 

Maroochydore 1985 

SOIL CONSERVATION 

FUTURE STRATEGIES - A F 

WORK FOR PROGRESS 

Dr B R Roberts 

Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education, Toowoomba 

An examination of the proceedings of the previous national soil 

conservation conference shows how emphasis over the years has 

moved from one important sphere of activity to the others. The 

first conference stressed the technical aspects of corrective 

action in soil conservation; the second conference gave more 

attention to the need for extension services to promote what was 

already known; the third conference focussed on expanding 

community awareness of land degradation. 

Each of these approaches had an important contribution to. make 

at the particular stage of evolution of the ~ustralian 

conservation ethos. In recent years it has become obvious that 

the time has now arrived for land degradation to be placed on 

the nation's political agenda as a socio-economic issue of 

central importance to the community at large. 

The future strategies recommended in this overview do not 

include the technicalities of conservation farming, but rather 

the economic, educational and legal framework. In this threepart 

contribution to future strategies, Longworth has given the 

soil conservation authorities viewpoint, while Blessing has 

provided an outstanding analysis of the landholders position, 

including a number of pertinent statements worthy of the closest 

scrutiny by policy-makers. The strategies which follow in the 

present overview must be evaluated against a background which 

recognises the need for a combined tripartite policy of 

inc 

_-- 

sf education and regulation,.. each in its proper place. 

(Se re) 

--=F+5Sv 

- 

The -G&nmendations are classified into broad groups in no 

particular order of priority. Many of the points have been 

suggested before and the writer is convinced that the majority 

of the strategies put forward here warrant the establishment of 

special Task Groups by the Standing Committee on Soil 

Conservation, not to discuss the academic merits of each, but to 

find ways and means of achieving meaningful political action to 

prevent further degradation while it- is still economically 

feasible.

--- - - - - - 

I. ORGANISATION AND INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS 

1. k&d % G.N.P. for Soil Conservation 

-- - -:-; 

-.-- - -- 

.. %-I=- - - --. 

A standing agreement should be reached between all federal 

parties that a fixed minimum percentage of G.N. Po be allocated 

to soil conservation annually. This percentage should be not 

less than $150 million in present real terms. Fiscal policy 

must ensure that such funds allocated to States cannot be used 

for other purposes. 

2. Development of On-Goins Asricultural Policv 

Federal government should develop an agricultural policy in 

conjunction with the States to form an on-going framework for 

decision-making in agriculture. This policy should replace the 

present annual budgetary influences on production and marketing. 

The Agricultural Council should be replaced by a new planning 

and policy-formulating body given special powers under the 

constitution to implement legislation on land use and 

stabilisation. 

3. Rural Reconstruction and Livins Areas 

The Rural Reconstruction and associated schemes should azm- to 

amalgamate properties and to achieve a total number of 

landholders which reflects the capability of agricultural land 

in each region. 

4. Economic Sisnificance of the Rural Sector 

Governments should recognise the inequity between the productive 

capacity and the voting strength of constituencies. Presently 

over 40% of national export earnings are produced by less than 

5% of the voters. Since this minority group act as trustees of 

the nation's food-producing resources, special consideration of 

fiscal policy relating to land maintenance is called for. 

5. Transport, Storase and Export of Products 3 

ional off-farm problems, including duplication and 

ion of delivery of products should be improved to the 

f international competitiveness. 

6. International Marketinq 

To reduce the unpredictability of marketing of agricultural 1 

produce, federal government should develop more entrepreneural 

and adaptive international marketing agencies. In this way more 

permanency and predictability could be introduced into the 

planning of farming systems. 

7. Intesration of De~artments 

The recent trend in some States to combine a number of 

departments concerned with the planning and use of land 

resources should be extended to all States and to federal

government. In this way the long-standing division of 

responsibilities which delays the implementation of conservation 

plans_may be minimised. 

- .-- - 

- 

--_ -- 

-. ----- 

8. C ~ R O 

I => -_. 

- -. - 

- - -,.- 

in Soil Conservation 

Land stabilisation and soil conservation should become the prime 

objective of several divisions of CSIRO - Tropical Crops, Soils 

and Water and Land Utilisation. his should apply for a period 

of 20 years. 

9. Tariff Reduction and Farm Costs 

The increasing disadvantage to the rural sector of tariff 

protection on manufactured goods should be significantly 

! 

reduced. In this way farm costs could be reduced to a level 

where financial survival doesnr t take precedence over 

conservation farming. 

10. Producer Orsanisations and Soil conservation 

All the major crop and animal producer organisations should 

recognise their potential role in encouraging and implementing 

soil conservation. Despite the fact that their members depend 

on the soil resource, these organisations have done 1ittJ.e to 

take their necessary level of responsibility for encouraging 

their members to develop their stewardship role and the land 

ethic associated with trusteeship. ~ecognition of their 

ineffective communication with government and the urban majority 

in the past, rural industry should develop promotion campaigns 

which gain the understanding and support of the non-rural 

sector'. This could be done by following the example of the 

mining sector. 

11. INCENTIVES AND DISINCENTIVES 

1. States' Rishts and Land Res~onsibilities 

The present division of responsibilities and resultant inaction 

in soil conservation should be replaced by a clear permanent 

federal responsibility for land use policy and associated 

ince* --_ _-._. --= schemes. 

-=---=a. 

- 

I___=- --- 

-:----:-.- 

2. mncial 

- -- Incentives and Agribusiness 

-% -- 

---=+ 

The long-sought after incentives of tax rebates, long term low 

interest loans and grants should be expanded and made available 

nation-wide to cover all facets of conservation farming. 

111. PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION 

1. Conservation Political Grou~inq 

In line with developments in other developed countries, there is 

an increasingly strong case for the formation of a political 

movement aimed primarily at national environmental planning and 

protection of productive potential. Repeated claims by existing 

political parties that land use policy can be handled by the 

I

7' - 

- F a - - 

present parties, have failed to control land degradation and 

unsound land use developments. 

--- - = . 

2. '&& 

--- of Cro~ Land to Development 

-.- f 

; - ---- 

Both '-fderal and state governments should formulate and 

implement legislation to ensure that good agricultural land is 

not lost from crop production. Land zoning-should also ensure 

that exploitative cropping is minimised. 

3. Clearins Unsuitable Land 

Nation-wide initiatives are urgently required to formulate and 

implement regulations which prevent further clearing of land 

which is predictably prone to loss of productivity through 

erosion, salinity or land slip. 

4. Relative Economic priorities of Irrisation and Soil 

Conservation 

Federal and state governments should recognise the extent and 

urgency of land degradation when determining priorities for 

allocation of funds. The accumulating costs of controlling 

advanced erosion and salinity emphasize the need for widespread 

early action in preventing degradation. Funds should be 

diverted from planned irrigation schemes and other non-essatial 

expenditure, to support land use planning, catchment projects 

and soil conservation on individual farms for a period of 20 

years. 

5. Contribution of Professional Societies and Other Groups 

Those societies and bodies whose members have a special 

knowledge of land, rural production and the environment should 

give special attention to contributing to corrective action in 

the sphere of land degradation. The focus of society activity 

should reflect both the recognition of the time factor in land 

stabilisation and the responsibility of societies with in-depth 

knowledge of land use to become actively involved on all fronts 

to problem-solving in this sphere. 

6. ------ s - = = 

+.+ inins Employment Schemes with soil Conservation 

-ects 

- 

=- -- -- 

*--- - - 

ways-means should be found to bring together the alleviation 

of two of Australia's most pressing problems - unemployment and 

land stabilisation. Imaginative programmes based on the land 

army concept could produce lasting benefits in both spheres of 

endeavour through cooperative planning between the departments 

concerned. 

7. Tree-Plantins Within Coordinated Catchment Plans 

Community tree planting activities should be encouraged by 

appropriate funding arrangements administered through soil 

conservation planning authorities. In this way the increasing 

community commitment to tree planting can be directed toward 

effective coordinated control of erosion, salinity and land slip

on a permanent basis. 

8. Role - - of 0rqani.c and Alternative Farmers 

- 

- - 

-. -- < - 

_ 

._-_--- 

The -&-~is on surface management and crop residues by soil 

conse8k~ion authorities in recent years should extend to 

formalising links with organic farmer groups and others in the 

30,000 strong sector of smallholders. The ideas and production 

systems used by alternative farmers should be evaluated and 

tested for incorporation in formal advice in broadacre 

situations. 

IV. EDUCATION, EXTENSION AND ATTITUDES TO LAND 

1. Man/Land Relations in School Curricula 

The highest priority should be given to planning and 

implementing the concepts of sustainable land use, land ethics 

and agricultural ecology within primary and secondary school 

curricula. The processes and technicalities taught in the past 

must be expanded to include an appreciation of humanities 

dependence on the land and the ecological, moral and economic 

values which form the foundation of a sustainable society. 

Studies in geography, social studies, earth science and bi-ology 

must be planned in a complimentary manner so that plain 

knowledge is enriched to form positive attitudes and values 

beyond those of the present materialistic consumer society. 

2. National Education Materials Unit 

The federal government should create a permanent education 

resources group within the National Soil Conservation Programme, 

to plan, produce and disseminate source materials for teaching 

all aspects of Man/Land relationships from primary to adult 

education levels. This group would liaise with state education 

and agriculture departments at all stages of material 

production. 

3. Aaricultural College Curricula 

The formal training of all rural producers should integrate the 

prin~ws of sustainable systems, land ethics and the 

--- role, with the technical aspects of crops and 

anim-Broduced in balanced farming systems. 

-L-+- 

- - 

-----=--- 

4. Extension Prosrammes Based on Sustainable Asriculture 

Specialists in production techniques and farm planning should 

emphasise the necessity of evaluating all recommendations to 

landholders against the criteria of land stability, permanent 

systems and productivity maintenance. This would eliminate the 

tendency for advisors to consider recommendations only in short 

term financial returns. Advisors also have a fundamental role 

in encouraging the general acceptance of the ethos of 

stewardship and land ethics as a basic value among land users.

5. Res~onsibilitv of Faculties of Asriculture in ~ttitudinal 

Development 

- - - 

In th&?-&aining of specialists in a wide range of research and 

advise-Ecareers, the universities and colleges should extend 

their curricula to include more development of positive Man/Land 

relationships, with a view to producing graduates committed to 

furthering the cause of ecological equilibrium and sustainable 

rural production systems. 

6. Pastoral Science Traininq 

Institutions offering degrees and diplomas in rural production 

should identify extensive pastoral production as a major area of 

study in need of integrated course development as a basis for a 

professional ethos of management in the vast inland pastoral 

country. 

7. Status of Rural Extension 

Rural extension as a profession should be more clearly 

identified and acknowledged not only as an essential link in the 

promotion of sound land use, but as a critical facet of 

government service which has been second to research in status 

C 

and funding for many years. 

- 

8. Fundins of On-Goins Extension Proqrammes 

National agricultural - policy should include an on-going 

commitment to comprehensive extension programmes in all States 

so that the ineffectiveness of on/off funding of programmes can 

be avoided. The programmes which are supported should emphasise 

sound land use and sustainable production systems as their prime 

objectives, rather than the most financially rewarding shortterm 

strategies. 

9. Promotion of the Profitabilitv of Selected Conservation 

Techniaues 

In addition to continually stressing the need for sustainable 

prod~un systems, extension programmes should emphasise the 

shes- economic advantages of practices such as minimum 

til-:and other surface management techniques. Advisory 

sew- should take more advantage of financial gain as an 

incentive to gain early adoption of certain practices. 

-

10. Wider Use of Group Methods in Extension 

~dvisory, services faced with a wide ratio of advisors to 

landhq&&rs, should exploit the effectiveness of group extension 

method,?-:rather than limiting their efforts largely to timeconsunifritj 

one-to-one contacts and less effective mass media. 

While both the latter methods are appropriate to certain stages 

of the adoption process, group methods, including specialised 

study groups, have not been used to their full potential in most 

States. 

11. Continuins Education for Field Staff 

I 

Technological change and the increasing complexity of I 

agricultural techniques has increased the need for in-service 

I 

training of advisory staff. There is a need to maintain the 

credibility of field staff as perceived by landholders, by wellplanned 

courses on integrated production systems using updated ] 

information on the most recent products, implements and 

techniques. Without an intimate knowledge of modern 

methodology, advisory services will not achieve general 

acceptance. 

12. Use of Soil Conservation Consultants 

C 

Procedures should be developed to engage consultants -and 

contractors to speed up responses to requests for farm planning 

and soil conservation. A backlog of many months exists for 

action on requests from landholders in some regions. At an 

estimated cost of $40-50 per hour to supply government advisory 

officers, consultants could make a significant contribution to 

meeting the demand for soil conservation advice at competitive 

rates to the taxpayer. 

13. Home Study Courses in Soil Conservation 

The National Soil Conservation Programme should initiate 

external courses in all States in consultation with educational 

institutions. Full use should be made of modern distance 

teaching techniques to bring effective home study to all 

interested landholders. The nationally offered course by the 

Dar Downs Institute gives useful indications of the 

str and weaknesses of a first attempt to meet this need. 

-.==a?-? 

--=__ 

14. -fore of Women 

The potential of rural and city women to contribute to achieving 

a comprehensive community awareness of the socio-economic 1 

significance of land degradation should be consciously 

exploited. Women are in an especially good position to 

inculcate a new appreciation of land ethics and stewardship into 

the younger generation. 

! 

!I

A 

-- 

15. Role of Urban-Based conservation Groups 

--- . . 

here---is a need to encourage conservation groups to promote soil 

conseZvzi%ion as a community-wide issue in which consumers should 

support'=producers in maintaining land resources while producing 

wealth for the nation. 

V. LEGISLATION, REGULATION AND CONTROL 

1. National Conservation Strateav 

The framework offered by the National Conservation Strategy 

should be used as a basis for rational development and 

conservation in all States. This strategy, although still only 

developed in general terms is Australia's first attempt to 

formulate a national perspective on meeting the simultaneous 

goals of conserving resources and planning for balanced 

development. 

2. Definins Landholders' Rishts in Terms of Public 

Interest 

Legislation at federal and state level should limit the rights 

of users of leasehold and freehold land to land use which .meets 

the criteria of the longer term public interest. In the-same 

way as urban and industrial zoning limits uses of non-rural 

land, the zoning of crop and pastoral land should prevent the 

reduction of land potential through exploitation beyond the 

capability of the land. 

3. Rural Im~act Studies 

Agricultural development should be subject to environmental 

impact studies similar to those made mandatory for mining and 

industry. In this way, the clearing of unsuitable land could be 

prevented and permanent pastoral or forestry production could be 

ensured. By such studies, the increasingly strong community 

view that double standards are being applied to agriculture and 

mining, could be positively recognised. 

4. z--ort for Trustees of Community Resources 

.- - 

Legi on, policy and procedures should 

estabfldi the landholders prime responsibil ity be developed to 

for landcare. 

The same legislation should make provision for realistic 

financial and technical support for landholders in their clearly 

defined role as trustees of the community's natural resources. 

5. Prevention of Loss of.Aqrricultura1 Land to other Uses 

Early action is required to formulate and implement land zoning , 

to prevent the loss of good agricultural land to non-productive 

uses. The estimated 450 ha per day presently lost from 

agricultural use could be significantly reduced by sufficient 

political will to protect such land for permanent rural 

production.

6. Enabling Legislation to Assist Catchment coordination 

In somg:States serious delays in the implementation of catchment 

plans--=.*re caused by lack of cooperation of individual 

landhaL&rs in key positions. egis la ti on should be enacted 

which -06liges all landholders in a proclaimed catchment to 

undertake the necessary coordinated works and management agreed 

to be necessary by the majority of landholders cooperating in 

the project. 

7. Leasehold Covenants 

Legal provision should be made to include covenants in 

agricultural and pastoral leases, which prevent overexploitation 

of the productive capacity of the land. 

8. Land Prices 

The paying of Class I1 land prices for Class IV land is a major 

cause of the expansion of unsound land use in marginal cropping 

areas. 

Controls on land values should be introduced through. the 

implementation of zoning and cropping guidelines to eliminate 

the detrimental effect of exploitative land use systems which 

occur when land prices are determined simply by demand in the 

marketplace. Legislation is required to protect the potential 

of the land against land price trends reflecting short-term 

profit objectives .

FEDERAL 

STATE 

LOCAL 

EDUCATION 

l N CENTlVES 

EXTENSION 

LANDHOLDER 

LAND USE PUNNING 

CO-ORDINATED PROJECTS 

CONSERVATION TECHNIQUES 

WATER

Australian Soil conservation Conference 

Maroochydore 1985 

SOIL CONSERVATION 

FUTURE STRATEGIES - A F 

WORK FOR PROGRESS 

Dr B R Roberts 


An examination of the proceedings of the previous national soil 

conservation conference shows how emphasis over the years has 

moved from one important sphere of activity to the others. The 

first conference stressed the technical aspects of corrective 

action in soil conservation; the second conference gave more 

attention to the need for extension services to promote what was 

already known; the third conference focussed on expanding 

community awareness of land degradation. 

Each of these approaches had an important contribution to make 

at the particular stage of evolution of the ~ustrxlian 

conservation ethos. In recent years it has become obvious that 

the time has now arrived for land degradation to be placed on 

the nation's political agenda as a socio-economic issue of 

central importance to the community at large. 

The future strategies recommended in this overview do not 

include the technicalities of conservation farming, but rather 

the economic, educational and legal framework. In this threepart 

contribution to future strategies, Longworth has given the 

soil conservation authorities viewpoint, while Blessing has 

provided an outstanding analysis of the landholders position, 

including a number of pertinent statements worthy of the closest 

scrutiny by policy-makers. The strategies which follow in the 

present overview must be evaluated against a background which 

recognises the need for a combined tripartite policy of 

s, education and regulation, each in its proper place. 

re) 

-=.- 

The =commendations are classified into broad groups in no 

particular order of priority. Many of the points have been 

suggested before and the writer is convinced that the majority 

of the strategies put forward here warrant the establishment of 

special Task Groups by the Standing Committee on Soil 

Conservation, not to discuss the academic merits of each, but to 

find ways and means of achieving meaningful political action to 

prevent further degradation while it is still economically 

feasible.

- - --< 

-- - 


1. ~h&d % G.N.P. for Soil Conservation 

- --- 

-. 

.- --. 

A star&ng agreement should be reached between all federal 

parties that a fixed minimum percentage of G.N.P. be allocated 

- 





2. Development of On-Goins Agricultural Policy 



decision-making in agriculture. This policy should replace the ;I 

present annual budgetary influences on production and marketing. .-: ! '1 I 

The Agricultural Council should be replaced by a new planning 




3. Rural Reconstruction and Livina Areas 

* 

The Rural Reconstruction and associated schemes should aym- to 




4. Economic Sianificance of the Rural Sector 







5. Transport, Storaae and Export of Products 

erg 

int 

bene-f 

ional off -f arm problems, including 

ion of delivery of products should be 

international competitiveness. 

International Marketinq 

duplication 

improved to and 

the 

To reduce the unpredictability of marketing of agricultural 


and adaptive international marketing agencies. In this way more 



7. Intearation of Departments 






plans-may be minimised. 

.- - 

- - -- - - 

8. c$%k0 in Soil Conservation 

.-- 

-- 

- - -.- 



and Water and Land Utilisation. This should apply for a period 

of 20 years. 

9. Tariff Reduction and Farm Costs 




where financial survival doesn't take precedence over 


10. Producer Organisations and Soil Conservation 




on the soil resource, these organisations have done little to 

take their necessary level of responsibility for encour3ging 


ethic associated with trusteeship. Recognition 'of their 




sector. This could be done by following the example of the 






federal responsibility for land use policy and associated 

ince-&== 

- =?%% 

4-- - 

-s:-=- 

. . i 

I-- ;i- - 

schemes. 

2. 1 - --=- ncial Incentives and Asribusiness 










political parties that land use policy can be handled by the



2. .- - of Cror, Land to Development 

- . .-- 

- - 

. - -. 

Both fgderal and state governments should formulate and 


not lost from crop production. Land zoning should also ensure 

that exploitative cropping is minimised. 






4. Relative Economic Priorities of Irriaation and Soil 

Conservation 





early action in preventing degradation. Funds shouLd be 

diverted from planned irrigation schemes and other non-essextial 



years. 

5. Contribution of Professional Societies and Other Groups 





should reflect both the recognition of the time factor in land 

stabilisation and the responsibility of societies with in-depth 



- 

-=+--- 

6. -$-wining Em~loyment Schemes with Soil Conservation 

mects 

-. 

-a>--> 

------ 

Ways-'aB2$-means should be found to bring together the alleviation 



army concept could produce lasting benefits in both spheres of 1 


concerned. 

7. Tree-Plantina Within Coordinated Catchment Plans 


appropriate funding arrangements administered through soil 



effective coordinated control of erosion, salinity and land slip 

'


8. Role of Orsanic and Alternative Farmers 

. --- 

- . 

The &@&asis on surface management and crop residues by soil 

conse-tion authorities in recent years should extend to 





situations. 











must be planned in a complimentary manner so that plain 

knowledge is enriched to farm positive attitudes and Glues 









production. 

3. Agricultural College Curricula 


prin&-&s of sustainable systems, land ethics and the 

ip role, with the technical aspects of crops and 

anim-roduced --_= in balanced farming systems. 

-KTa-- 

~d-->- 

4. Extension Proarammes Based on Sustainable Agriculture 




systems and productivity maintenance. This would eliminate the 




stewardship and land ethics as a basic value among land users.

Responsibilitv of Faculties of Agriculture in ~ttitudinal 

Develo~ment 

- - - 

-. 

- -- -- 

In t3iG:-;&aining of specialists in a wide range of research and 

advisoe~careers, the universities and colleges should extend 










country. 





government service which has been second to research in status 

t 


..- - 

8. Fundins of On-Goins Extension Prosrammes 

National agricultural policy should include an on-going 


so that the ineffectiveness of on/off funding of programmes can - 




strategies. 

9. Promotion of the Profitability of Selected Conservation 

Techniuues 

In addition to continually stressing the need for sustainable 1 

terns, extension programmes should emphasise the 

onomic advantages of practices such as minimum 

ther surface management techniques. Advisory 

d take more advantage of financial gain as an 

incentive to gain early adoption of certain practices.

Wider Use of Group Methods in Extension 

Advis~~ services faced with a wide ratio of advisors to 

landhm&rs, should exploit the effectiveness of group extension 

methad;S::;irather than limiting their efforts largely to timeconsumihq 


while both the latter methods are appropriate to certain stages 



States. 

11. Continuina ducati ion for Field Staff 

Technological change and the increasing complexity of 




courses on integrated production systems using updated 




acceptance. 


C 

Procedures should be developed to engage consultants and 








13. Home Studv Courses in Soil Conservation 



institutions, Full use should be made of modern distance 



Dar=5f Downs Institute gives useful indications of the 

stre 

- - - 

and weaknesses of a first attempt to meet this need. 

- -. =- - 

----- 

14.

15. Role of Urban-Based Conservation Grou~s 

- - 

hers;& a need to encourage conservation groups to promote soil 

conse*&ion as a community-wide issue in which consumers should 

support~~~roducers in maintaining land resources while producing 



1. National Conservation Stratesv 







development. 

2. Definina Landholders' Rishts in Terms of Public 

Interest 


of users of leasehold and freehold land to land use which ,meets 






3. Rural Impact Studies 








- 

- 

4. 4eort for Trustees of Communitv Resources 

_---- 

-=-;- L--- 

- --- 

--< 

- - 

LegiSB-on, policy and procedures should be developed to 

estabMsh the landholders prime responsibility for landcare. 




5. Prevention of Loss of Asricultural Land to other Uses 

Early action is required to formulate and implement land zoning 





production.

6. Enablins Leaislation to Assist Catchment coordination 

In some-States serious delays in the implementation of catchment 

plans-;are caused by lack of cooperation of individual 

landhold6rs in key positions. Legislation should be enacted 

which ofjliges all landholders in a proclaimed catchment to 

undertake the necessary coordinated works and management agreed 

to be necessary by the majority of landholders cooperating in 

the project. 

7. Leasehold Covenants 

Legal provision should be made to include covenants in 

agricultural and pastoral leases, which prevent overexploitation 

of the productive capacity of the land. 1 

8. Land Prices 

The paying of Class I1 land prices for Class IV land is a major 

cause of the expansion of unsound land use in marginal cropping 

areas. 

Controls on land values should be introduced through- the 

implementation of zoning and cropping guidelines to eliminate 

the detrimental effect of exploitative land use systems ghich 

occur when land prices are determined simply by demand in the 

marketplace. Legislation is required to protect the potential 

of the land against land price trends reflecting short-term 

prof it objectives. 

I 

I

FEDERAL 

STATE 

LOCAL 

EXTENSION 

LANDHOLDER 

LAND USE PLANNING 

CO-ORDINATED PROJECTS 

CONSERVATION TECHNIQUES 

WATER 

- --. 

= --:-

- - . 

-- - - 

- - 


1. -Fff%ed % G0N.P. for Soil conservation 

- - . ---- 

- --- 

7.- . -. 

A st%dfng agreement should be reached between all federal 

parties that a fixed minimum percentage of G.N.P. be allocated 





2. Development of On-Goins Aqricultural Policy 



decision-making in agriculture. This policy should replace the :I , 

1 ,i 

present annual budgetary influences on production and marketing. , j 

The Agricultural Council should be replaced by a new planning ' 




3. Rural Reconstruction and Livina Areas 

r 

The Rural Reconstruction and associated schemes should aTm- to 




4. Economic Sisnificance of the Rural Sector 







5. Transport, Storaqe and Export of Products 

ional off -f arm problems, including 

ion of delivery of products should be 

f international competitiveness. 

= -.- 

6. International Marketinq 

duplication 

improved to and 

the 

To reduce the unpredictability of marketing of agricultural 


and adaptive international marketing agencies. In this-way more 



7. Intearation of Departments 






plans,wy be minimised. 

- - 

-------- 

- - 

8. - C&&O 

-. 

_- _ - -- 

. --- 

- 

-. in Soil Conservation 



and Water and Land Utilisation. This should apply for a period 

of 20 years-. 

Tariff Reduction and Farm Costs 




where financial survival doesn't take precedence over 


10. Producer Orsanisations and Soil conservation 




on the soil resource, these organisations have done littJe to 

take their necessary level of responsibility for encoulaging 


ethic associated with trusteeship. Recognition .of their 




sector. This could be done by following the example of the 






fed responsibility for land use policy and associated 

inc schemes. 

---- 

s2----*- 

--- 

-5=. 

2. ,=-mncial 

____ Incentives and Asribusiness 

-=- - - 










political parties that land use policy can be handled by the 

I



-- . . 

-= .: - - -- 

2. -kt= 

. -- of Crop Land to Development 

-- ..-=-, 

. 

. - -- 

:--.: 

~0th;---faera1 and state governments should formulate and 







4. Relative Economic Priorities of Irriaation and Soil 

Conservation 





early action in preventing degradation. Funds should be 

diverted from planned irrigation schemes and other non-essatial 



years. 

5. Contribution of ~rofessional societies and Other Groups 





should reflect both the recoqnition of the time factor in land 

stabilisation and the respon;ibility of societies with in-depth 



6. 

I 

I 

I 

e--- 

-&--L& 

- 

*-- 

ways-=means should be found to bring together the alleviation 



army concept could produce lasting benefits in both spheres of 


concerned. 

7. Tree-Plantins Within Coordinated Catchment Plans 


appropriate funding arrangements administered through soil , 



effective coordinated control of erosion, salinity and land slip


8. -Role 

-- - - of 0rsanic and ~lternative Farmers 

------ 

- - 4---- 

The -&:asis on surface management and crop residues by soil 

consee-&*ion authorities in recent years should extend to 





situations. 











must be planned in a complimentary manner so that .plain 

knowledge is enriched to form positive attitudes and vXlues 









production. 

3. Asricultural Collese Curricula 


prin s of sustainable systems, land ethics and the 

stew ip role, with the technical aspects of crops and 

anim 

- -- roduced in balanced farming systems. 

4. Extension Prosrammes Based on Sustainable Aariculture 




systems and productivity maintenance. his would eliminate the 




stewardship and land ethics as a basic value among land users. 

I 

1

\ - - 

5. Resgonsibilitv of Faculties of Aariculture in Attitudinal 

Develo~ment - - 

----- . - - 

A 

- -- - 

In th@?cgraining of specialists in a wide range of research and 

advie-careers, the universities and colleges should extend 










country. 





government senrice which has been second to research in status 

C 


- - 

8. Fundinq of on-Goins Extension Prosrammes 

National agricultural policy should include an on-going 


so that the ineffectiveness of on/off funding of programmes can 




strategies. 

9. Promotion of the profitability of Selected Conservation 

Techniaues 

In addition to continually stressing the need for sustainable 

n systems, extension programmes should emphasise the 

economic advantages of practices such as minimum 

and other surface management techniques. Advisory 

should take more advantage of financial gain as an 

to gain early adoption of certain practices.

%==. 

10. Wider Use of Group Methods in Extension 

Advi-gx- services faced with a wide ratio of advisors to 

landhq+*rs, should exploit the effectiveness of group extension 

methg@gzrather than limiting their efforts largely to timeconsmkinp 


While both the latter methods are appropriate to certain stages 



States. 

11. Continuins Education for Field Staff 

Technological change and the increasing complexity of 




courses on integrated production systems using updated 




acceptance. 


r 

Procedures should be developed to engage consultants- and 








13. Home Study Courses in Soil Conservation 



institutions. Full use should be made of modern distance 



Dar : Downs Institute gives useful indications of the 

stre - 

and weaknesses of a first attempt to meet this need. 

-----a 

As- 

14 . *gfz& of 

The potential of rural and city women to contribute to achieving 

a comprehensive community awareness of the socio-economic 

significance of land degradation should be consciously 

exploited. Women are in an especially good position to 

inculcate a new appreciation of land ethics and stewardship into 

the younger generation.

15. Role of Urban-Based conservation Groups 

-- .-. . 

~her=3&: a need to encourage conservation groups to promote soil 

conse*-%ion as a community-wide issue in which consumers should 

suppo%ti-~broducers in maintaining land resources while producing 



1. National Conservation Strateav 







development. 

2. Definins Landholders' Riahts in Terms of Public 

Interest 


of users of leasehold and freehold land to land use which ,meets 






Rural Impact Studies 








- 

4. _+!SazsBort for Trustees of Community Resources 

- 

- - 

- 

-2- TTT .- 

Legi-on, policy and procedures should be developed to 

estam& the landholders prime responsibility for landcare. 




5. Prevention of Loss of Asricultural Land to other Uses 

Early action is required to formulate and implement land zoning 





- 

production.

N0113V UOJ 

S31V3S3Lnlll QNV S13A31 

- NOllVAtJ3SNO3 1IOS

Brian Roberts 

5 August 1988 

The beef industry makes a significant contribution to the 

economy of northern Australia, including 40% of the rural 

income of Queensland. Queensland alone has 165 M ha of 

native pastures and 4 M ha of improved pastures. 

Carrying capacity of native pastures depends on the 

rainfall and soil type. 

Almost all the growth of pastures occurs between October 

and March. As grass matures, herbage quality decreases 

to a level where after seed has set, the quality of the 

diet is too low to maintain body weight in many cases. 

The annual variation in feed production is as variable as 

seasonal rainfall, and drought, flood and fire must .be 

accepted as natural factors in the environment. 

Grass forms the bulk of cattle's diet, with edible shrubs 

contributing only during dry periods. 

Grass production is significantly reduced where the 

density of trees limits light and moisture available to 

grass. 

In many regions, cleared country naturally develops into 

open woodland or even dense forest if re-growth is not 

controlled mechanically, chemically or by controlled 

burning. 

8. Long term overgrazing usually leads to a set sequence of 

degradation stages: 

(i) Reduction of the best pasture grasses. 

(ii) Increase in less palatable annual grasses. 

(iii) Expansion of bare areas and surface erosion. 

( iv) Scalding and gully erosion. 

9. Pasture management decisions should be based on the needs 

of both the animals and the pasture. To do this, it is 

necessary that the manager can recognize the early signs 

of over-use. 

10. Ideally, pasture condition can be judged on the 

proportion of bulky perennial, palatable grasses present. 

The density and type of grass are the prime criteria of 

whether pastures are overgrazed or not. 

* A guide to the video "Grazing Management" (DDIAE, 27 

Minutes, VHS) .

11. In Queensland, about 40% of native pastures are degraded 

either by water erosion, wind erosion or have been 

overtaken by unpalatable grasses and weeds. 

12. Good feeding of beef cattle on native pastures depends 

primarily on matching stock n ers to feed supply, ie to 

adjusting stocking rate to pasture condition. 

13. Sustainable animal production systems on native pastures 

must meet not only the needs of the animals but also the 

needs of the grass - and this means protecting the soil. 

14. The carrying capacity of country is affected not only by 

rainfall but also by a number of factors which can be 

controlled by the manager; for instance: 

1. The type or breed of animal. 

2. The way in which groups of animals are run together 

or separately. 

3. The number of animals or stocking rate. 

4. The timing of moving animals from one paddock to 

another. 

5. The choice of which paddock animals are moved to. 

6. The number of paddocks available and how these are 

fenced according to vegetation type. 

The number and distribution of watering,points. 

The selection of paddocks for spelling.* 

The season in which spelling occurs. 

The use of burning to control the quality and 

quantity of feed available.. 

The choice of timber control methods - mechanical, 

chemical or fire. 

The construction of banks for waterspreading or 

erosion control. 

The ripping of compact soil to improve infiltration 

and establishment. 

The oversowing of improved pasture species. 

The application of fertilizer. 

The strategic placement of mineral, protein and 

energy licks or supplements. 

15. Economic analysis shows that reduction of stock n 

often results in better profits and less drought 

problems, 

From the soil conservation viewpoint, the rule of thumb 

of mugraze half and leave halfmu of the standing feed, will 

result in a good organic matter cover, better 

infiltration, less erosion and more grass. 

16. Since hardy breeds supplemented with licks can cause 

considerable damage if numbers are not reduced during 

droughts, it is essential not to stock up straight after 

drought-breaking rains, but to give the most degraded 

paddocks time to seed before restocking.

The good animal husbandryman can read the "early warning 

signals" in his native pastures. He recognises the 

symptoms of changes in the types of grass, before bare 

areas appear and he adjusts his stocking rate to 

encourage the better perennial grasses. 

ers should be adjusted annually at the end of 

the growing season (April-May) on the basis of available 

feed for the coming winter. 

As a general rule, managers should spell paddocks to 

allow the better grasses to seed every 3-5 years. 

This requires a property plan with sufficient paddocks 

and waters to rotate animals as required. 

Paddocks should be planned to fence different types of 

country into separate paddocks so that each type can be 

stocked and spelled according to its needs. 

Where country has been damaged by over-use and where- a 

hard scalded soil surface has developed, mechanical 

ripping or banking may be needed to regain a protective 

grass cover. 

Today there is a need to recognise and accept the real 

capability of our land and to stock it within that 

natural limit. We are responsible to our nation for 

maintaining our land's productive potential. 

By forming local groups (soil conservation/landcare/ 

property management) we can discuss our problems, 

identify solutions, set up trials and demonstrations and 

assist others to bring the land under permanent systems. 

Landholder committees assisted by specialists and 

supported by external funding are the key to sound land 

management and rural prosperity.

Earth Garden, May 1 986 

speak 

or the 

Dr Brian Roberts. Dean of Applied Science at Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education. 

Toowoomba since 1976, is a specialist in land use planning and mangement. Land ethics was originally 

given as a- m- t the Soil Degredation Conference at the Australian Academy of Science, ANU, 

- 

- 

- 

- - - 

Canberra, in November 1984. 

.- 

.- -- 

--- LAND ETHICS =F=--= 

Introduction. 

A necessary addition to Australian values 

-The Australian National University invited the author to 

develop 'a discussion paper on the broad implications of 

By Dr. Brian Roberts 

land degradation for Australia. In my struggle for a solution 

to the erosion problem over 30 years I repeatedly return40 

attitudes to the land, as the fundamental issue in need of 

Man is still of the earth, earthy. The earth is change. The conviction that the key issue which ordinary 

literally our mother, not only because we Australians should appreciate is the basic Mani'and 

depend on her for nurture and shelter but even relationship, has led to this 0vefView concentrating not On 

more because the human species has been the hard data of soil losses in terms of their production or 

socio-economic implications, but on the deeper values we 

shaped by her in the womb of evo'utione Each place on land as our national foundation. When presenting a 

person, furthermore, is conditioned the stark analysis of the ecological realities which fastimuli 

he receives from nature during his Own 

Australia today, it is predidable that one will be accused d 

existence. 

emotionalism or even alarmist scare tactics. It is my firm 

RENE DUBOS, A God Within, 1973. 

belief that we need to reconsider the factual basis of our 

apparently apathetic optimism and recognise the

significance of the realities which confront our rural 

development. 

A useful starting 'wig -is Bolton's Spoils and Spoilers 

which reminds us of:-&cultural developments and their 

attendant attitudes at the turn of the century: 

'In the dozen years before 1900 every government in 

Australia set up a Department of Agriculture which included 

among its functions the spread of information about sound 

farming practices. By that time, starting with South 

Australia's Roseworthy in 1882, agricultural colleges were 

established in four of the six Australian colonies. Although 

the staff of these colleges confronted the scepticism of the 

practical farmer for the mere scientist, their findings were 

often given widespread publicity through respected and 

influential journals such as the Leader, Register, 

Queenslander and Western Mail; but their total influence is 

hard to guess. 

Salinity was an expensive and complex problem which 

would continue to grow during the following half century; it 

was understandable that farmers and politicians did not 

want to hear about it. Such attitudes were one of the 

strongest impediments to environmental reform. They were 

well to the fore in the story of soil erosion. 

Like all their fathers before them the pioneers of the new 

farming districts cleared the land with indiscriminate zeal, 

spurred by the urge to render every acre productive and to 

leave no sanctuary for vermin such as wallabies and 

rabbits. Soil erosion and salt creep were the consequence. 

In the late 1920s and 1930s complaints grew rife in 

Sydney about the heavy dust storms thrown up by the 

. summer westerlies. The public at large came to realise that 

much of the New South Wales wheatbelt's topsoil was being 

steadily blown out across the Tasman. In 1933 a 

government committee was set up to monitor the problem, 

and in 1938 a soil conservation service was created to 

survey its extent* (Bolton, 1981). 

The global picture. 

In 1974 the author addressed extension officers as 

follows: 

Despite numerous warnings over the years, man has 

recently been somewhat bewildered by the fact that Nature 

has slapped him in the face for insulting her ecosystem. 

(One of the best examples of this is at Childers in 

Queensland, where a whole community of 70 families were 

forced to abandon their eroded land after less than a 

century of cane farming.) 

Nature has answeWBa&&ck and Man has stumbled into an 

ecological trap. C'bjikibqs have been living on promissory 

notes for generatio_aSziiow they're falling due all over the 

world. In e c o n o m ~ we ~ have , been living not off our 

interest, but off our land capital. 

The wriiing is on the wall but ignorance, vested interest 

and complacency make Man go on doing what history has 

clearly shown him to be wrong. Nature has sent us a final 

notice - payment is due, and we now need to decide how 

we shall pay, not whether we shall pay. 

So we find that today the status of the ecological problem 

is not determined by its age or academic merit, but simply 

by its urgency. (Roberts, 1974). 

The time factor has become a crucial element in our 

efforts to control land degredation. If we do not get on top of 

the problem soon, we shall have little hope of winning the 

battle against erosion in several regions. Under the 

circumstances, perhaps the local politician who suggested 

in 1983 that the Declaration of a State of Emergency was 

not as absurd as some thought at the time. As Jacks and 

Whyte (1939) pointed out when referring to the Australian 

situation '... the only way to combat erosion is to work 

faster than it does, and this becomes increasingly difficult 

as time goes on. " 

Osborne and Rose (1981) have demonstrated the general 

rate of land deterioration by comparing earlier estimates 

with the latest erosion surveys. In 1946 Holmes estimated 

that Australia has 18.8 million hectares of water eroded 

land, requiring erosion works valued at $24.5. million. By 

1975 the national erosion survey (Anon, 1978) reflected an 

area of 57.7 million hectares requiring $41.5 million for 

control works. 

The attitude towards land and Nature was publicised 

earlier this century by Gifford Pinchot in his book The Fbht 

for Cunservation (1 947): "The conservation idea covers a 

wider range than the field of natural resources alone. 

Conservation means the greatest good to the greatest 

number for the longest time." 

A promising and interesting approach is that suggested 

by Leopold when he writes: 

"All ethics so far evolved rest upon a single premise: that 

the individual is a member of a community of interdependent 

parts ... The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the 

community to include soils, water, plants, and animals, or 

collectively, the land." 

I cannot avoid the compelling similarity between the 

practicing environmentalist and the personality traits held 

up for us by the great religions of the world. Indeed, the 

similarity deserves our closest attention (Roberts, 1974). 1 

shall return to this aspect of our land relationships. 

Size of the land degradation 

problem in Australia 

The significance of soil loss, and the need for a change in 

our attitudes towards the land is reflected in the findings of 

the national erosion survey (Anon, 1978): "Fifty-one per 

cent of the total area used for agricultural and pastoral 

purposes in Australia was assessed as needing some form 

of soil conservation treatment under existing land use. The 

total value of fixed investment in this area subject to 

degredation is of the order of $1 2 billion (at 1974 prices)." 

Recognising the essential need for changing attitudes 

towards the land, as the basis for combatting the land 

degradation problem, the 3rd National Soil Conservation 

Conference (Anon, 1981) unanimously resolved: 

"This 

Conference should warn that unless there is greater 

awareness of, and remedial action against, this problem and 

that unless more funds and effort are applied to 

conservation of soil, it is inevitable that the production level 

and stability of essential primary products will diminish." 

Osborne and Rose (1981) quote Kovda's (1977) 

estimates of Man having destroyed 430 million hectares of 

crop and grazing land since agriculture emerged 7, 500 

years ago. They point out that on a per capita basis, 

Australians have destroyed 1 1.2 hectares, compared to 3.5 

hectares in the U.S.A. since settlement. 

There is a contradiction between the landholders 'love for 

the land' and the degradation caused to this land. The 

classic writer of Australian rural tales, Steele Rudd (Davis, 

1934) wrote in sentimental tones of the deep joy the new 

selector felt for his own block: "You'll ride all over it filled . 

with a proud spirit of'ownership ... even the wild flowers and 

darn stones'll be yours! How you'll admire it all." 

It is the very same corner of Australia about which Rudd 

waxed so lyrical, that some of the worst erosion in the 

country is now occurring. This area, between Toowoomba 

and Warwick, has been the subject of a special study. It 

'

combines very small holdings with steep cultivations and 

intensive storms'- a predictably disastrous combination of 

circumstances whate studies relating soil loss to grain 

yields has been weR to bring home the concept of the 

permanent cast of gr;liirrprixluction. 

With an estimated rate' of natural soil formation of 10-15 

tonnes per hectare per annum, and an estimated annual 

loss of 100-300 tonnes per hectare in several northern 

regions of Australia, the estimated productive life of much 

of our sloping cropland is less than 30 years at present loss 

rates. On the Darling Downs approximately 10,000 hectares 

of some of the country's very best cropland has already 

been lost forever. This has occurred within 80 years after 

settlement. Surely this should be of vital concern to 

everyone who eats and votes. 

Man, land and values 

We have a long record of clearing land and of apparently 

making the assumption that the resulting cultivated soil will 

support permanent cropping. In some States, notably 

Queensland where 

very little use is m 

data or of existing I 

clearing. Booysen (1980) has stated the plain facts of this 

crucial matter, as it affects the South African situation: "The 

modification of vegetation (clearing) must only be 

undertaken when knowledge is sufficient to ensure a 

management inputs capable of maintaining a stable and 

permanent cover and topsoil. Anything less than this will be 

disastrous." 

Indeed, it has been asked whether the Brigalow of the 

1960s will go the way of the Mallee of the 1930s. This 

possibility is certainly strengthened by the extent to which 

Class 2 Land prices are being paid for Class 4 Land in 

Queensland's marginal regions. Let's hope we don't re-live 

the rural misery so tellingly portrayed by Steinbeck in his 

Grapes of Wrath. 

There is increasing recognition that natural objects may 

warrant acceptance of their rights and worth beyond their 

direct usefulness to Man. Test cases in America have made 

legal history as a result of barristers defending the rights of 

trees against the rights of Men to have them removed. The 

world-wide support for whales, harp seals and rainforests 

has ushered in a new era in the Manmature relationship. 

John Passmore (1974) suggests that our new morality has 

moved not so much towards more rights for non-humans, 

but rather to a reductioon in the acceptance level of man's 

arrogance towards the land and its creatures. 

Several of the_- gmat religions of the world have 

recognised and taifme need for a humility and coexistence 

of Man iufi-' physical world and its creatures 

(= that which is crea&@?Lr 

The well-knowrfZwXTngs of visionaries like Erlich, 

Commoner. Meads, Ward have emphasised the futility of 

Man imagining that he need not adapt to the laws of Nature, 

but that he assumes that his technology will ensure his 

survival irrespective of the extent to which he flouts 

Nature's laws. As Francis Bacon suggested: "To command 

Nature, we must obey her." 

We have allowed the landholder to ruin much of 

our available soil on over half of the area of 

productive land, while we make it increasingly 

difficult for miners to produce enormous wealth 

for us on less than 1% of our land area. 

Gully erosion in north-eastern Victoria. 

Land condition 

as an issue 

It has repeatedly been pointed out by protagonists of soil 

conservation (Roberts, 1984), that erosion is not 

recognised as an environmental issue of any significance. 

in an unusual survey of newspaper coverage of issues, 

Sinden (1980) analysed the space given to environmental 

subjects in Australian newspapers over a full year. In that 

year (1 978) 1150 environmental articles (averaging 3.9 per 

day) were published but neither land degradation nor soil 

erosion rate a mention in the listing of issues or their 

rankiig. 

While the tragedy of starvation in Ethiopia appears to 

have little in common with the erosion problems in Australia, 

it is pertinent to note that both situations have in common 

the fact that they have been deteriorating for years and 

have been reported on in detail with pleas for action. In both 

cases the authorities have apparently regarded the problem 

as someone else's responsibility. Let us hope that both do 

not require the authorities to be embarrassed into action by 

the media. 

Is soil is so vital, why has soil conservation not had more 

attention? 

Personally I believe that four main factors have 

contributed to erosion being a non-event amongst 

environmental activists. Firstly, it is -seen as a natural 

process that is not really man made and has always been 

with us. Secondly, because it is so widespread it very 

seldom arises as a major local issue sufficient to stir any 

one local group into action. Thirdly, soil as such has no 

appeal as a rare or beautiful resource when compared with 

say wildlife, the Barrier Reef, rainforests or sand islands.

Who will speali.:%r the land, if those who 

depend on it, do not speak? 

Fourthly, and perhaps most significantly, soil erosion is 

associated with the little man, the battler, the man on the 

land struggling for a living against the elements. 

We have allowed the landholder to ruin much of our 

available soil on over half of the area of productive land, 

while we make it increasingly difficult for miners to produce 

enormous weatth for us on less than 1% of our land area 


In an article headed 'The biggest job of all for 

conservationists" Graham (1976) writes, "State 

Conservation Departments and their soil and water 

divisions, severely limited as they are, have been unable to 

stir up public and political awareness of the danger (of 

erosion). Could not the Australian Conservation Foundation 

(A.c.F.), the champion of other environmental causes, take 

up this one, undertaking the monumental task of convincing 

politicians that the decision to save the soil cannooe left to 

the last moment.' 

Since that time the A.C.Fl has responded with a series of 

meetings and publications on soil degradation and in a 

recent survey (1984) of A.C.F. members it was shown that 

conservationists now see soil erosion as Australia's highest 

priorii environmental issue. 

It is the author's view that a major deficiency still exists in 

the extent to which rural organisations are not accepting 

their share of responsibility for soil conservation. Who will 

speak for the land, if those who depend on it, do not speak? 

We need to analyse why there is no effective political lobby 

for soil conservation and take corrective action without 

delay. 

Historic roots of our 

attitudes to land 

In the 18th century, serious erosion was largely limited to 

-the ancient farming lands of north Africa and Eurasia. 

During the past 200 years erosion has become widespread 

in the New World. The exploitation of the early European 

frontiersmen was perpetuated with vigour by the new 

colonists who were speculative and acquisitive in their land 

use. Thus were the permanent family farms of Old World, 

replaced by temporary shifting cuttivation, abandonment 

and ever-extend:&* frontiers. Ecological disaster 

followed the coloiiiia-ithe United States, Chile, Mexico, 

Columbia, ~outh~fiazil, -- 

- 

South Africa, India and 

Australia. 

- -- 

-- - 

Butzer (1974) now suggests that 'Beyond this lowest 

common denominator of conservation guidelines there is a 

crying need for ecological thinking ... The success or failure 

of conservation methods depends on social attitudes as 

many as anything. The traditional values of the Eurasiatic 

peasantry have, by and large, preserved soil resources 

indefinitely ... with few if any options to find new land. 

"The resulting ethic of responsibility for the state of the 

land and its preservation stood the Eurasiatic peasant in 

good stead, but unfortunately, did not cross the ocean. 

Farms are commonly bought and sold in New World areas of 

recent colonisation, and most North American farmers' 

overriding concern is short-time and profit. Whatever 

success the U.S. Soil Conservation Service has had in 

checking erosion can be attributed to its educational 

program in convincing the farmer that erosion means less 

cash. The U.S. farmer expects outside assistance to 

tackle any environmental problem, and environmental 

hazards have become equated with government 

responsibility ... As a result, conservation is not practiced 

independently but becomes a matter of politics at the 

county, state and even federal level. Erosion, once out of 

hand, becomes an expensive problem to check, but the 

responsibilities that were shirked by the offending farmer 

ultimately require major capital expenditures, a tax burden 

to be shared by the nation at large." 

It is enlightening to compare these latterday reflections 

on the land, with the much-quoted words of the American 

Indian Chief Seattle, who wrote to the President in 1854: 

'The earth is not the white man's brother, but his enemy, 

and when he has conquered it, he moves on. He treats his 

mother the earth, and his brother the sky, as things to be 

bought, plundered and sold like sheep and beads. His 

appetite will devour the earth and leave behind only a 

desert. This we know: the earth does not belong to man, 

man belongs to the earth." 

Changing Australian attitudes 

Downes (1972) in his overview of 'The ecology and 

prevention of soil erosionn regards Australia as one of the 

most recently settled countries where the effects of 

settlement on the land are now reaching their 'peak of 

severity.' The whole basis of soil conservation, erosion 

control and reclamation is 'ecological' in Downes' view, 

indicating a need for a widespread understanding and 

appreciation of Nature and her limits. 

Part of the change in sentiment relating to the 

Australians' relation to the land is reflected in the words of 

local folksongs. The bush ballads of the late 1800's sang of 

the challenge of settling the country and the hard times that 

accompanied rural life, Sentiments relating to frontier 

activities such as timber-getting, ringbarking and clearing 

have been superceded by concern for Australia's 

disappearing forests, e.g. John William's country western 

song "The trees are now gone. The frontiersman's 

perception of 'man against nature' must now be, and is 

being, replaced by a more symbiotic relationship in which 

Man sees himself as one dependent biota integrated into 

the earth's ecosystemsw (Glacken, 1970). Without such a 

change it is difficult to see the Australian 'vision splendid' 

remaining so. 

This realisation of Man's unfeeling arrogance toward the 

land has led to poets such as Judith Wright recording the 

poverty of spirit reflected in denuded landscapes such as 

her Eroded Hills (1963): 

These hills my father's father stripped; 

and, beggars to the winter wind, 

they crouch like shoulders nakd and whipped - 

humble, abandoned, out of mind. 

In every rural community there are those rare individuals 

who show unusual concern for the land and its 

maintenance. Graham and Valmai Burnett of "Rathburnie" in 

the Brisbane River Valley, Queensland, exemplify these 

opinion leaders. Burnett (1984).after a quarter of a century 

of conservation farming states with stark simplicity, 'Humus 

is the most important natural resource on earth." Even 

when conscientious husbandry of the land shows real 

benefits in times of drought, as was clearly shown by the 

Burnetts in the early 1980s, general non-acceptance by the 

local community, of the permanent philosophy, is 

predictable and widespread. This unwillingness to consider 

the virtues of the permanent approach to the land is 

symptomatic of the leeway which needs to be made up 

before constructive land ethics can be established in 

Australia

The stages of cultural and ecological evolution 

Characteristic 

-. 

--- ~kitive Frontier or industrial Spaceship 

Relationship 

to nature 

- Ma-in nature 

but controlled by 

nature 

Man vs.nature: 

increased control 

Man vs. nature: 

attempt at complete 

control 

- 

. -- - 

Earthmanship 

Man and nature: 

Selective control 

- - 

Goals Survival Sum'val, high 

standard of living 

Survival, high 

standard of living 

Survival, high 

quality of life 

Method 

Try to secure 

enough food, 

clothes, & shelter 

to stay alive 

Produce, use, acquire 

as much as possible 

in one's lifetime 

Complete technological 

and social control of 

nature and man to 

avoid exceeding the 

limits of the earth 

Selective control 

based on ecological 

understanding, 

diversity, harmonious 

collaboration, 

and m'ng to avoid 

exceeding the limits 

of the earth. 

Social 

units 

Individual, tribe 

Family, community, 

corporation, nation 


earth 


earth 

Reward Staying alive Profit, efficiency, 

power 

Survival, comfort, 

power 

Survival, joy, a 

purpose to life 

Population Reproduction ~eprodudion Reproduction Reproduction 

to survive determined by controlled by controlled by a 

economic & social the state balance of voluntary 

factors 

action and mutual 

coercion through laws 

Environ- Not always a A free good b be A basic concept A basic concept 

mental meaningful idea used and abused of critical value of critical value 

quality 

at will 

Progress from the frontier mentality to the desired 

earthmanship, is explained by Tyler Miller (1975) in the 

accompanying table. 

In most of Man's developmental endeavours affecting the 

land, the economic, political and technical feasibility have 

been the prime evaluative criteria of whether projects are 

feasible. Caldwell (1975) suggests that if Man is to survive 

his own environmental disasters, then ethical 

considerations, should be central to decision making as 

shown in his feasibility circle: 

environmental 

forgotten there is any such thing as land, among whom 

education and culture have become almost synonymous 

with landlessness. This is the problem of 'conservation 

education'. 

When one considers the prodigious achievements of the 

profit motive in wrecking land, one hesitates to reject it as a 

vehicle for restoring land. I incline to believe we have 

overestimated the scope of the profit motive. Is it profitable 

for the individual to build a beautiful home? To give his 

children a higher education? No, it is seldom profitable, yet 

we do both. These are, in fact, ethical and aesthetic 

premises which underlie the economic system. 

No ethical and aesthetic premise yet exists for the 

condition of the land these children must live in. There is as 

yet no social stigma in the possession of a gullied farm, a 

wrecked forest, or a polluted stream, provided the dividends 

suffice to send the youngsters to college. 

What conservation education must build is an ethical 

underpinning for land economics and a universal curiosity to 

understand the land mechanism. Conservation may then 

follow." (Aldo Leopold, 1953). 

economical 

tec hnoloqical 

Let us consider the words of Aldo Leopold: 

"Conservation is a state of harmony between men and 

land. By land is meant all the things on, over, or in the earth. 

Harmony with land is like harmony with a friend; you cannot 

cherish his right hand and chop off his left. 

The problem, then, is how to bring about a striving for 

harmony with land among a people many of whom have 

A theology of the land + 

The use of moral obligations as a means of gaining cooperation 

in landcare has not been widely applied in 

Australia. In the United States the pulpits of country 

churches were used by the 'father of soil conservation' 

Hugh Bennett in the 1940s. "Big Hughie" made it very clear 

to his congregation that it was nothing less than our 

Christian duty to preserve the land and keep it fruitful. Elliot 

(1978) the Australian philosopher makes a crucial point 

when he challenges our Samaritanism towards the land: 

"When we see someone being exploited, our response as 

Christians ought to be to mirror God's concern for the

outcast and the down-trodden. In a similar way, when the 

earth is being exploited,-our response ought to be to mirror 

God's concern for HisCrt&ion." 

For modern Aust@iam:l suggest that three attitudes can 

be identified as being dangerous: (1) the blind optimism of 

those who believe that some scientific innovation will 

always save us; (2) the gloom-and-doom of those who have 

given up hope; and (3) the greed, apathy and refusal to face 

reality of those who have given up corlcern and 

involvement. 

It has been noted by Cook (1 970) that Man's approach to 

the land could form a permanent relationship, through one of 

three bases: 

1 . Ecological (McHarg, 1 969). 

2. Humanistic (Wilson, 1970). 

3. Theological (White, 1971). 

The proponents of a conservation approach to land 

resources have appealed to all three of these sentiments 

which have essentially the same goals but differ markedly in 

their motivating force. 

Christian land ethics 

What did Christianity tell people about their relations with 

the environment? The short answer is, "not very much", 

although many religious philosophers challenge this 

interpretation. 

Es~ecialiv in its Western form. Christianitv is the most 

anthropocentric religion the world has seen Lynn White 

(1971) has written at length on this matter: 

"Man shares, in great measure, God's transcendence of 

nature. Christianity, in absolute contrast to ancient 

paganism and Asia's religions (except, perhaps, 

Zoroastrianism), not only established a dualism of man and 

nature but also insisted that it is God's will that man exploit 

nature for his proper ends. 

At the level of the common people this worked out in an 

interesting way. In antiquity every tree, every spring, every 

stream, every hill had its own guardian spirit. By destroying 

pagan animism, Christianity made it possible to exploit 

nature in a mood of indifference to the feelings of natural 

objects. 

We would seem to be headed towards conclusions 

unpalatable to many Christians. Since both science and 

technology are blessed words in our contemporary 

vocabulary, some may be happy at the notions, first that, 

viewed historically, modern science is an extrapolation of 

natural theology and, second, that modern technology is at 

least partly to be explained as an Occidental, voluntarist 

realization of the C&@@n dogma of man's transcendence 

of, and rightful rfkste-y- over, nature. But, as we now 

recognize, somewf%iESyer 

a century ago science and 

technology - hithe@qute separate activities - joined to 

give mankind powers which, to judge by many of the 

ecological effects, are out of control. If so, Christianity 

bears a huge burden of guilt. The whole concept of the 

sacred grove is alien to Christianity and to the ethos of the 

West. For nearly two millenia Christian missionaries have 

been chopping down sacred groves, which are idolatrous 

because they assume spirit in nature. 

What we do about ecology depends on our ideas of the 

man-nature relationship. More science and more technology 

are not going to get us out of the present ecological crisis 

until we find a new religion, or rethink our old one. Possibly 

we should ponder the greatest radical in Christian history 

since Christ: Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis tried to depose 

man from his monarchy over creation and set up a 

democracy of all God's creatures. He was apparently our 

first declared Christian nature lover. How he survived the 

wrath of the hierachy of his day remains a mystery. 

Environment is the product of a dynamic technology and 

science which were originating in the Western medieval 

world against which Saint Francis was rebelling in so original 

a way. Their growth cannot be understood historically apart 

from distinctive attitudes towards nature which are deeply 

grounded in Christian dogma. The fact that most people do 

not think of these attitudes as Christian is irrelevant. No 

new set of basic values has been accepted in our society to 

displace those of Christianity. Hence we shall continue to 

have a worsening ecologic crisis until we reject the Christian 

axiom that nature has no reason for existence save to 

serve man. 

The greatest spiritual revolutionary in Western history, 

Saint Francis, proposed what he thought was an alternative 

Christian view of nature and man's relation to it: he tried to 

substitute the idea of the equality of all creatures, including 

man, for the idea of man's limitless rule of creation. He 

failed. Both our prese 

are so tinctured with 

nature that no solut~o 

expected from them a 

so largely religious, the remedy must also be essentially 

religious, whether we call it that or not. We must rethink and 

refeel our nature and destiny. The profoundly religious, but 

heretical, sense of the primitive Franciscans for the spiritual 

autonomy of all parts of nature may point a direction." . 

Fundamental values - the 

key to changed attitudes 

"Hegel pointed out more than a century ago that 

Richtigkeit, correctness, is not the same thing as Wahrheit, 

the truth. It is correct to define the earth by quantitative 

studies, but the more interesting and significant truth about 

it transcends measurements. 

One of the least attractive aspects of technological 

civilization is a progressive loss in concern for the beauty of 

the earth. This point is of special significance to our society 

but in a capitalist system which seems to have no real 

values other than monetary values, the less tangible but 

more lasting, values are continuously dismunted. The 

situation is made worse by economic guidelines which 

ignore timeframes of a long or permanent term. 

Man is still of the earth, earthy. The earth is literally our 

mother, not only because we depend on her for nurture and 

shelter but even more because the human species has 

been shaped by her in the womb of evolution. Each 

person,furthermore, is conditioned by the stimuli he 

receives from nature during his own existence" (Dubos, 

1973). 

The British biologist Julian Huxley reformulated Origen's 

thought in modern terms and enlarged it to include his own 

concepts of psychosocial evolution: 

The human type became a microcosm which, 

through its capacity :or self-awareness, was able 

to incorporate increasing amounts of the 

macrocosm into itself, to organize them in new 

and richer ways, and then with their aid to exert 

new and more powerful influences on the 

macrocosm. 

Sir Julian's statement implies two different but 

complementary attitudes towards the earth. The fact that 

man incorporates part of the universe in his being provides 

a scientific basis for the feeling of reverence toward the 

earth. But the fact that he can act on the external world 

often makes him behave as if he were foreign to the earth 

and her master - an attitude which has become almost 

universal during the past two centuries. 

a

The role of trees in controlling soil erosion - a small tree holds a pillar of soil. Photo DPI Queensland. 

Rene Dubos has special message for us in Australia: 

The phrase "conquest of nature" is certainly one of the 

most obje~tionabla~a&~rnisleading expressions of Western 

languages. It reflasthe illusion that all natural forces can 

be entirely controllect;gtad it expresses the criminal conceit 

that nature is to b-:aered primarily as a source of raw 

materials and eneigy for human purposes. This view of 

man's relationship to nature is philosophically untenable 

and destructive. A relationship to the earth based only on 

its use for economic enrichment is bound to result not only 

in its degredation but also in the devaluation of human life. 

This is a perversion which, if not soon corrected, will 

become a fatal disease of technological societies. 

Placing man at the pinnacle of creation seems at first 

sight incompatible with orthodox ecological teachings. 

Professional ecologists, indeed, are prone to resent the 

disturbing influence of human intervention in natural 

systems. If properly conceived, however, anthropocentrism 

is an attitude very different from the crude belief that man is 

the only value to be considered in managing the world and 

that the rest of nature can be thoughtlessly sacrificed to 

his welfare and whims. An enlightened anthropocentrism 

- 

acknowledges that, in the long run, the world's good always 

coincides with man's own most meaningful good. Man can 

manipulate nature to his best interests only if he first loves 

her for her own sake. 

ducat ion and 

attitudes 

The most important contribution which ecological 

education can make is the development of what we may 

term the Ethic of Responsibility. Here we refer to 

responsibility toward our ecosystems, our fellow men and 

our creators. Marsh (1864) was one of the first to expound 

this idea and has been followed by ecological philosophers 

such as Passmore (1974) and Routley (1975) - writers 

whose thoughts deserve much more attention within the 

present Australian situation. Only in this way will the clash 

betwen private convenience and public welfare be resolved. 

We might start with James Thurber's suggestion, that is: 

"Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but 

around in awareness." I would add, "not with arrogance but 

with humility, not as though we were the last generation to 

inhabit the earth, but as temporary trustees of posterity's

esources" (Roberts, 1974). 

Conservation is esseflhlly a concern for the human 

species. EcologicalTactio~; in the long run, can only be 

based on compas%lin, - respect, understanding and a 

willingness to share witKoathers. Not, "The land belongs to 

us" but "We belong to the land". Not, "We are the 

conquerors of the earth" but "We are a part of the earthly 

system" (Roberts, 1974). 

It is this concept of Man's 

dependence on his natural ecosystems in the form of a 

lasting symbiosis, which forms the basis of Sampson's 

(1982) plea for giving land ethics a central place in 

agricultural education. 

Ebenreck (1983) in her mini classic paper entitled "A 

Partnership Farmland Et hic" advances from the stewardship 

ethic to the concept of partners - man and land, and shows 

how permanent productivity can result from the practical 

application of "doing things together - us and the land". 

Ebenreck's approach is deserving of our very serious 

consideration as the germ of an idea which could form the 

cornerstone of a whole new sense of values concerning our 

land and our respect for it. This idea ties in closely with 

Ashworth's (1982) notion of recognising land as more than 

simply a chattle to be used: "So long as land is conceived of 

as property, the evolution of an ethic which circumscribes 

liberty to use property as we please, will be difficult." The 

partnership ethic recognises that the mannand relationship 

is a complex, two-way, ongoing process in which both 

partners are recognised as tiaviig different intrinsic values 

in which both give and take from each other. Ebenreck 

goes as far as suggesting we listen to what the land has to 

say to us in terms of meeting its requirements as a 

permanent partner. 

This gentle custody is in stark contrast to Louis 

Bromfield's (1 947) description of Western man as "behaving 

like a reckless son who has inherited too much money" 

(Pechey, 1980). 

One of the greatest services which ecological education 

could render, would be the development of a clear 

understanding of the difference between sentiment and 

ethics. Sentiment is an unreliable guide; but ethics gives us 

benchmarks, priorities, value judgements and accepted 

norms. Thus the starting point for ecological education is 

the development of realistic attitudes towards Man's 

treatment of his environment, and the end point of such an 

education is the cultivation of ecologically sound habits 

towards Nature. 

If we as ecologists are to successfully fill the role of 

horizontal specialists who form a bridge between natural 

and social scienc~~ill do well to concentrate our 

energies on the follwmr educational activities: 

1. Developi~lo ical conscience by 

re-thinking tm organ in Nature. 

2. Extending moral ethics to include a 

responsibility toward the environment. 

3. Persuading the masses that the concept of 

'human rights' extends beyond intergroup 

relations to the man-environment interface. 

4. Examining the adequacy of the output of the 

ecologists to meet the growing need for their 

services (Roberts, 1974). 

love and respect." Leap. id, widely acclaimed as the Father 

of Land Ethics, goes ors ro say 'There is as yet no ethic 

dealing with man's relation to the land and to the animals 

and plants which grow upon it. The land relation is still 

strictly economic, entailing privileges but not obligations. 

Obligations have no meaning without conscience, and the 

problem we face is extension of the social conscience from 

people to land. No important change in ethics was ever 

accomplished without an internal change in our intellectual 

emphasis, loyalties, affections and convictions. The proof 

that [land] conservation has not yet touched these 

foundations of conduct lies in the fact that philosophy and 

religion have not yet heard of it. In our attempt to make 

[land] conservation easy, we have made it trivial ... That 

land is a community is a basic concept of ecology, but that 

land is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics" 

(Leopold, 1966). The basic idea of land ethics is expanded 

by Anderson (1983) to a practical stewardship of good land 

husbandry. In this way guidelines for practical action on the 

land grows out of a code of ethics. 

We should teach that good farmers are in fact 

good applied ecologists, for both seek to 

harvest nature at a level that can be sustained 

by ecosystem equilibrium. 

It is generally recognised that the acceptance of a 

comprehensive conservation programme throughout the 

nation requires a combination of financial assistance, 

regulatory guidelines and extension. If extension is 

broadened to include education from adults down to young 

children, a number of specific aspects of such an 

educational programme may be considered. The writer 

suggests that the following 15 Point Education Plan is 

worthy of implementation in Australia in answering the 

fundamental question, "What should we teach?": 

1. We should teach that the dominating and 

consuming approach to our non-renewable 

resources is short-sighted and has caused 

failures of civilizations throughout history. We 

should proclaim the truism that a raising 

standard of living cannot be built on a falling 

level of soil fertility. 

Thus our view that Nature is there primarily for 

Man's use should be reconsidered to ~nclude 

non-monetary values. 

2. We should emphasis8 that conservation does not 

necessarily imply non-use or protection for its 

own sake. It means maintenance of productive 

potential, by marrying economic and ecological 

realities, as in the National Conservation 

Strategy. 

3. We should teach that good farmers are in fact good 

applied ecologists, for both seek to harvest 

nature at a level that can be sustained by 

ecosystem equilibrium. 

4. We should teach that Man is not an independent 

controller of Nature, but an integral part of the 

alobal svstems on which he depends. It is a lack of 

awareness of this interdependence that has caused 

the environmental problems which the world 

presently faces. 

Two points need to be made here; firstly we cannot return 

to a past Utopia, and secondly we cannot maintain the 

present wasteful and unrealistic way of doing things much 

longer. 5. We should teach that environmental problems are 

As Aldo Leopold said, "Vl'e abuse land because we regard 

complex and require national and international 

it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a 

solutions -that our planet is a closed system 

community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with 

where actions and reactions are of global

proportions,. - _ 

6. We must bring--home to coming generations the 

old Greek idagwat what men learn from 

history is thatmertdon't learn from history - 

that each generation seems doomed to have to 

learn its own lessons on ecological behaviour, 

unless we learn to read the signs. 

7. We must avoid the despair and gloom which so 

easily arises from consideration of environmental 

problems and we must teach the optimism and 

challenge which is demc.istrated by 

the successes of dedicated and perservering 

individuals and organisations. 

8. We must teach that even in our democracy, the 

common good of the community takes precedence 

over the unfettered freedom of the individual to 

act irresponsibly towards the environment. 

9. We must stress the need for political ethics in our 

system of government, together with the 

desirability of more vision and less expediency, 

more permanence and less exploitation. 

10. We should emphasise the links and interdependence 

of landholders and city dwellers, of taxpayers and 

consumers, in such a way as to develop an 

understanding of resource conservation as an issue 

concerning the whole comunity. 

11. We must demonstrate case studies which bring home 

the disasters of poor land management and the 

achievements of sound planning as a basis for 

sustained stable production. 

12. We must imbue in the next generation a pride in good 

stewardship of the land, a lasting satisfaction from 

well-husbanded land. The spiritual well-being which 

flows from such fundamental achievement should 

become an integral part of our national ethos. 

13. Together with a national pride in conserving 

non-renewable resources, should be acceptance of 

a land ethic which not only values our good fortune 

but develops an awareness of others less fortunate 

and how we might share our good fortune. 

14. We must emphasise that as a resource-rich western 

nation set in the eastern arena, we have grave 

responsibilities which accompany our role as 

trustees of such natural wealth. 

15. Finally, we must teach the place of Man in the grand 

scheme of things -that we are on this earth for but 

a fleeting moment in the life of our land. As such we 

cannot be-rs with a right to consume the 

potential ofth%d. Rather we have the privilege of 

using the la&&@ leaving it in a better condition 

than we fog@it-@oberts, 1983). 

I suggest that in our efforts to develop a Land Ethic in our 

nation's values, we be guided by John Ruskin: 

"The earth is a great ential. It belongs as much to those 

who come after us, and we have no right by anything we do, 

to involve them in unnecessary penalties, or to deprive 

them of benefits which are theirs by right." 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Anderson, E.W. 1983. Viewpoint: building a stewardship 

ethic. Rangelands Vol. 5 (6), 271 -273. 

Anon. 1981. Conference Resolutions, 3rd National Soil 

Conservation Conference, Tamworth, NSW. 

Anon. 1978. A Basis for Soil Conservation Policy in 

Australia: Dept. Housing amd Environment, Canberra. 

Bolton, G. 1981. Spoils and Spoilers, Allen & Unwin, 

Sydney. 

A practical home study 

continuing education 

course on soil conservation 

covering the problems, 

control measures and 

background to erosion and 

land ethics, by Dr Brian 

Roberts, President, Soil 

Conservation Association 

For only $EC.CC :IOU receive 

e a study bcc4 3 extra 

readings e czssette tape 

9 loan of video 4 tutor 

assistance; so that you can 

study at home In your own 

time, starting at your 

convenience, with no 

on-campus requirements. 

Phone, write or mail coupon to: Continuing Education, 

Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education, P.O. 

Darling Heights, 4350. Phone: (076) 31 21 02 

Please send me enrolment details/more information 

on Soil Conservation. 

Name ..................................................... 

I Address ................................................. 

............................ Postcode .......... 

I 1 

I would like information on your wide range 

of off-campus continuing education course. 

1 

I 

I

Booysen, P. de V. 1980. The importance of the ecological 

view of agric~lture.~ .- Proc.-Grassl'd - Soc. South Africa 15: 7- 

11. .- 

BU-rnett, G.C. 198%= Ratfiburnie Environmental Estate. In: 

Plant a Tree: a workingguide to the greening of southeast 

Queensland. Greening Australia Publication, Brisbane. 

Butzer, K.W. 1974. Accelerated Soil Erosion: a problem of 

Man-Land relationships. In Perspective and Environment, 

Eds. Manners and Mikesell. 

Caldwell, L.K. 1975. Man and Earth: the imperative of 

Earthmanship. In Living in the Environment by G. Tyler 

Miller. Wadsworth Publ. Co., Belmont, California. 

Cook, E. 1970. Environment ethics and hope. In: Living in 

the Environment, G. Tyler Miller, Wadsworth Publ. Co, 

Belmont, California 

Davis, A.H. 1934. The Green Grey Homestead. Sydney. 

Downes, R.G. 1972. The ecology and prevention of erosion. 

In: Biogeography and Ecology in Australia Ed. Keast. 

Dubos, R. 1973. A God Within. Angus & Robertson, 

Sydney. 

Ebenreck, Sara. 1983. A partnership farmland ethic. 

Environmental Ethics: Vol. 5: 33-45. 

Elliot, R. 1978. Ethics and Conservation. Habitat, Aust. 

Cons. Foundation. May. 

Glacken, C.J. 1970. Man against Nature: an outmoded 

concept. In The Environmental Crisis, Ed. H.W. Helfrich. 

Yaie Uni. Press, New Haven. 

Graham, K. 1976. The biggest job of all for the 

conservationists. The Bulletin, November 13. 

Holmes, J.M. 1946. Soil erosion in Australia and New 

Zealand. Angus & Robertson, Sydney. 

Jacks, G.V. and Whyte, R.O. 1939. Rape of the earth: a 

world survey of soil erosion. Faber, London. 

Kovda, V.A. 1977. Soil Loss: an overview. Agro- 

Ecosystems Vol. 3: 205-224. 

Leopold, A. 1953. The Round River. In: Journals of Aldo 

Leopold. Ed. L B. Leopold. Oxford Uni. Press. N. Y. 

Leopold, A. 1966. A Sand Country Almanac, Oxford U. 

Press, N. Y. 

Marsh, G. P. 1864. The earth as modified by human action; 

Scribners Co., N.Y. 

McHarg, J. L. 1969. Design with Nature. Gold City Publ. 

N.Y. 

Osborne, R.C. and Rose, C.W. 1981. Retrospect and 

Prospect: deg redat ion of Australia's land resources in 

response to world food needs. Unpublished manuscript, 

Griiith University, Brisbane. 

Passmore, J. 1974. Man's Responsibility for Nature. 

Duckworth. London-..-j~=~- 

Pechey, W.R. 198Ck~~essential features of successful 

farming: permanealth and beauty. Presidential 

address. Tropl. Gras+YeL=l4 (1): 2-5. 

Pinchot, G. 1947. Breaking New Ground. Harcourt, N.Y. 

Roberts, B.R. 1974. Ecological education - a challenge to 

extension. J.S. Afr. Inst. Agric. Ext. 3:5. 

Roberts, B.R. 1982. Progress with rehabilitation of mined 

land in Queensland. Chamber of Mines Seminar, 

Broadbeach, Queensland. 

Roberts, B.R. 1984. Soil Conservation Studybook, External 

Studies Dept., D.D.I.A.E., Toowoomba, 242 pp. 

Routley, R. & .V. 1975. The fight for the forests. Falcon 

Press, Canberra 

Sampson, N. 1982. Sustaining the land ethic in agricultural 

education, J. Nat. Ass. Colleges & Teachers of Agric. Vol. 

26 (3): 11-13, Urbara 

Sinden, J.A. 1980. Newspaper cover of environmental 

issues in Australia 1978. Search, Vol. 11, No. 3, March. 

Steinbeck, J.E. 1939. The Grapes of Wrath, Viking Press. 

Tyler Miller, G. Living in the Environment, Wadsworth Publ. 

Co., Belmont, Calif. 

White, Lynn. 1971. The historic roots of our ecological 

crisis. In: Man's impact on environment, T.R. Detwyler, 

McGraw-Hill. 

Wilson, 1975. Environmental Ethics and Hope. In: Living in 

the Environment, G. Tyler-Miller. 

Wright, Judith. 1963. Eroded Hills. In Selected Poems, Five 

Senses. Angus and Robertson, Sydney. 

Other references 

Alcock, B. 1982. The costs of soil erosion. Qld. D.P.I., 

Misc. Bull. No. 11, Brisbane. 

Anon. 1938. Soils and Men. U.S.D.A. Yearbook, Gov't 

Printer, Washington, D.C. 

Anon. 1984a. "Farmers curse" will be conserved in State 

forests. The Qld. Graingrower, Sept. 26. 

Anon. 1984b. Third Report of the Joint Select Committee on 

the Western Division of N.S.W. Ref. No. 142, Government 

Printer, Sydney. 

Bennett, H.H. 1939. Soil Conservation, McGraw-Hill, N.Y. 

Carrick, J. 1981. Ministerial address to the 3rd Nat. Soil. 

Conf., Tamworth. 

Clarke, A.L. 1983. The impact of cultivation in Australian 

soils. In: Impact of Man on Australian Soils. Aus. Soil Sc. 

Eather, D. 1983. Queensland Planning Committee-for Soil 

Conservation. Government Printer, Brisbane. 

Freebairn, D.M. 1982. Soil erosion in perspective. Qld. D.P., 

Div. Land Util'n., Tech. News No. 5. 

Gibbons, B. and Wilson, S.C. 1984. Do we treat our soils 

like dirt? Nat. Geogr. Mag. Sept. 

Johnston,A.E. and Garner, H.V. 1968. Rothamsted Report. 

Rothamsted Experimental Station, England, Part 2. Her 

Majesty's Printing Office, London. 

Roberts, B.R. 1983. The Sugar Cane Industry. and the 

Environ-ment - are we losing ground? Proc. Aus. Assoc. 

Sugar Technol., May. 

Russell, E.W. 1973. Soil conditions and plant growth. 10th 

Ed. Longmans, London. 

Stevens, C.G. et. al. 1945. A soil, land use and erosion 

survey of part of County Victoria, S.A. C.S.I.R. Bull. 188. 

The Soil Conservation Society of Australia 

The Secretary, C/- Dr. Brian Roberts, Darling Downs 

Institute of Advanced Eduation, P. 0. Darling Heights, 

Toowoomba, Qld. 4350. Membership $20.00 annually. 

"The Soil Conservation Society of Australia is dedicated 

to encouraging the wise use of the soil and its associated 

land and water resources. In this way, those resources can 

be used indefinitely to produce our needs from private and 

public land without degrading the soil and the environment." 

The Society, formed in October, 1985 has about 70 

members. Chairman is Dr. Brian Roberts. 

Our Fragile Soil 

Videotape, available in VHS, Beta or U-matic format, 16 

minutes. Enquiries to Darling Downs Institute Press, P.O. 

Box, Darling Heights, Toowoomba, Qld. 4350. 

This educational videotape is produced by the Darling 

Downs Institute of Advanced Education in conjunction with 

the Toowoomba Erosion Awareness Movement. It includes 

case studies on location in southern Queensland and 

places an emphasis on the Land Ethic. A Teacher's kit is 

also available.

an Land Degrad 

By Brian Roberts 

The Australian continent is unusually susceptible to erosion and salinization 

problems. Historically the removal of trees on a vast scale has significantly 

altered runoff patterns. The implementation of land-use plans and 

conservation farming forms the basis of a national soil-conservation program 

and is complemented by a national awareness campaign to control 

Australia's prime environmental problem. 

INTRODUCTION 

The vast continent of Australia, comprising 

7.7 million km'. and originally called 

the "Great Southland" by ancient rnariners. 

covers 33" of latitude and includes a 

diversity of ecosystems from deserts to 

rain forests and coral reefs. The biological 

diversity and the fragility of the natural 

habitats and their communities are unique 

to this ancient and highly eroded landscape. 

The land has been occupied by aboriginal 

tribes for more than 30000 years. Their 

hunter-gatherer society had little effect on 

the ecosystems that they were part of. 

Apart from the use of fire for hunting and 

food-gathering, their activities were con- 

fined to collecting fruit. roots and nuts. 

fishing and the hunting of marsupials and 

birds. 

The arrival of the European settlers in 

1788 brought steel axes and saws. gunpowder. 

draught animals and hard-hoofed cattle 

and sheep on to the continent. Technology 

brought water bores and windmills. 

which eliminated forever nature's control 

of animal populations by drought and water 

supply. 

Early settlement of Australia started on 

the central east coast. Occupation spread 

south, north and west from present-day 

Sydney, then to South Australia and Western 

Australia. Current population density 

figures (Figure 1) show that much of in- 

Figure 1. Distribution of the human population showing concentrated settlement in the eastern and 

southwestern districts of Australia (1). 

land and northern Australia remains 

sparsely populated. Predictably. most of 

the environmental issues that have received 

attention in the past concern land. 

water and atmospheric conditions in the 

more heavily populated eastern seaboard 

districts. In more recent times concern for 

remote wilderness areas in Tasmania, the 

Northern Territory and North Qut.cnslarid 

has grown and unique sites In these areas 

have been included in the World Heritage 

List. 

Since grazing and cultivation cover twothirds 

of Australia's land-surface area. the 

causes of accelerated water and-wind rrosion 

can easily be traced to the rural pursuits 

of landholders. However. it should be 

emphasized that this ancient land has always 

been prone to natural eroslon. Susceptibility 

of the natural land surface to 

erosion results from the combined effects 

of prolonged droughts and the consequent 

reduction in protective ground cover vegetation. 

The arid climate and the resultant 

sparse grass cover are additional factors in 

the vast inland area of the country. 

The natural instiibility .and fragility of 

many of the arid ecosystems requires a 

careful control of stocking rates of cattle 

and sheep in the vast pastoral zones of the 

inland. The inherent carryins c:ipi~cit!. I\ 

low for the main Legetation 4pinitcx 

(Triodin spp.). .\-l~[chell grw (,.l.srrt~t)lrr 

spp. ), salt bush (r\rrr/)lt~.r n\ Illrrrtr~z(l 4pp. ) 

and rnulra (ACNCI~I I I I I C ~ L I ~ ~ I ) . 

I3ehpik en~otl~e drfenw ot the knngiiroo 

~x>piil;~tion. t here 14 :1111plt' t'\ itienc.~ 

that thesc :~nimal~ \t ill conttnue to coritribute 

to thc o\ ergr;tang prol,leni ~ I ~ I I L ~ \ \ 

their rii~rnhers art. conrrollcd 1,) hooti in^ ,i 

\~gnific:~nt proportl~~ri 1)f ttic ,rnni~;~l !=..irl- 

garoo-~)opuli~t~o~~ Incrc,iw I'hc ionst.r\ :Itiori 

lobby in Aubtralia and ovrrxaa is apparently 

unaware of a number of fundnmental 

facts about the kangaroo populution. 

Firstly. the creation of permanent drinking 

water through artesian bores and surface 

dams has greatly increased the population 

of red and prey kangaroos. Secondly. 

the unnatural increases in kangaroo 

populations, especially in years of abundant 

feed. make it impossible for conservation-minded 

praziers to release paddocks 

used for domestic stock grazing for 

the purpose of rehabilitating degraded 

grazing land. Thirdly. if kangaroo shooting 

is outlawed. pastoralists will lose out to the 

kangaroos and will then have no alternative 

hut to shut off the water wppliss. This 

will cause an almost total '~nnlh~lation of 

the k;~nparoo population In 311 :mas sscept 

the limited zones 5sr1t.J b> permilnent 

natural waterholes in the ar~d inland.

Severe salinization in Victoria. Photo: Victorian Government. 

In short. there can be no conservation of 

the inland without kangaroo control. 

ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMIC 

DEVELOPMENT 

In essence. the ~u-econom). has 

"own out of priemuction-first 

hooi and timber. th-t and sugar. 

Jlore recently minerals such as iron ore. 

coal and copper have become prime export-earners. 

Because of the ratio of population 

to resources, almost SO percent of 

primary production is exported. with rural 

industries and mining contributing equal 

shares. 

The percentages of the total land area 

~lllocated to each land use are shown in 

Figure 2. The effects of each land use on 

land stability and production potential are 

greatest under the more intensive forms of 

land use. e.g. cropping (6.1 percent of 

"eri 1. Forestry and nature cunssrvation 

constityte 5.5 percent of Austrrllia's land 

m a and new reserves are being pro- 

'I;li~licd ;~nnu;llly( 2). 

Tile ferlcr:ll sovertiment h;ls attempted 

to cie\clop basis for rtieeting the needs of 

!'!:!I1 CCOIIOII~~C rlevelopment :lad environn::!~ 

t.11 co~~scrv;~tiori. Tlic N;~tiori;lI Ctm- 

\cl\ ~itlrbrl St r,~tcgy ( NC'S) ainia to estnblisil 

Figure 2. Percentages of the total Australian land area used for various 

purposes (5). 

transport l.ZO/O ,- forestry 2.0% 

nature conservation 3.5% 

urban 0.1% 

/ intensive cropping 0.3%

principles ror de~elopment In \uch d \,I control ot du\t from nind erovon. and the 

as to protect Idndscape ~alues other than pre\entir,n of \o~l erovon by water. gained 

utilitarian economic L alues (3). 

recc>gnitic>n Not that these more rural 

i\sue\ \\ere not reported on earlier. but 

the). Lvere ;iPParently regarded as tradi- 

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES-THE tional phenomena. almost to the point of 

PRIMACY OF LAND ST+B&ITY 

being perceived as a normal facet of the 

Since the late 1960s theZe&G h;ir become Australian enn*ironrnent. 

~ncreasingly aware of a t3eeE-e In the qual- Because of the vast distances and isolaity 

of the Australian environment. .As a tion of much of the environmental damage 

result of the po\t-LVorld War I1 rise of in many locations. the impact and significonservation 

moi.ements in the CS. z4~~- 

cance of ecolopical damage goes unnoticed 

tralia had \\ell-developed env~ronmentul by the majority of \.oters in this nation of 

studies curricula In its schools by the earl! city-dwellers. There is however. a country- 

1970s. The issues that gained early atten- n ide atvakenins to Australia's special 

tion were primarily those affecting the responsibility through its trusteeship of 

cities: namely recreation areas. water and unique World Heritage sites and its 

air pollution. litter and urban transport. In enormous food-producing potential. 

time. the rehabilitation of mined areas. the 

Shallow solodic soils in Queensland. Photo: 8. Roberts. 

LAND-USE PROBLEMS 

An abundance of space and the opportunity 

to expand rural production into new 

regions. has made Australia one of the last 

nations on earth to extend its "new frontiers" 

on a large scale. The states of Western 

Australia and Queensland. for instance. 

have expanded crop production by 

more than one million hectares during the 

past two decades. 

The early rural economy of the eastern 

districts of Australia was based on the removal 

of trees through ringbarking. clearing, 

and later chemical spraying, to increase 

crop production and the carrying 

capacity of pastoral country. This largescale 

clearing has destabilized the landscape 

in many districts, resulting in wind 

and water erosion, plus extensive increases 

in the salinity of irrigation- and drylandproduction 

systems. 

The most recent national survey of land 

degradation (4) has indicated that 51 percent 

of Australia's cropping and grazing 

land has been subjected to at least moderate 

erosion or salinization through a combination 

of degradation processes. These 

complex processes usually begin with the 

disturbance of the vegetation cover. 

through tree removal. overgrazing or injudicious 

burning. It is now generally 

accepted that Australia's export earnings 

from crop and animal products have been 

at the expense of the nation's soil capital 

(Figure 3). 

BREAKDOWN OF DEGRADATION 

PROCESSES 

Several attempts have been made to assess 

the relative contribution of each form of 

land degradation to the total problem of 

Australian landscapes. In terms of total 

area affected. loss of productive potential 

and the irreversibility of the process, water 

erosion is clearly the greatest threat to 

Australian landscapes. Figure 4 indicates 

that 71 percent of degraded land is 

affected by water erosion, with vegetation 

degradation accounting for 11 percent and 

wind erosion for 7 percent of the nonarid 

area affected. Salinity problems have received 

considerable attention as a rural 

political issue, but such salting problems 

affect only two percent of the nonarid land 

area. Half of the saline area is under irrigation 

and represents areas of high capital 

investment and high production potential. 

The prime area affected by salinity is the 

Murray-Darling River basin and special 

legislation has been passed to combat this 

problem. 

CORRECTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL 

ACTION 

In South Australia the dramatic effects of 

wind erosion led to legislation as early as 

1923. Other states promulgated policies 

and regulations to control land degradation 

in the ensuing decades. Today all 

states have some form of soil-conservation 

legislation. although implementation is 

less than satisfactory in some states. 

The past two decades have seen a wideranging 

extension of legislation aimed at

- - 

i contrc~lling environmental degradation and 

ILlncf uhe. The issues covered by recent leyi51ation 

in each state may be summarized 

as foll~ws (5). 

Lrtrzd conserr~atior~-, Via-orian Land 

, Conservation Act of--f9~@&nd Environ- 

1 mental Effects Act of f9J8

Exposed clay subsoil following severe water erosion in Queensland. Photo: Cueensland Department of Primary Industries. 

' 

accept the role of trustees of the nation's 

soil resources. it is reasonable to ask taxpayers 

to contribute to @--ders' efforts 

to employ conserva-@ji$i@ins 

techniques. 

In addition. po-tiati\.es can 

lead to the formulatio~~ol 

curricula 

and adult education pr-mi. emphnsizing 

the need to develop a land ethic and a 

sense of land stewardship in the \!.hole 

community. Such programs will need to 

touch on the fundamental values of the 

community. 

In a young western nation such as Xustralia. 

the cultural background of capitalism. 

free enterprise. and the Judeo-Christian 

ethic of utilitarianism of nature ha1.e 

strongl:, influenced man/land relationhhips 

(6). It has been r~rgued that the strongly 

developed materialism of this frontier society 

is the greatest barrier to achieving :i 

form of land-use in which the permanence 

of subtainable agricultural systems is the 

prime aim (7). 

Because many processes of land ciesr;iciation 

,ire irret'ersiblt.. the tirnc t'actr~r hecr,mcs 

cr~tical tor planning co~.rccti\ c. .LCtlon. 

The degree of urgency in tllix \pht'rc 

of en\.ironrnentnl ~iction is hinhliehted bv 1 

the amount of productive capacir< ~ilrendi1 Dr. Brian Roberts is dean of the 

lost in the first 200 years of bettlemsnt. School of Applied Science at the 

Estimates of the percentage of land requir- Darling Downs lnstitute of Advanced 

ing conservation measures in ~irid and Education in Toowoomba. where he 

nonarid regions in the twenty years to 1995 teaches soil conservation and enare 

shown in Figure 5. 

vironmental studies. His book "Soil 

Conservation" is used as an external 

- 

study text throughout Australia. He 

References and Notes 

was formerly professor in pasture sci- 

1. Holmcs, J.H. IYW. .-lii.strltlitt..Vt~)t, 

Zt~LilLitrti ,it111 ille ence at the University of the Orange 

.qolri/r LVrsr Ptic.~tic.. Nclson. Lr~ndon. 

Free State. South Africa where he de- 

2. ii'~i>ds. L. E. lYS3. I-~itr~l Dt~gr~i(I~ti~ot~ 111 .-I i~xrr(tli1i. veloped a special interest in grazing 

.Au>trali:in Govcrnmcnt Publihhing ?;cr\~cc. C';liibcrra. 

management and farm planning. Dr. 

-;. .-!nor~ynio~is. lllSb. .\'1it;ot1111 C.ot~.~t~r\ ~iii~ltl Sir~ir~-,g\,. Roberts is inaugural president of the 

Dcpiirtnicnt of .Art5. llcrita#c and En\lronnlcnt. Soil Conservation Association of 

C'.~nbcrra. 

Australia, member of the Federal Soil 

4. .-IIIoI~\ riio115. 10-5. .-\ 1{1i.\/.\ ,ti~r So!; c .~ l~:,~.r\,~ii;ot~ 

Poiit.\, .-l~~.\ir~tl;~i. Dcp:~rt~i~c~it 01 Eri\~rtvi~i~cri~ Conservation Advisory Committee 

anci I lot1311ig. C'.~~lllcrr:~. 

and founder of the Toowoomba Ero- 

5. .A~~L>I~~IIIL~L~~. 

11JS4.$rtii(' ot'ilrt* I:'trl~rrotltrrts~~~ 111 .411.s- sion Awareness movement. His adrrc1ii.r. 

.-\~rstr;ili:in(;ctvcr~i~ilcnt 

Pul>l~~ti~rig Scr\.icc. 

I'.~nt>crr:~. 

dress: School of Applied Science, 

b. KoI>cr~s. 13.11, lLJSt>. .So;/ c 'otr$l.r\,~:!c>II- t't,c~/~it,. Darling Downs Institute of Advanced 

~'~I.~~I.

Proc. Aust. Ext. Conf., 

Brisbane, June 1987 

EXTENSION A8 THE LIMITING FACTOR IN 

CONSERVATION IN AUSTRALIA - SOME 

ON OF SOIL 

rJDATIONS 

B R Roberts 

Soil Consemation Association of Australia 

Backaround Farm advisory services have been a feature of 

Australian Departments of Agriculture since the turn of the 

century. Since the early 1920s the recognition of land 

degradation has led to the enactment of legislation and the 

appointment of soil conservation staff in all states. Over 

time there has been sporodic emphasis given to the extension 

of soil conservation information in different states, 

depending on the size of the erosion and salinity problem and 

the political climate prevailing at the time. An analysis of 

each state's effort to curb land degradation indicates how the 

thrust of government and the department concerned has reacted 

to the socio-economic situation prevailing over the decades. 

There has been a parallel variation in the soil consenration 

resarch and extension effort over the years. 

The need for an increased rate of implementation of soil 

conservation was highlighted by the Collaborative Study (Anon 

1978) which gave the first comprehensive overview of the land 

degradation situation in Australia. Despite its shortcomings, 

this report demonstrated the alarming extent to which existing 

knowledge on sound land management had not been applied in 

practice in vitually all states. 

Present Position The establishment of the National Soil 

Conservation Program (NSCP) by the Federal Government in 1983 

ushered in a new era of awareness and concern for land 

condition on the part of the rural community and marked the 

of what could be a national awakening to the 

ce of land degradation, not only in physical terms, 

but -in socio-economic terms. 

A ---+u- 

- - 

After the first four years of operation of NSCP and the 

allocation of over $15.2 M to research and demonstration 

projects nationwide, it became increasingly clear that in many 

cases, the breakdown in the adoption process occurred at the 

extension phase, rather than at the research phase of the 

program. 

While many soil problems still require further research before 

competent recommendations for sound management can be offered, 

there is much evidence that many of the tried and tested 

principles of conservation farming and pastoralism have not 

- been adopted by the majority of landholders. The 

Collaborative Study Report (Anon 1978) indicated that 51% of 

rural production land was suffering from moderate or serious 

degradation, usually erosion or salinity. There is no

evide~~c-to indicate that this situation has changed during 

the p-&e:decade. 

- 

--- --- 

--- - - 

- --- 

Extensi6n Services Today In a recent survey for the Federal 

Advisory Committee on Soil Conservation, Robertson (1987) 

reported on the role and function of extension services in all 

states. Table 1 reflects only the contribution of those 

organizations primarily responsible for soil conservation 

which responded to Robertsonfs survey in their capacity as the 

statesg ffagencyw in this sphere. 

Table 1: Allocation of Staff by Soil Conservation ~~enciesl 

in Australia (Robertson, 1987) 

NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS NT ACT 

Percentage of 

Departmental Staff 

engaged in General 

Extension 50 4.6 11.6* 6.0+ 20 7.9 10 .30 

Soil Conservation 

Extension 50 2.0 - 2,4

industries, the principle of lquser-paysw in commercial 

agricuZ%%re has much to recommend it. Its application could 

free+=-much-heeded state funds for the urgent and fundamental 

task '3-CT soil conservation. It can be argued that rural 

producers should fund those advisory services in the field of 

commercial production, while government concentrates its 

resources allocation on services concerned with the 

maintenance of the national soil resource. 

To gain a clear picture of the full extent of soil 

consemation extension effort in all states, the contributions 

of all organizations need to be pooled to gauge the total 

effort, relative to production extention. 

Extension Trainincr and Career Paths In a recent sunrey of 

universities and colleges throughout Australia, the author 

found that the promising progress made during the 1960s in 

extension education has come to a halt, with professional 

training being limited to the University of Queensland. When 

this situation is 'compared to Robertson's (1987) survey 

referred to above, it is. not surprising to find that all 

states are appointing extension officers who have virtually no 

formal education in the principles and methods of extension. 

Added to this is the confounding effect of new appointees also 

having a minimum amount of background on soil conservation per 

- sea 

Robertson's survey reflects a wide range of in-service 

training of extension staff, mostly in the sphere of 

communications. Given the lack of formal training and the low 

number of soil conservation extension posts available, it is 

understandable that extension is not regarded by many as a 

well structured and respected career path for graduates to 

follow. 

The identity problem of the professional extension officer has 

been described by the author (Roberts, 1986) as follows: 

While many in research would point to the severe cuts in 

funding which they have suffered in recent years, they do have 

ty, a status, a well-established educational base, a 

specialist societies which act as their spiritual 

regular professional conferences well reported in 

their3aSearch journals. Extension on the other hand has none 

of these pillars of the profession. It has virtually no 

recognized degree training programme (with one exception), no 

society, no journal, no status, no identity, no nothing! In 

practice, extension officers make do as well as they can. 

They seek a technical home in the agricultural societies, a 

sociological home in the social sciences, a methodological 

home in the informatics and a career path in whatever is 

available at the time. A recent bibliography of Australian 

extension contributions (Chamala et al., 1985) reflects the 

problems quite vividly. 

In 1974, the Federal Government commenced providing 

Commonwealth Extension Services Grant (CaEaSaGa) funds to the 

states for the expansion of extension services. These funds 

had a significant effect on the n er of extension staff in

the field and the proportion of existing staff given the 

opportGIE1;'ty to upgrade their professional training in 

extenS--ii&through in-service and on-campus courses. 

- ------ 

-- -- -- -- 

Since the withdrawal of C.E.S.G. funds the position of 

extension has declined considerably. Of the institutions 

presently offering extension courses, Melbourne University has 

had to wind down its programme, Hawkesbury has shifted its 

emphasis away from the prime shere of sustainable crop and 

animal production and only. Queensland university is offering 

balanced courses in professional extension. The present 

situation has led some state departments to send extension 

staff overseas to institutions such as Lincoln in New Zealand 

and Illinois in the United States, 

This offshore drift should be the cause for serious rethinking 

of the Australian extension education situation and 

requires early corrective change if sound land management is 

to be achieved at an acceptable rate in Australia. 

Racruired Chanues An analysis of the demise of extension as a 

professional career indicates that a series of simultaneous 

changes in the policy and practice of soil conservation 

extension is required if the "bottom line8 of nationwide 

adoption of sound land management is to become a reality. 

Starting at the workface, extension officers will require the 

motivation and skills required in inter-personal communication 

to become more effective tlsalesmenn than is presently the 

case. This commitment and ability will only come with the 

establishment of departmental structures which provide 

promotion and on-going rewards to those who make a career of 

developing a professional attitude toward their extension work 

(as compared to those who see the rewards in research and do 

not regard extension as a satisfying use of research time). 

The departmental post structure will, in turn, be dependent on 

the department and government giving priority to effective 

extension and putting in place procedures for measuring the 

success of their extension services. Such priority will only 

be e _ - e state governments appreciate the need to act 

urg 

comprehensively to control the nation's greatest 

env __ -- 

-- - 

The reasons for land degradation being a political non-event 

in the past have been documented elsewhere (Roberts, 1987a) 

together with the rationale for informed specialists to assist 

in putting soil consenration on the states1 political agenda 

without delay. 

Recornrnendations 

1. That a national education programme be coordinated to 

increase awareness of the socio-economic significance of 

land degradation.

- 

2 . landholders be required to pay for advisory services 

primarily at problem-solving in the sphere of 

rcial production, so making government resources 

more available for land capability and farm planning 

within which commercial production is planned. 

3. That the Federal Government encourage states, through 

incentives, to give priority to land use extension as the 

most effective means of achieving a satisfactory level of 

implementation of proven conservation farming methods. 

4. That state governments give priority to the integration 

of soil conservation extension and production research in 

those spheres of rural industry where the gap between 

existing knowledge and adoption of recommended practices 

is seriously affecting resource potential and stability. 

I 

5. That departmental policies and career structures in 

I 

extension be reviewed to encourage more and better 

I 

extension staff to take up the challenge of practising as 1 

professional "change agents". 

I 1 

j 

6. That departments liaise with tertiary institutions on the 

most appropriate means of training competent and I 

, 

motivated extension professionals for all states. 

7. That the Federal Government provide appropriate 

incentives to encourage states to undertake both the 

effective training and the meaningful employment of 

professional career extension officers in land use 

planning, soil conservation and sustainable production 

systems. 

References 

Anonymous (1978). "A Basis for Soil Conservagtion Policy in 

Australia, Dept. Environment, Housing and Community Devto 

Canberrang . 

I 

--- -.- 

---==?-a 

=====-e- 

Cham ., Rickson, R.E. and Singh, D.N. (1984). tsAnnotated 

Bib1 hy of socio-economic studies on adoption of soil and 

wate ervation methods in AustraliaIg. University of Qld. 

Roberts, B.R. 

(1986) . "1s Extension doing anything to solve 

land use problemsIg . Discussion Paper, Soil Con. Assoc. Aus. , 1 

Toowoomba, May. 

Roberts, BoRo (1987). tlGroup Extension Methods Regional 

Workshops Man~al~~. Dept. Agriculture, South Perth, W.A. 

Roberts, B.R. (1987a). IgGreenies and Cockies - a search for 

common ground in the politics of soil conservationgg.. 

Ecopolitics I1 Conf., Tasmania, May. 

Robertson, G.A. (1987). @gSurvey of Soil Conservation 

Agenciesw. Discussion Paper. Fed. Soil Con. Adv. Comm. 

Canberra, May. 

j 

i

A.I.A.S. Symp. 20/10/89 

EFFECTIVE GROUPS AND GROUP EXTENSION: 

KEY TO LAND CARE ACTION 

ABSTRACT 

Rural extension organizations have always had three main 

types of communication available: 1. Individual Contact, 2. 

Group Extension, and 3. Mass Communication. 

All three approaches have an important contribution to 

make in different situations and at various stages of 

acceptance of new ideas. Queensland has used individual 

contact and mass communication widely and effectively for 

decades, but group extension has been applied only 

sporadically and by a limited number of extension workers, 

both departmental and private. 

The emergence of the Land Care movement has not only 

placed new demands on the advisory services, but calls for a 

different approach to how they approach their extension task. 

The prime change in the advisory field is the shift of 

initiative from the extension service to the landholder groups 

in the form of Land Care or Land Management committees. This 

places the advisor in the position of a supporting resource 

person responding to requests of the groups. 

The Land Care movement will stand or fall by the 

effectiveness of the committees which form the framework for 

improved land management. The factors which make for 

committee effectiveness have now become essential elements for 

study by the extension worker. These elements must be 

understood and dynamically integrated into the activities of 

the group. Group Property Planning and Demonstration Projects 

will form the central core of activities in this long-awaited 

era of environmental awareness in rural Australia. 

- - 

.--. INTRODUCTION 

In-11987 the writer summed up the Australian extension 

situation as follows: 

lfSince ' the early 1920s the recognition of land 

degradation has led to the enactment of legislation and the 

appointment of soil conservation staff in all states. Over 

time there has been sporodic emphasis given to the extension 

of soil conservation information in different 

'school of Applied Science, Darling Downs Institute of 

Advanced Education, Post Office Darling Heights, Toowoomba. 

Qld. 4350.

states, depending on the size of the erosion and salinity 

problem and the political climate prevailing at the time. An 

analysis of each state's effort to curb land degradation 

indicates how the thrust of government and the department 

concerned has reacted to the socio-economic situation 

prevailing over the decades. There has been a parallel 

variation in the soil conservation research and extension 

effort over the years. l1 

The need for an increased rate of implementation of soil 

conservation was highlighted by the Collaborative Study (Anon 

1978) which gave the first comprehensive overview of the land 

degradation situation in Australia. Despite its shortcomings, 

this report demonstrated the alarming extent to which existing 

knowledge on sound land management had not been applied in 

practice in virtually all states. 

While many soil problems still require further research 

before competent recommendations for sound management can be 

offered, there is much evidence that many of the tried and 

tested principles of conservation farming and pastoralism have 

not been adopted by the majority of landholders. The 

Collaborative Study Report (Anon 1978) indicated that 51% of 

rural production land was suffering from moderate or serious 

degradation, usually erosion or salinity. There is no 

evidence to indicate that this situation has changed during 

the past decade. 1 

In an unpublished survey for the Federal ~dvisory 

Committee on Soil Conservation, Robertson (1987) reported on 

the role and function of extension.services in all states. 

Table 1 reflects only the contribution of those organizations 

primarily responsible for soil conservation which responded to 

Robertson's survey in their capacity as the states* "agencyvg 

in this sphere. 

Table 1: 

Allocation of Staff by Soil conservation Agencies1 

in Australia (Robertson 1987) 

NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS NT ACT 

Percentage of 

Departmental Staff 

engaged-in General 

~xtensi-an 50 4.6 11.6* 6.0' 20 7.9 10 30 

Soil Conservation 

Extension 50 2.0 2.4

These figures exclude the contributions of secondary 

agencies such as the Department of Agriculture in NSW or 

conservation and Land Management in WA. The data suggest that 

if significant contributions to soil conservation are being 

made in states other than NSW, they are being made by 

organizations which are not the states' prime agency. In 

recent years the appointment of NSCP-funded extension posts 

has improved the situation in soil conservation extension in 

at least five states. 

Much of the information supplied by departmental officers 

on crop and animal production could be gained from commercial 

sources. However, in the field of land capability, farm 

planning and some aspects of consenration farming techniques, 

the states' soil conservation agencies are often the only 

source of scientific information used by landholders. A shift 

in public attitude may make it necessary to examine the 

advisory services available to agriculturists relative to the 

service available to other industries such as manufacturing, 

small business and commercial enterprize generally. The 

reason for such enquiry lies in the free apparent overservicing 

of the farming community in the sphere of commercial 

production at a time when scarce funds could be better spent 

in the sphere of resource use planning and implementation of 

sound land management (Roberts 1987). 

The identity problem of the professional extension 

officer has been described by the author (Roberts 1986) as 

follows: "While many in research would point to the severe 

cuts in funding which they have suffered in recent years, they 

do have an identity, a status, a well-established educational 

base, a range of specialist societies which act as their 

spiritual home, and regular professional conferences well 

reported in their research journals. Extension on the other 

hand as none of these pillars of the profession. It has 

virtually no recognized degree training programme (with one 

exception) , no society, no journal, no status, no identity, no 

nothing! In practice, extension officers make do as well as 

they can. They seek a technical home in the agricultural 

societies, a sociological home in the social sciences, a 

methottol-~gical home in the informatics and a career path in 

whateve is available at the time. A useful bibliography of 

Australian extension contributions (Chamala et al. 1985) 

reflects'the above problems quite vividly." 

THE NEW SITUATION 

For the first time in the nation's history there is not 

only a widespread awareness of the community8s dependence on 

the land for the major portion of national production but a 

realization that land care is a necessary ingredient for 

national survival. Lost production through degradation has 

been valued at $600 million per annum. This long-awaited 

change in man/land relations has the potential to usher in an 

era characterised by new community values relating to 

environmental concern. This in turn can be expected to bring 

new responsibilities and roles for both landholders and land

use advisors in agriculture, pastoralism, forestry, wildlife 

management and mine site rehabilitation. 

The recent developments, singly and in combination, 

create a new and different frame of reference for both rural 

leaders and advisory personnel. The thrust has been for 

landholders to be more pro-active, more innovative and more 

responsible for giving direction in land management. This 

reflects a major change in the attitudes and actions in the 

rural areas of all states, and constitutes a "new deal1@ in 

environmental awareness in ~ustralia. ~dvisors, researchers 

and administrators now find themselves responding to calls for 

support from a burgeoning corps of allies on the land, in 

their attempt to improve land management, productivity and 

stability of the ecosystems on which the community depends. 

Rather than acting as the expert, giving advice on a oneto-one 

basis, the specialists are now invited to offer 

resources and support to groups acting in concert. Under the 

emerging circumstances, an understanding of effective group 

extension methods, which have been neglected since their 

development by the Americans and the Dutch in the 1950s, needs 

special attention at an early date. Advisors will have their 

greatest effect on land management if they encourage the selfhelp 

groups to identify their own problems and to "own the 

solution^^^. This can be best achieved by evaluating causes 

and alternative solutions through vigorous and open group 

dynamics in which a majority of landholders are involved. In 

this way, land care, soil erosion and loss of fauna and flora 

will hopefully no longer be regarded as the government's 

problems waiting for the government's action. 

WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE? 

Predictably the rapidly emerging new approaches have led 

to uncertainty and insecurity on the part of those in 

leadership roles in producer groups, extension services, 

research organizations and educational institutions. The way 

to overcome the present tentative stance is to begin by 

discussing goals and objectives, in an effort to reach 

agreement on the targets of land care as a. nation-wide 

rn~vemehk~ of potentially immense significance. What are we 

trying--- do? Who are the players? What are their roles? 

These- are the questions that need to be seriously addressed 

within the concept of lgsustainabilitytl as the guiding 

principle. 

Many researchers and advisors have tried to simplify the 

bewildering complexities of the large number of inter-related 

factors which contribute to sustainable rural production and 

l@ecological healthM of Australia's country districts. The 

result of what Odum has termed "the struggle for perspective1', 

can be stated in simple tabular form as shown in Table 1, The 

Elements of Sustainable Agriculture (Roberts 1989). In 

essence the four factors in the right hand column are the 

targets which managers should aim at, whatever their 

production system. These can be achieved by a variety of 

practical methods on the property. It is suggested that if

these four requirements are met, the system will be 

sustainable. Initially, it is not necessary to puantify in 

any precise way, the acceptable level of achievement within 

each criterion, provided the direction and trend is positive. 

It is suggested that these four targets are unlikely to be met 

unless the initial decisions on land capability (in the left 

hand column) are made correctly in the first place. These 

concern the fundamental issues of suitable slopes, clearing 

and carrying capacity. The central column of the table 

represents the elements of the socio-political framework 

required for acceptance and implementation of permanent 

production systems. 

The "ifs and buts" arising from any attempt to crystalize 

thinking about a complex situation, must of necessity lead to 

qualifications and additions to the "barew statements. 

Consideration of how each of the four target criteria can be 

achieved indicates how tree planting, wildlife habitat and the 

use of fire are incorporated as building blocks of balanced 

land use programmes. 

COMMITTEE ACTION 

The writer has been active in the encouragement and 

establishment of many local committees and has followed their 

progress with intense interest. Everyone agrees that setting 

up the committee is the easy part - the difficult part is 

maintaining enthusiastic action within priority directions' 

agreed by the group concerned. Our group, the Toowoomba 

Erosion Awareness Movement, has consistently emphasized the 

complimentary roles of education, incentives and regulations - 

in that order, as the three pillars of sound land management 

(Roberts 1987). Despite the progress made in recent years, it 

must be stated that there are still severe shortcomings in all 

three spheres, although the diverse and comprehensive range of 

educational materials funded by the National Soil Conservation 

Programme since 1983 has given the awareness campaign a 

significant boost in most States. ~roup-learning in practical 

settings is now what is required on a vast scale. 

Committees will continue to have difficulty persuading 

many individuals that the available incentives are meaningful 

in thei~particular financial situation. The whole issue of 

who benefits from, and who pays for, land care now becomes the 

major issue for the Decade of Soil Conservation. It remains a 

basic truism (Roberts 1985) that if the community at large 

regards the landholder as the steward of the nation's soil 

resources, then the community should also ensure that the 

landholder is given the financial support required to carry 

out this vital stewardship role. This is the central land 

care issue requiring political realism and statesmanship in 

the 1990s. Neither positive attitudes through education, nor 

regulatory guidelines alone, can bring about sustainable rural 

production systems, if the manager and his family have to 

sacrifice individual benefit for the sake of "the common 

good" .

Contrary to popular belief, there is a place for 

regulations in the framework within which land care committees 

must. function. While the very notion of land use controls 

cuts across many independently-minded landholdersu principles, 

as a final (and hopefully little-used) factor in land use 

policy, enforcable guidelines may be required where the 

majority are being prevented from achieving common unity 

goals, by uncooperative individuals. This principle already 

applies across much of our democracy and its legal system and 

has long been accepted in the zoning of local areas for 

particular uses (Roberts 1986a). 

The connotations of names such as Land Management, Land 

Utilization, Land Care and Soil Conservation, as applied to 

local landholder groups, have an important imagery for both 

members and outsiders. For this reason the choice of name and 

more importantly, the careful wording of objectives, are 

important starting points for local action. The identity and 

community image of the group are essential prerequisites to 

local commitment. In turn, the preparation of meaningful 

projects and action plans are essential to achieving 

objectives and to maintaining involvement. After meeting with 

members of approximately 40 district soil conservation 

committees in Western Australia a set of common elements of 

success was identified by the writer. The differences between 

more successful and less successful committees are reflected 

in the list presented in Appendix 1. 

While appropriate leadership is necessary, the 

development of a sequential plan of action is an essential 

early step in gaining commitment and maintaining the momentum 

of individual involvement. Such a plan of action can take 

many forms and the writer has found a circular diagram of the 

following type to be useful: 

on Objectives 

stat 

far 

2 State Prdblem 

- . 3 Evaluate Alternatives 

- ' Evaluate Aesults 7 

- - 4 Select Best Solution 

- Irrplement Plan 6 

An example of guidelines set up for a Queensland pastoral 

group is shown in Appendix 2, in which an effort is made to 

use the interest and experience of individuals with special 

knowledge of particular problems and solutions by establishing 

subprojects with subcommittees of personal choice. The nonsectional 

character of the group is also important in avoiding

the association of the group with a sole producer 

organization, a department or even a personality. 

- An additional factor which must be emphasized is the 

potential role of women in Land Care groups. The contribution 

of rural women to the secretarial aspects of community work is 

well known, but their special talent for taking the long term 

view of permanent production systems as a basis for on-going 

family security, has not been adequately tapped in Land Care 

groups to date. This matter was put to the Country Women's 

~ssociation of Queensland (Roberts 1986a) and has received a 

positive and growing response. It is indeed heartening to 

witness the increasing number of women being elected to key 

roles in recently elected Land Care committees. Their role is 

of particular value in nurturing a sense of permanence and 

balance in the coming generation of landholders, which has 

every reason to include as many female as male managers in the 

coming years of increasing automation of farm activities 

(Roberts 1989a) . 

PROPERTY PLANNING AND LAND CAPABILITY 

What is land capability? It is that level of yield that 

can be maintained in the long term. So in land use planning 

we have always aimed at two goals: 

(i) To use each section of land according to its potential. 

. 

(ii) To protect each section of land according to its hazards. 

In other words we aim to make full use of the productive 

ability and at the same time ensure that we don't degrade the 

land by producing higher short term yields at the expense of 

the soil's stability and future productivity. 

Land classes are used to map sections of land according 

to their suitable intensity of use and to their need for 

conservation measures. This approach has been used with 

success since the 1930s and in essence, it distinguishes 

between deep level soils suitable for annual crops without any 

soil conservation measures, and steep shallow soils suited 

only to natural vegetation and its careful use. The basic 

evaluatien of whether land is arable (cropping) or not, 

determines whether land is suitable for clearing and 

cultivation. If this first decision in property planning is 

wrong it is often impossible to stabilize the land by whatever 

choices of cultivation practices are selected thereafter. As 

a rule of thumb in the summer rainfall zone, slopes above 7% 

should be classed as non-arable. However, in semi-arid 

regions even level terrain may be unsuitable for. clearing if 

the rainfall is insufficient to produce enough stubble for 

effective stubble mulching. 

In this era of enthusiasm for tree planting, it is 

important that the role, and thus the location, of trees in 

the Land Care programme is carefully evaluated. Trees have a 

number of important roles to play in combination with other 

soil stabilizing techniques in the property plan. So each

aspect of sustainable production should be evaluated before 

planning of banYs, waterways, trees, and tillage methods are 

combined in a cc,plementary range of land care techniques. 

PLANNING BY GROUPS 

In Australia several states including Queensland, have 

inherited the British planning system based on land capability 

and land classes. This system which has much in common with 

the North American approach, has relied heavily on the mapping 

of physical resources and attributes, as the basis of farm 

planning. Over time it became clear that many farm plans were 

not used as a basis for on-going improvement of management - 

in fact the farm plan was often no more than a prized picture 

on the property office wall. 

Seldom did the physicdl plan form a basis for management 

and economic decision-making. In many cases, the fact that 

the farm plan was only a resource inventory, was not made 

sufficiently clear and as a result, evidence now shows that 

the standard of management is little different on planned and 

unplanned farms. In addition, a recent survey by the Soil 

Conservation Service of New South Wales shows that of a sample 

of 2000 landholders whose farms had been planned by SCS over 

the past two decades, only a small proportion actually used 

their plan to any extent in their management and development. 

The present situation reflects a response to producer 

organizations* desire to both take responsibility for, and 

give the initiative in, ltwhole farm" planning. This starting 

point alone, gives vmfanner-ledlf planning a better chance of 

success than the previous departmental approach. However, 

several other differences between old and new strategies must 

be exploited if real progress is to ensue. 

Three basic questions require consideration: 

1. Who should do the planning? 

2. What level of precision is required in mapping and 

description? 

- 

3. HOT&- should management and financial decision-making be 

integrated with physical planning? 

Wherever possible, landholders should take the lead in 

evaluating the potential and hazards of each section of their 

properties. his should be followed by the landholders own 

mapping and decisions on a land use programme which meets the 

objectives of sustainable production. This should be done on 

the basis of orthophoto maps, using transparent overlays and 

wax pens in the initial stages in which alternatives are 

considered. Group sessions in which individuals can be 

assisted and queried by their peer group could ensure that a 

range of alternatives are compared.

A rational analysis should be made of the usefulness of 

the detail on topography and soils as included in past plans. 

serious consideration must be given to the use of generalized 

mapping of slopes, soil and vegetation types, bearing in mind 

that for practical management, slight variations in country 

will be combined in manageable-sized paddocks for production 

purposes. It is the writer's contention that in most cases a 

workable plan can be drawn up without detailed topographic and 

soil surveys, provided the landholders' local knowledge of 

their properties is sufficient to identify units of the 

landscape which require different management. his applies to 

suitability for clearing and or cultivation and to 

differential carrying capacity and erosion proneness. 

OTHER COMMITTEE WORK 

It will be found that Land Care Committees want to 

initiate projects on a range of aspects of land management 

which, although not strictly part of property planning, can 

increase knowledge and awareness of many aspects of management 

within the plan. Such initiatives should be encouraged in the 

fields of land use policy recommendations (eg clearing 

guidelines), community awareness and demonstration of land 

care techniques (trees, tillage, erosion control). In this 

way the parallel developments of plans and techniques can 

progress together. It would be a mistake (apart from a 

physical impossibility) to concentrate advisory services 

solely on property planning in the initial stages of Land Care 

Committee activity. Another matter which needs attention is 

the encouragement of bankers and other financiers to take part 

in planning and management seminars so that credit may be 

given (literally) to property holders who are making effective 

use of their production potential within a stable and secure 

system which can be appreciated by financiers. 

One of the central questions requiring early 

consideration by all concerned with sustainable production 

from "improved countrytv, is that of who should be responsible 

for decisions on where and how land should be cleared. 

Prtjducers justifiably ask, "What's the use of dense scrub 

which is neither productive nor rare?" and point to the 

apparenii4y very stable kikuyu pastures carved out of dense 

rainforest in North Queensland. In the ~rigalow belt, some 4M 

ha of vluseless~~ scrub has been converted into productive 

country since -the 1960s. Has the Brigalow Scheme been a 

success? Is it stable and sustainable or are the problems of 

regrowth and nitrogen depletion the symptoms of faulty 

planning and ill-advised development? 

Where do we draw the line in defining the following as 

suitable for clearing? : 

. Minimum rainfall. 

0 Slope. 

. soil type. 

. Soil depth.

a Size and shape of retained timber. 

a Distance from water courses. 

. .Density of pasture cover. 

a Management to maintain cover. 

In an era when the independence of landholders is being 

reduced, the appropriate roles of the manager, the local 

group, the departmental authorities, the Crown Land 

administrators and the community at large, in contributing to 

land use decisions, come into potential conflict. All are 

generally agreed that sustainable production, stability of the 

landscape and aesthetic values must be the prime objectives of 

the decision-making. However, we must first ask: 

. Who has the knowledge and information? 

a Who must manage the system in practice? 

o Who is responsible for maintaining the resources? 

Who benefits from achieving sustainability? 

. Who pays the price for ecological failure? 

Ideally the manager espouses community envj-ronmental 

values and can afford to apply a conservative production 

system while making a reasonable income. 

The question must now be asked whether it is practical 

and acceptable for anyone other than the landholder to make 

binding recommendations on proposed clearing. If not, can the 

competence and integrity of the landholder be- depended on? 

other States use various combinations of departmental and 

producer group representatives to recommend on clearing. 

The terms of reference of the new committees in 

Queensland requires them to encourage conservation farming by 

all means available including property planning. They are 

also expected to play an educational role in their entire 

community and to advise the department of needs and progress 

in their shire or catchment. Committees can also lead by 

example and establish persuasive demonstrations of sound 

practices. It seems reasonable however, that Land Care 

Committees, elected by all shire landholders, should also 

recommend on clearing, at least on land which is not 

f reehdded, - 

It-:is suggested that clearing guidelines and procedures 

be given serious attention at an early date. Such attention 

is required (i) from Land Care committees who may be seen to 

be failing in their responsibilities if they do nothing, (ii) 

from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries who 

administer the Soil ~onservation Act, (iii) from the 

Cattlemen's Union and United Graziers Association whose 

members hold tenure of the land, and (iv) from the Lands 

Department who control covenants on leases and the issue 

clearing permits.

REFERENCES 

Anonymous. (1978). Basis for Soil Conservation Policy. 

Inter-departmental Report, Dept. Environment, Canberra 

A.G.P.S. 

Chamala, S., Rickson, R.E. and Singh, D.N. (1984). Annotated 

Bibliography of Socio-economic Studies on Adoption of 

Soil and Water Conservation Methods in Australia. 

University of Queensland. 

Roberts, B. R. (1985). Land Stewardship: Our Attitudes toward 

the Land. Proc. Mulgalands Symposium, Royal Soc. Qldo, 

Brisbane, 

Roberts, B.R. (1986). Is Extension Doing Anything to Solve 

Land Use Problems? Discussion Paper, S.C.A.A., 

Toowoomba, May. 

Roberts, B.R. (1986a). Mother Earth: The Role of Women in 

Developing Land Stewardship in ~ustralia. Discussion 

Paper S.C.A.A., Toowoomba, June. 

Roberts, B.R. (1987). Extension as a Limiting Factor in 

Adoption of Soil Conservation in Australia. Proc. Ag. 

Ext. Conf., Brisbane, June. 

Roberts, B.R. (1989). The Elements of Sustainable 

Agriculture. Key Centre Workshop on Sustainable 

Agriculture. Roseworthy Agricultural College. 

Roberts, BoRe (1989a). The Implementation of Land Care 

through Local Group Action. Proc. Aus. Farm Mangt. 

Society, Emerald. 

Robertson, GoAo (1987). Survey of Soil conservation Agencies. 

Fed. Soil Con. Adv. Comm. DPI, Canberra, May.

APPENDIX 1 

WHAT CHARACTERIZES EFFECTIVE LAND CARE GROUPS? 

Clear goals which are specific, achievable, understood 

and agreed to. 

Are seen to be fonned by the local community, for the 

local community. 

Clear recognition of the fundamental land problems 

causing recognised symptoms. 

Problem-solving procedures which evaluate alternatives 

and design optimum solutions based on present 

information. 

Appropriate positive, credible and adaptable leadership 

from their chairman who leads by example. 

Members committed to the stated aims of district 

committees in a way which overrides personal and 

sectional goals of members or the bodies they represent. 

Are accepted by their community as undertaking worthy 

activities for the ultimate benefit of that community. 

Consists of members who are each willing to accept 

allocations of duties to get the committee's work done. 

Work methods which plan work programmes in a sequential 

way which achieves step-wise progress towards the agreed 

ob j ectives. 

District size which is not so large as to reduce 

effective contact with the majority of landholders below 

the level required for cooperation in district 

programmes. 

Ability to plan and implement conservation fanning 

programs and community education, without undue 

dependence on departmental officers. 

~eetin~ procedures and group activities which acknowledge 

and encourage individual member's contributions and 

teamwork. - 

Physical and financial resources satisfactory for 

effective functioning of the committee. 

Develop a pride in their achievements and benefits 

derived from their work for the community.

APPENDIX 2 

ELEMENTS OF A SHIRE LAND CARE PROGRAMME 

(Example for Dalrymple Shire, extensive beef production, N.Q.) 

1. Aims 

To improve the productivity and stability of the land of 

the shire for future land uses. 

S~ecific Obiectives 

To increase permanent carrying capacity through: 

(a) Increasing fodder production through appropriate 

stocking rates and spelling. 

(b) Controlling the balance between trees and grass. 

(c) Introducing improved fodder species. 

Problems 

Symptoms : 

(a) Reduced carrying capacity due to (i) loss of cover, 

(ii) tree regrowth. 

(b) Soil loss. 

Causes : 

(a) Stocking rates. 

(b) Other (list). 

4. Solutions 

Reduce stock numbers. 

Control trees by mechanical, chemical and burning 

methods. 

Other. 

5. Peo~le Available for Proaramme Development and 

~m~lementation 

Land- Care Committees 

Coopted Members 

Landholders 

Departmental Officers 

Private Consultants 

Sources of Funds 


National Soil Conservation Programme 

Shire 

Department of Primary Industries 

Water Resources Commission

Planninq 

Map problem areas. 

Identify potential cooperators. 

Summarize existing experimental and experiential 

information. 

Select trial sites and treatments. 

Decide on economic analysis and minimum trial period. 

Gain commitment from cooperators for each trial site. 

Elect subcommittee of three or more for each trial. 

Proi ect Pre~aration 

Prepare document describing trials, sites and 

cooperators, 

List starting times for each trial. 

Public Comment and Site Selection 

Present description of trials to public meeting for 

suggested additions, change and improvement. 

Amend trials as appropriate. 

Call for additional members to form subcommittees for 

each trial or project and cooperators to offer trial 

sites. 

Prepare detailed sequence of actions and starting times 

for each project. 

Implement treatments and commence recording. 

Cornmunitv Awareness 

Develop and implement a programme of field days, press 

releases, radio and TV news items on the work of the 

group and the benefits to the community. 

Procrramme Valuation 

~eview of present projects in terms of achievement of 

original aims. 

propose new activities to meet update aims and second 

phase of progress. 

On-going expansion and review.

' 

I 

a -I how 

T'S NEW IN LAND C 

CTS FROM PI' 

250 B.C. 

BRIAN ROBERTS - Dean of Applied 

Science, Darling Downs Institute of 1 ,dvanced 

Education, Too woom ba 

Introduction 

We live in an era of renewed 

interest in organic farming, 

sustainable agriculture, property 

planning, and land care. Before these 

important emerging aspects of sound 

land use are perceived as the latest 

innovations, a look back in time may 

indicate how slow we have been to 

accept good advice and implement 

well-proven ideas. 

"Even the ancients knew that" is a 

phrase we have often heard when 

discussing soil conservation and land 

management. A study of the 

translations of the very earliest 

works, gives a special authenticity to 

answers to the question "When will 

we learn?" 

It is interesting to note that the 

world's oldest agricultural manual is a 

5000 year old Sumerian document on 

to grow barley, which was 

Mesopotamia's stapk-f@. The 

Greeks in the fifth cent-*=. grew 

what has become as the 

Mediterranean triad: ,@nl. grapes 

and olives. By 100 B.C. they had 

stripped the hills of Greece bare 

through removing trees for 

agriculture, exploiting timber for 

firewood and overgrazing with goats, 

sheep and cattle. 

Cato (born 234 B.C.) was the first 

important writer of prose in Latin. 

Varro (born 116 B.C.) wrote over 70 

works in his 90-year life. These two 

Romans have left an unparalleled 

record of agriculture and husbandry. 

It was from Varro that Virgil derived 

his technical knowledge in his 

"Georgics", that Pliny took his ideas 

for "Natural History" and that 

Columella drew for his agricultural 

treatise (Hooper and Ash, 1974). The 

YO 

ROMANS 

present paper selects statements from 

the Latin chronicle entitled "Cato and 

Varro - De Re Rustica" which is 

something of an Old Testament for 

students of agriculture and land care. 

The Backbone of the Country 

In recent years the identity of the 

rural sector as the ruggedly 

independent sector of our population 

has again been emphasised. The 

differences between rural producers 

and city dwellers and when they 

would praise a worthy man their 

praise took this form: good 

husbandman, good farmer; one so 

praised was thought to have received 

the greatest commendation. It is from 

the farming class that the bravest men 

and the sturdiest soldiers come. their 

-- 

calling is the most highly respected. 

Goyder's Line Revisited 

Many modern texts on evaluating 

the viability of rural property before 

purchase, warn about overoptimism 

on average rainfall, soil type and 

microclimate as influenced by the 

aspect of the land. The ancient 

Romans had the following advice: 

"When thinking of acquiring a 

farm, keep in mind these points: that 

you be not over-eager in buying nor 

spare your pains in examining. It 

should have a good climate, not 

subject to storms; the soil should be 

good and naturally strong. Ifpossible, 

it should be at the foot of a mountain 

and face south (north in the southern 

hemisphere - B.R.). It should lie 

among those farms which do not 

often change owners. Do not be hasty 

in despising the methods of 

management of others (alternative 

translation says "Be careful not rashly 

to refuse to learn from others" - 

13.R.). 

Moisture Content and Tillage 

Soil composition has become the 

object of considerable research in 

recent years, leading to modified 

traction systems Cogcthcr with 

regular monitoring of soil moisture 

with neutron meters. In 250 B.C. 

Cato wrote the following, as the 

Communal wisdom of the day: 

"Be careful not to plough land 

which is cariosa (when light rain only 

wets the surface after a long dry 

spell), or drive a cart over it or turn 

cattle into it. If you are not careful 

about this, you will lose three years' 

crop from such land." 

Original Organics 

"Biodynamic" is the latest term for 

what was called "organic farming" in 

the 1930s and manuring in the time of 

the Romans. The ancient scribes had 

no knowledge of why manure and 

compost promoted plant growth, 

only that it worked. This ancient 

emphasis on composting formed the 

basis of the German, Dutch and 

British teachings immortalised by 

Stapledon, Faulkner and Steiner. 

Later a number of Australian writers 

such as Yeomans reiterated these 

principles. The original writings, 

referring to the fruit orchards of Italy, 

read as follows: 

"See that you have a large dunghill; 

save the manure carefully and when 

you carry it out, clean it of foreign, 

matter and break it up. Autumn is the 

time to haul it out, dig trenches 

around the olive trees and manure 

them." 

Legume Nitroeen 

fi is difficult tg determine when the 

benefit of legumes was first 

recognised, although the later 

discovery of nitrogen-fixing rhizobia 

is well documented. Certainly 

legumes were used by the 

Mesopotamians, Egyptians and 

Chinese over 3000 years ago. 

Similarly, the selection of crop 

varieties to suit specific soils has 

become a scientifically-based 

recommendation. On these matters 

Cato wrote: 

"Lupins (a legume used extensively 

for forage by the Romans) will do 

well in soil that is reddish and also in 

ground that is dark or hard or poor or 

sandy or not wet. Sow spelt (thick 

husk wheat) preferably in soil that is 

chalky or swampy or red or humid. 

Plant wheat in soil that is dry, free 

from weeds and sunny. Plant barley 

in new ground or ground which does 

not need to lie fallow. Winter wheat 

A~~srralianjorrrnal ofsoil and Warn Consewation Vol. 2 No. 4 Novembo, 1989

should be planted on high open 

pound where the sun shines 

longest." 

Sources of Soil FertiIity 

Today soil scientists and 

agronomists agree that a combination 

of organic mat tsr, legumes--and crop 

residues should be used in 

combination to form the basis of 

sustainable cropping systems. Many 

of today's more enlightened 

conservation farmers would agree 

almost totally with the Roman advice: 

"To fertilising crops spread pigeon 

dung on pastures, gardens and field 

crops. Save carefully goat, sheep, 

cattle and all other dung. Spread 

crushed olive husks around trees. 

Cluckpeas are harmful (to the soil) 

because they are torn out by the roots 

and are salty; barley, bitter vetch and 

all crops which are pulled out by the 

roots, exhaust the soil. Crops which 

fertilise the land are lupins, beans and 

vetch. Make compost from straw, 

lupins, chaff, bean stalks, husks and 

oak leaves. Pull up elder, hemlock, 

tall grass and sedge and use them for 

bedding." 

Farm Management 

Much of what we take for granted 

today, has been handed down to us in 

the form of the accumulated 

experience of farmers over the 

centuries. Today many land buyers 

continue to underestimate capital 

required for improvements such as 

buildings, equipment and labour, 

putting virtually all available capital 

into the land itself, leaving insufficient 

resources for proper management to 

utilise the potential of their property. 

The Roman chronicles quote the 

famous writer named Scrofa who 

wrote what must be the wry earliest 

treatise on purchadSgj -- -,firal real 

- - - -- 

estate: 

"The chief division$--of i&iculture 

are four in number according to 

Scrofa: First a knowledge of the farm, 

the nature of the soil and its' 

constituents; second, the equipment 

needed to operate the farm; third the 

tillage operations to be carried out 

and fourth, the proper season for each 

of these operations. Each of these four 

divisions has at least two 

subdivisions: the first can be divided 

into soil and housing; the second 

comprises the persons to do the 

farming and the other equipment; the 

third is the plans for each operation 

and its location, and the fourth is 

divided into the seasons determined 

by the annual revolution of the sun 

and those periods determined by the 

monthly revolution of the moon." 

Greening the Landscape 

The desirability of planting trees 

trade. Long before the birth of 

pedology, the ancients recognised not 

for land stabilisation, aesthetics, only soil differences but also the 

shelter and timber has gained 

unprecedented acceptance in recent 

rudiments of soil classification: 

"Diophones makes a good point 

years. Indeed the writer has suggested when he writes that you can judge 

that this nation of axemen is whether land is fit for cultivation or 

becoming a nation of tree planters. not, either from the soil itself or from 

The need today is to select the right the vegetation growing on it. 

trees for the right sites and their Depending on whether the soil is 

appropriate role within the whole white or black, light and crumbles 

property plan. Two hundred years 

before Christ the advice was: 

easily when dug, and whether it is not 

ashy or excessively heavy (densa)." 

"Certain trees such as the fir and The nature of the soil makes a great 

the pine flourish best and are sturdiest 

in the mountains on account of the 

difference (to cropping). There are 

many substances in the soil varying in 

cold climate, while the poplar and the consistency and strength, such as 

willow thrive here (on the plains) 

where the climate is milder. Grain is 

rock, marble, rubble, sand (hanena), 

loam (sabulo), clay (angina), red 

considered best adapted to the plains, ochre, drnt (pulvis), chalk, ash, 

vines to the lulls, and forests to the 

mountains." 

carbuncle. Soils are called chalky or 

otherwise, depending on which of 

these elements predominates. 

Land Use Classes 

Today all advisors accept the Composting 

concept of land capability as the Apart from the above references to 

fundamental first step in sound land manure and organic matter, the reuse 

mapping on which property consideration of the making and 

planning is based. Dividing land into incorporation of good compost has 

land use classes (usually class I-VIII) received increasing attention in recent 

has been used by farm planners years. After decades of neglect, 

throughout the western world as the composting , is enjoying a belated 

foundation for physical plans in revival especially among more 

which the arable land is delineated e n v i r o n m e n t a 11 y - m i n d e d 

from pasture and timbered sections. smallholders. Latter-day organic 

Perhaps we could re-consider Cato's farmers will be interested to note the 

statements when expanding cropping detail in whch the Romans described 

into marginal regions: 

"It is mainly with respect to the soil 

good composting: 

"Hard by the steading, there 

that a farm is considered good or bad, should be two manure pits; into one 

for the soil determines what crops and pit cast the fresh manure and from the 

what varieties may be produced, as other, the rotted (veterem) manure is 

not all crops can be raised with equal 

success on the same land. Cato 

hauled into the field. Fresh manure is 

not as good as well rotted manure. 

formed nine categories of land The best type of manure pits have the 

according to their excellence: first, top and sides protected from the sun 

land on which the vines can bear a by branches and leaves, so the sun 

large quantity of wine of good does not dry out the essence which 

quality; second, land suited for a the land needs. Some farmers build 

watered garden; third, land for an their servants' toilets over the manure 

oyster (salicta) bed; fourth, for olives; pits for this reason." 

fifth, for meadows; sixth, for a grain 

field, seventh, for a wood lot; eighth, Buildings and Banks 

for an orchard, and ninth, for a mast "According to Fundanuis, a farm is 

(Glandaria silva) grove. [Scrofa undoubtedly more profitable if you 

comments that all authorities do not construct the buildings according to 

agree with Cato on these categories, the thrift (or utilitarian design) of the 

and I am one of those who, for ancients, rather than to the luxury of 

instance, assigns first place to good the moderns. The ancients' farm 

meadows (pastures).]" buildings cost more than their 

dwelling houses, but now thc 

Soil Classification 

opposite is usually true." 

Soil survey and mapping of soil 

types has been the province of 

"Protection of the farm can be 

achieved with several devices of 

pedologists since this science was which banks are one. A trench or 

established by the Russians in the bank of earth are adequate only if 

1800s. Today virtually all soil they can hold all the rain water, or 

conservation and farm planning have a slope sufficient to drain the 

advisors use soil classification water off the land." (Such works 

techniques as an evcryday tool of were used as barriers against animals

and tresspassers, rather than as 

crosion protection structures.) 

Trials and Demonstrations 

Nature has given us two routes to 

agriculture - experiment and 

imitation. The most- ancient farmers 

determined many of their practices by 

experiment. thcir descendants n~ostly 

imitated their practices. We ought to 

do both but should follow some 

system (Harrison has commented 

"Here in a few words is the whole 

doctrine of intelligent agriculture"). 

As for instance, if we plough a second 

time or more or less deeply than 

others, to see what effect this will 

have. This is the method (of 

experimentation and observation) 

used in weeding a second and third 

time and by those who put off 

grafting figs from spring to summer. 

We must observe what parts of the 

land must be manured, how the 

manure is to be applied and the best 

manure to use, for there are several 

kinds. Cassius states that the best 

manure is that of birds, except marsh 

and sea-fowl. The best bird manure is 

that of pigeons, because it has most 

heat and causes the soil to ferment. It 

should be broadcast on the land and 

not placed in piles like cattle dung. 

Next to pigeon dung, Cassius states 

that human excrement is best, and in 

third place is goat, sheep and ass 

dung. Horse dung is least valuable 

but good on grain land. The dung of 

animals fed on barley is best for 

meadows because it produces much 

grass. 

Stock and Stocking Rate 

Concerning the number of animals 

(stocking rate), the man who is 

founding a herd must decide on the 

size of the herd and the pasture, so 

that his pasturage will not run short 

and so that he will not have idle 

pasturage and hence lose his profit. In 

the matter of feeding, if too many 

young are born, you should follow 

the practice of some breeders, and 

wean some of them, the reason 

usually being "that the rest grow 

better". 

There is a remarkable thing about 

goats: some shepherds who have 

watched quite closely claim that goats 

do not breathe through their nostrils 

as other animals do, but through their 

ears. The goat prefers wooded glades 

to meadows and eats eagerly the field 

bushes, and crops the undergrowth 

on cultivated land. Indeed, their name 

"capra" is derived from "carpere, to 

crop". It is because of this fact that in 

a contract for the lease of a farm, the 

exception is usually made that the 

renter may not pasture the offspring 

of a goat on the place. For their teeth 

are injurious to all forms of @lant) 

growth. 

Landowners keep womcn in thcir 

herdsmen's huts in the winter ranges 

(grazing lands) and some even have 

them in the summer, thinking that 

this is worthwhile in order to more 

easily keep the hcrdsmen with their 

herds. 

Postscript 

We can gauge from this original 

account that many of the latter-day 

truths about organic farming and land 

management have been accepted as 

good practice for at least 20 centuries. 

Clearly the ancients did not 

understand why certain practices 

were beneficial, nor did they always 

observe accurately (as in goats' 

breathng methods!). As the author's 

professor at Nottingham University 

noted in 1966: "Before we can 

determine what is new, we must first 

decide to whom it is new." 

Acknowledgement 

I am grateful to Anthony and Iona 

Green of Karara, Queensland, for 

introducing me to the Latin texts of 

Cato and Varro. 

Reference 

Hooper, W. D. and Ash, H. B. 

1934. Cato and Varro, De Re Rustica. 

Latin with English translation. 

Harvard University Press, 

Cambridge, Mass., USA. 

LAW OF 

Now this is the Law of t h w , son - 

as old and as true as 4% hi&. 

And the farmer that keeps ?t may 

- - 

prosper, 

but the farmer that break it, it kills. 

Unlike the Law of Man, son, 

this law it never runs slack, 

What you take from the landfor your 

own, son, 

you've damn well got to put back. 

Now we of the old generation 

took land on the cheap and made good; 

We stocked, we burnt and we reaped, 

son; 

we took whatever we could. 

But erosion came creeping slowly, 

then hastened on with a nrsh; 

Our bluegrass went to glory, 

and we don't relish wiregrass much. 

The good old days are gone, son, 

when those slopes were white with 

lambs; 

40 

Now the lambs lie thin and starved, son 

and the silt has choked our dams. 

Did I say that those days were past, son? 

For me they're us good as gone. 

But to you they will come again son, 

When the job I set you is done. 

I have paid for this farm and fenced it, 

I have robbed it and now I unmask; 

You've got to put it back, son, 

and yours is the harder task. 

Stock all your paddocks wisely, 

rotate them a11 you can; 

Block all the loose storm water, 

and spread 'em out like a fan. 

Tramp all your straw to compost, 

and feed it to the soil; 

Contour your lands where they need it, 

there's vidue in sweat and toil. 

We don't really own the land, son, 

we hold it and pass away; 

The land belongs to the nation, 

till the dawn ofludgment Day. 

Now the nation holds you worthy, 

and you'll see, ij you're straight and 

just; 

That to rob the soil you hold son, 

is forsaking a nation's trust. . 

Don't ask of your farm a fortune; 

true pride ranks higher than gold; 

To farm is a way of living,- 

learn it before you grow old. 

Now this is the Law ofthe Land, son, 

to take out you've got to put back; 

And you'llfind that your life was full, 

son, 

when it's time to shoulder your pack. 

'The Law of the Land', - 

taken from The Stellerlander 

Newspaper, Vryburg, Cape 

Province, South Africa. 

author unknown. Adapted by 

Dr Brian Roberts and 

Published in his book 'Soil 

Conservation' - DDIAE 1983 

A ustralian~ournal qf Soil and Warn Consewation Vol. 2 No. 4 November, 1989

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 

D CARE 

THROUGH LOCAL GROUP ACTION 

Brian Roberts 


I 

Backsround 

Farm Management is many things - it is managing finances, 

managing labour and above all, managing land. This paper 

concerns the implementation of management of land resources in 

such a way that production is not at the expense of the land's 

productive potential. 

In recent years there has been an increasing awakening on the 

part of governments and producer organizations, to the reality 

of loss of productrve capacity of agricultural and pastoral 

land. There has also been a re-kindling of the concept of 

group action which was initiated in the late 1940s in several 

states. 

It is worth evaluating the progress made with the 

implementation of the recommendations of the interdepartmental 

committee (1978) on Australian soil conservation 

policy (see Appendix 1) .* 

The 1978 survey remains the only national stock-taking of the 

state of land degradation. The way in which the Federal and 

State governments have reacted to these and other more recent 

recommendations, is the 3est barometer of the progress made in 

soil co.zservaticn and land care. Thr sphcres identified for 

corrective action in 1978 were grouped as follows: 

I. Basic Recommendations. 

2. Commonwealth Action. 

3. Commonwealth-State Relations. 

4. -e Government Action. 

5. g=e-~egional-~ocal 

.---- ~elations. 

6. 6-1 Government. 

- . --- 

---- - --- 

While not assuming that the recommendations were comprehensive 

and well balanced, they form a useful framework within which 

to plan and implement group action by landholders at local 

level. In summary it may be said that significantly better 

conditions have been created during the past decade for 

landholders wishing to improve their land, to do so either 

individually or as a catchment or shire group. Attention has 

been given to the taxation aspects of land clearing and income 

equalization provisions are being considered. Funds have been 

made available for local demonstration and reclamation 

projects and in a number of ways, Federal government and some 

State governments have encouraged the establishment of 

landholder committees supported by departmental specialists. 

* NDt included in this copy.

The Present Position 

. - 

- - 

~r&e&t progress has been made with local group action in 

Vie-sa and Western Australia, the latter State now having 

over 100 District Soil Conservation Committees. Victoria led 

the nation with the early establishment of various farm 

planning, and later tree planting, groups. There are 

presently over 20 Land Care Committees in Victoria and 

approximately the same number in Queensland. The South 

Australian Soil Conservation Boards have increased their 

activities and in New South Wales there is a move toward 

farmer-led planning groups. In recent years the Northern 

Territory's Conservation Commission has overseen the formation 

of planning groups in a number of regions. In Tasmania 

departmental and landholder action has been in the fonn of an 

agricultural response to the strong environmental lobby in 

that State. 

[As an aside, it is interesting to note from the assignments 

submitted by over 200 external students undertaking the DDIAE 

Soil Conservation short course, how awareness and practical 

recommendations vary throughout the States nationwide.] 

The writer has been active in the encouragement and 

establishment of many local committees and has followed their 

progress with intense interest. Everyone agrees that setting 

up the committee is the easy part - the difficult part is 

maintaining enthusiastic action within priority directions 

agreed by the group concerned. Our group, the Toowoomba 

Erosion Awareness Movement, has consistently emphasized the 

complimentary roles of education, incentives and regulations - 

in that order, as the three pillars of sound land management 

(Roberts, 1987) . Despite the progress made in recent years, 

- nust be stated that there are still severe shortcomings in 

all three spheres, although the diverse and comprehensive 

range of educational materials funded by the National Soil 

Conservation Programme since 1983 has given the awareness 

campaign a significant boost in most States. Group-learning 

in practical . . 

_ ---- settings is now what is required on a vast scale. 

--- _ 

---- - 

-- -- 

- -- 

-=---A -- 

- -=----- 

_-=- 

~omm~Tte%s will continue to have difficulty persuading many 

individuals that the available incentives are meaningful in 

their particular financial situation. The whole issue of who 

benefits from, and who pays for, land care now becomes the 

major issue for the Decade of Soil Conservation. It remains a 

basic truism (Roberts, 1985) that if the community at large 

regards the landholder as the steward of the nation's soil 

resources, then the community should also ensure that the 

landholder is given the financial support required to carry 

out this vital stewardship role. This is the central land 

care issue requiring political realism and statesmanship in 

the 1990s. Neither positive attitudes through education, nor 

regulatory guidelines alone, can bring about sustainable rural 

production systems, if the manager and his family have to 

- -

I' - 

sacrifice individual benefit for the sake of @'the common 

good" . 

is of the 1978 recommendations shows that while 

aspects of soil conservation policy have been 

com&e&Jy identified as barriers to progress, only very 

recently have these matters been given serious attention 

(Senate Committee, 1987). The accumulating evidence that much 

of our export earnings have been at the expense of our soils, 

has caused more realistic consideration to be given to 

protecting this national asset which generates over 40% of 

such earnings. This matter has now become so vital to the 

future of this nation that the writer is calling for a 

national forum to consider alternative proposals for equitable 

financing of sound land management. Both direct and indirect 

fiscal policy is appropriate and nothing less than the entire 

national tax base would be a legitimate source of funds if 

Australia's future is at risk. 

Contrary to popular belief, there is a place for regulations 

in the framework within which land care committees must 

function. While the very notion of land use controls cuts 

across many independently-minded landholders8 principles, as a 

final (and hopefully little-used) factor in land use policy, 

enforcable guidelines may be required where the majority are 

being prevented from achieving common unity goals, by 

uncooperative individuals. This principle already applies 

across much of our democracy and its legal system and has long 

been accepted in the zoning of local areas for particular uses 

(Roberts, 1986a) . 

Functionins of Land Care Groux>s 

The tzonnotations of names such as Land Management, Land 

iTti-idation, Land Care and Soil Conservation, as applied tc 

local landholder groups, have an important imagery for both 

members and outsiders. For this reason the choice of name and 

more importantly, the careful wording of objectives, are 

important starting points for local action. The identity and 

community image-.of the group are essential prerequisites to 

local__commitment . _-_l 

In turn, the preparation of meaningful 

p r ~ - j and ~ g action plans are essential to achieving 

obj e and to maintaining involvement. After meeting with 

memb -of 

approximately 40 district soil conservation 

commifFees in Western Australia a set of common elements of 

success were identified by the writer. The differences 

between more successful and less unsuccessful committees are 

reflected in the list presented in Appendix 2. 

While appropriate leadership is necessary, the development of 

a sequential plan of action is an essential early step in 

gaining commitment and maintaining the momentum of individual 

involvement. Such a plan of action can take many forms and 

the writer has found a circular diagram of the following type 

to be useful:

on Objectives 

- - -- - - 

----=:I . : - - 

Evaluate ts 7 

t Plan 

State 

3 EvdLuate Alternatives 

/ 4 ~est Solution 

An example of guidelines set up for a Queensland pastoral 

group is shown in Appendix 3, in which an effort is made to 

use the interest and experience of individuals with special 

knowledge of particular problems and solutions by establishing 

subprojects with subcommittees of personal choice. The nonsectional 

character of the group is also important in avoiding 

the association of the group with a sole producer 

organization, a department or even a personality. 

An additional factor which must be emphasized is the potential 

role of women in Land Care groups. The contribution of rural 

women to the secretarial aspects of community work is well 

known, but their special talent for taking the long term view 

of permanent production systems as a basis for on-going family 

security, has not been adequately tapped in Land Care groups 

to date. This matter was put to the Country Women's 

Association of Queensland (Roberts, 1986) and has received a 

positive and growing response. It is indeed heartening to 

witness the increasing number of women being elected to key 

roles in recently elected Land Care committees. Their role is 

of particular value in nurturing a sense of ?en.;tnel:.cr .r-12 

balance in the coming generation of landholders, whict has 

every reason to include as many female as male managers in the 

coming years of increasing automation of farm activities 

It is to be hoped that Australia can develop a pride and a 

reswA for the successful farm manager, as reflected in the 

--- 

ed on Kipling's famous "If", which the writer 

annually to all his agricultural graduates in South 

pendix 4) . 

References 

1. Inter-department Committee on Soil Conservation 1978. A 

Basis for Soil Conservation Policy in Australia. Dept. 

Housing & Environment, AGPS, Canberra. 

2. Roberts, BeRo 1985. Land Stewardship - our attitudes 

toward the Land. Mulgalands Symposium, Royal Soc. Qld., 

Brisbane . 

3. Roberts, B.R. 1986. Mother Earth - the role of women in 

developing land stewardship in Australia. C.W.A. Oakey, 

March.

4. Roberts, B.R. 1986a. Can Agricultural Expansion in 

-pueensland 

-. Survive Without Land Use Controls. Discussion 

:s:-Ber, Soil Con. Assn. Aus. , May. 

- -- -_--- 

- - 

- ---.- 

5. ?~oberts, B.R. 1987. Australian Land Degradation and its 

Control. Ambio 16(5). Royal Swedish Academy of Science, 

Stockholm. 

6. Senate Committee on Environment and Conservation. Fiscal 

Measures and Achievement of Environmental Objectives. 

AGPS , Canberra.

APPENDIX 2 * 

1. clear goals which are specific, achievable, understood 

and agreed to. 

2. Are seen to be formed by the local community, for the 

local community. 

3. Clear recognition of the fundamental land problems 

causing recognised symptoms. 

4. Problem-solving procedures which evaluate alternatives 

and design optimum solutions based on present 

information. 

5. Appropriate positive, credible and adaptable leadership 

from their chairman who leads by example. 

6. Members committed to the stated aims of district 

committees in a way which overrides personal and 

sectional goals of members or the bodies they represent. 

7. Are accepted by their community as undertaking worthy 

activities for the ultimate benefit of that community. 

8. Consists of members who are each willing to accept 

allocations of duties to get the committee's work done. 

9. Work methods which plan work programmes in a sequential 

way which achieves step-wise progress towards the agreed 

ob j ectives . 

10. District size which is not so large as to reduce 

effective contact with the majority of landholders below 

the level required for cooperation in district 

programmes. 

11. -+@=ity-----: 

to plan and implement conservation farming 

-- --- --- 

ams and community education, without undue 

- 

a .-__ 

-dence on departmental officers. 

. -- 

12. Meeting procedures and group activities which acknowledge 

and encourage individual member's contributions and 

teamwork. 

13. Physical and financial resources satisfactory for 

effective functioning of the committee. 

14. Develop a pride in their achievements and benefits 

derived from their work for the community.

APPENDIX 3 

- - 

- - 

- 

= -- - -- 

.-= --z ---- 

- .-I ----.- - - 

=- - - -. 

---+- -: 

1. Aims - 

To improve the productivity and stability of the land of 

the shire for future land uses. 

2. S~ecific Objectives 

To increase permanent carrying capacity through: 

(a) Increasing fodder production through appropriate 

stocking rates and spelling. 

(b) Controlling the balance between trees and grass. 

(c) Introducing improved fodder species. 

3. Problems 

Symptoms : 

(a) Reduced carrying capacity due to (i) loss of cover, 

( ii) tree regrowth. 

(b) Soil loss, 

Causes : 

(a) Stocking rates. 

(b) Other (list). 

4. Solutions 

Reduce stock numbers, 

Control trees by mechanical, chemical and burning 

methods. 

Other. 

--- 

5- People ~vailable for Programme Development and 

-. -&-ementat 

ion 

= - 

--=z 

- - 

Care Committee 

_..- 

Ca--opted Members 


Departmental Officers 

Private Consultants 

6. Sources of Funds 


NSCP 

Shire 

DPI 

Water Resources Commission

.A- 

7. Planninq 

-- 

- 

-,sip 

- 

problem areas. 

----,-Xentify- potential cooperators. 

Summarize existing experimental and experiential 

information. 

Select trial sites and treatments. 

Decide on economic analysis and minimum trial period. 

Gain commitment from cooperators for each trial site. 

Elect subcommittee of three or more for each trial. 

8. Proi ect Preparation 

Prepare document describing trials, sites and 

cooperators. 

List starting times for each trial. 

9. Public Comment and Site Selection 

Present description of trials to public meeting for 

suggested additions, change and improvement. 

Amend trials as appropriate. 

Call for additional members to form subcommittees for 

each trial or project and cooperators to offer trial 

sites. 

Prepare detailed sequence of actions and starting times 

for each project. 

Implement treatments and commence recording. 

11. Communitv Awareness 

Develop and implement a programme of field days, p.:ess 

releases, radio and TV news items on the work of the 

group and the benefits to the community. 

12. Prosramme Valuation 

- - =- - -=:-= 

- 

--- - 

--- 

ew of present projects in terms of achievement of 

--ha1 aims. 

-%osose new activities to meet update aims and second 

phase of progress. 

---d 

13. On-going expansion and review.

APPENDIX 4 

- 

-. - - 

- -- 

- - 

---- 

- -- 

- - -- 

THE FARMER 

.-- -= . 

My ~Bti,~~you say you want to be a farmer, 

And there are many things you do not understand. 

Farming is a mode of life and living, 

And not a job of getting cash on hand. 

If you can love the land and country living, 

And not lose faith when dust is rolling high; 

If you can buy when other folks are selling, 

And sell when other folks want to buy; 

And if you can win and not waste time in boasting 

And bragging of the things you've done; 

If you can keep your farm work up to season 

And still have time to have a little fun; 

If you can plan a programme that will give you 

Feed for your stock in any kind of year; 

If you can break a colt but not his spirit; 

So that he will obey through love and not through fear: 

If you can stay out all night in a blizzard 

To keep your stock from dying in the snow; 

As day after day and back and forth you go; 

If you can keep your mind at peace while ploughing 

If you can meet your banker without whining 

Whenever a note comes due you cannot pay; 

If you can catch a vision of the future 

Through the clouds that overshadow you today; 

If you can remember every time you need them 

Where last you left the hammer, the saw, or screw: 

If you can work with badly-worn machinery 

And not make the atmosphere around you blue; 

If you can keep your books and tell which project 

Of all you have is paying you the best; 

If you can take advice from some old-timer 

And yet with modern methods keep abreast; 

If you can raise a good share of your living, 

Can either win or lose and keep your head; 

If you can work in filth and not be filthy; 

If ywcan 

- -- - be friend to all about you, 

And F- an honoured name when you are dead; 

c---y 

If yg&ES@n -*-- do all this and keep your manly charm, 

My s ~ = - ~ have o u the makings of a farmer - 

And you're the man who's wanted on the farm. 

Anonymous,

Brian Roberts, DDIAE 

1989 

Farm planning has been a substantial part of rural advisory 

services in many developed countries since the mid-1940s. In 

Australia several states including Queensland, have inherited 

the British planning system based on land capability and land 

classes. This system which has much in common with the North 

American approach, has relied heavily on the mapping of 

physical resources and attributes, as the basis of farm 

planning. 

Over time it became clear that many farm plans were not used 

as a basis for on-going improvement of management - in fact 

the farm plan was often no more than a prized picture on the 

property office wall. This paper aims to analyse the reasons 

why farm plans have been so ineffective in expanding sound 

land management, and what changes are required as we enter the 

era of group property planning. 

The O ld Way 

In the past, individuals applied to state departments to have 

their farms planned. Farm planners and soil conservationists 

drew up topographic maps, plotted hydrological patterns, 

surveyed soils, mapped vegetation types and identified the 

boundaries of land suitable for cultivation. 

Seldom did the physical plan form a basis for management and 

economic decision-making. In many cases, the fact that the 

farm plan was only a resource inventory, was not made 

sufficiently clear and as a result, evidence now shows that 

the standard of management is little different on planned and 

unplanned farms. In practice it is found that the winners of , 

conservation competitions and the financially more successful 

farmers +ave seldom had their farms planned. In addition, a 

- recent-survey by the Soil Conservation Service of New South 

Wales -shows that of a sample of 2000 landholders whose farms 

had been planned by SCS over the past two decades, only a 

small proportion actually used their plan to any extent in 

their management and development. 

C 

These findings on the non-use of detailed physical plans 

should not be interpreted as indicating that planning is 

unnecessary, but rather it should encourage a re-thinking of 

why and how the planning process has been approached and 

whether changes are indicated. 

1

The New Deal 

The present situation reflects a response to producer 

organizationsf desire to both take responsibility for, and 

give the initiative in, "whole farma1 planning. This starting 

point alone, gives "farmer-ledln planning a better chance of 

success than the previous departmental approach. However, 

several other differences between old and new strategies must 

be exploited if real progress is to ensue. 

Three basic questions require consideration: 

1. Who should do the planning? 

2. What level of precision is required in mapping and 

description? 3 

3. How should management and financial decision-making be 

integrated with physical planning? 

Wherever possible, landholders should take the lead in 

evaluating the potential and hazards of each section of their 

properties. This should be followed by the landholders own 

mapping and decisions on a land use programme which meets the 

objectives of sustainable production. This should be done on 

the basis of orthophoto maps, using transparent, overlays and 

wax pens in the initial stages in which alternatives are 

considered. Group sessions in which individuals can be 

assisted and queried by their peer group could ensure that a 

range of alternatives are compared. 

A rational analysis should be made of the usefulness of the 

detail on topography and soils as included in past plans. 

Serious consideration must be given to the use of generalized 

mapping of slopes, soil and vegetation types, bearing in mind 

that for practical management, slight variations in country 

will be combined in manageable-sized paddocks for production 

purposes. It is the writer's contention that in most cases a 

workable plan can be drawn up without detailed topographic and 

soil surveys, provided the landholdersf local knowledge of 

their-=-properties is sufficient to identify units of the 

landscape which require different management. This applies to 

suitability for clearing and or cultivation and to 

differential carrying capacity and erosion proneness. 

In addition, full use should be made of existing fences and 1 

treelines before these are replaced or removed. 

There is every chance that landholders can make great strides 

in improving land care by implementing management which: 

(i) increases soil organic matter; 

(ii) reduces soil losses; 

(iii) improves f erility ; 

(iv) reduces toxic chemical residues. 

On most properties these changes can be commenced without a 

I

farm plan or major changes in physical layout, provided the 

basic requirements of land capability are met in determining 

suitable land for cultivation. 

Intearation of Physical. Economic and Manaqement Plans 

If farm planning is to materially contribute to land care, it 

will need to fonn a working basis for dynamic market-driven 

decision making. Computerized decision models have allowed 

the rapid comparison of enterprize mixes. Much more attention 

must now be given to using simple procedures to assist land 

managers to engage their resources in financially efficient 

sustainable production methods. 

Additional Considerations 

It will become apparent to all advisors that landholders are 

calling for research to be commenced on issues for which 

research-based recommendations are already available. This 

reflects a shortcoming of extension rather than a lack of 

knowledge by landholders. It will also be found that Land 

Care Committees want to initiate projects on a range of 

aspects of land management which, although not strictly part 

of property planning, can increase knowledge and awareness of 

many aspects of management within the plan. Such initiatives 

should be encouraged in the fields of land use policy 

recommendations (eg clearing guidelines), community awareness 

and demonstration of land care techniques (trees, tillage, 

erosion control). In this way the parallel developments of 

plans and techniques can progress together. It would be a 

mistake (apart from a physical impossibility) to concentrate 

advisory services solely on property planning in the initial 

stages of Land Care Committee activity. Table 1 indicates the 

building blocks of sustainable production and interested 

subgroups or individuals should be encouraged to commence 

their own trials or studies of any or all of these fundamental 

matters listed in the table. 

Another matter which needs attention is the encouragement of 

bankers and other financie rs to take part in planning and 

managemem seminars so that credit may be given (literally) to 

property holders who are making effective use of th eir 

producti-on potential within a stable and secure system wh ich 

can be appreciated by financ iers.

1. LAND CAPABILITY PLANNING 2. SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL 3. PROWJCTION METHODS 

FRAMEMORK 

A. Choice of suitable A. Education - practical A. Choice of crop and soil 

Class 1-111 land for inf omtion, permanent management - organic matter 

annual cropping: attitudes, appreciation of and humus build-up. 

limits to sustainable 

B. Selection of appropriate 

land for clearing. 

C. Stocking rates determined 

on actual pasture yield. 

Be Incentives and financial 

support - loans, tax 

schemes and financial 

assistance. 

C. Land zoning - advisory 

canittees and peer group 

recmdations on 

sustainable yield. 

B. Fertility maintenance - 

legumes, phosphate. 

C. Soil stability - water and 

wind erosion control by 

earthworks, surf ace 

management and plant cover. 

* 

D. Control of toxic build-up - 

choice of sustainable pest 

and weed control methods to 

avoid chemical accumulation. 

Brian Roberts 

1989

Cover Story 

LAND STE ARDSH 

udes Toward The Land 

Dr. Brian Roberts is Dean of 

School of Applied Science, 

Darling Downs Institute of 

Advanced Education, 

Toowoomba, Qld. 

Background 

Landholders have come under 

increasing pressure from a variety of 

city-based groups in recent years. A 

number of these groups maintain that 

rural producers should show more 

sensitivity to the land and its living 

organisms. The issues such as animal 

welfare and kangaroo protection are 

somewhat removed from the more 

basic issues of soil conservation, land 

clearing and salinity. In the past the 

conservation lobby has been primarily 

concerned with the more emotive uses 

of land such as those involving the 

sand islands and rain forests. This 

has led rural producers to regard 

those who identify with the concept 

of conservation, as idealistic and not 

in tune with the realities of rural 

production and its economic 

framework. 

In 1985 the National Farmers 

Federation initiated a nation-wide 

campaign to bring both the economic 

plight of the landholder, and his 

importance to the nation's exports, 

to the attention of the federal 

government. This campaign has so 

far done little to impress on the 

public at large that rural producers 

not only accept their responsibility as 

the trustees of the community's land 

resources but that they can 

demonstrate that they are dependable 

stewards of the land. This 

stewardship implies leaving the land 

in a better condition than they 

received it - a concept which to date 

has not always been recognised as the 

hallmark of a good farmer or grazier. 

It is against this background that 

our past, present and future attitudes 

toward land should be analysed, so 

that we may develop a fair and lasting 

man/land relationship in this wellendowed 

country. In short, we 

require a combination of financial 

incentives, educational programs and 

regulatory guidelines, to form the 

basis for the development of land use 

systems which are in balance with 

nature to the extent that we may 

confidently expect permanent plant 

and animal production from our 

ecosystems. This will mean optimum 

rather than maximum levels of 

production and the acceptance of the 

land ethic which forms the 

foundation of our appreciation of the 

natural resource base to our 

economy. : 

Attitudes to land in 

historic perspective 

1. 

Going back in history we recognise 

a familiar pattern common to most 

settlement eras where the acquisition 

of land is seen as a new-found 

security in which the ability of the 

land, including the mulga lands, to 

produce wealth is paramount. 

The pioneers' relation to their land 

is one of survival of man in an 

environment over which he has little 

control. He exploits nature by 

fencing, developing watering points 

or clearing for cropping or increased 

production. In the pastoral situation, 

there is generally a much greater 

awareness of man's dependence on 

nature, notably his dependence on 

rainfall and the carrying capacity of 

native pastures on different soils and 

in different seasons. 

Early in the settlement period 

landholders became aware of the 

effects of overstocking on their 

animals. Unfortunately, the more 

insidious, but longer-lasting effects 

on the land, are less easily observed. 

As such, deterioration of grazing 

land is generally not recognised 

THE AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FARMER PAGE 5

improve the regulatory guidelines to 

ensure that unacceptable land use, 

such as the indiscriminate clearing of 

unsuitable soils for cropping on a 

vast scale in marginal rainfall zones, 

does not occur in future. Australia 

already has a Iegacy of abandoned 

land resulting from the unwise 

agricultural schemes of earlier years. 

While this issue of legislating against 

certain land uses is seen as infringing 

on the freedom of the individual 

landholder, unless specialist advice 

on clearing is heeded, governments 

may find it necessary to use land use 

controls to meet community pressure 

to preserve the future productive 

capacity of the land in semi-arid 

zones and on steep land nearer the 

coast. 

Figure I. Sequence of processes in grassland deterioration. 

until it has reached an advanced 

stage. The slow sequential phases of 

this process are shown in Figure 1. 

2. Recognition or Awareness Era 

The pattern of settlement and 

consolidation of rural communities 

generally moves from the pioneering 

era, in which life is often a battle 

against nature, to a phase of 

recognition that production systems 

need to be in equilibrium with the 

natural productive levels of the 

ecosystem concerned, if production 

is to be permanent. 

This permanency does not imply 

stability in the sense of annual yields 

being constant, but rather stability in 

the sense that, despite large annual 

fluctuations in rainfall, the land 

potential is not reduced through overuse, 

erosion and salinity. 

The recognition phase often does 

not eventuate until severe economic 

pressure forces a realisation that 

unless land use methods (stocking 

rate, controlled burning, clearing, 

clean cultivation) are changed, 

production will continue to decline 

despite increased inputs through 

breeding, feeding and fertilising. 

The rate at which awareness of the 

ecological realities becomes an 

integral aspect of local community 

values, determines largely the 

possibility of landholders taking early 

corrective action before soil 

conservation becomes very expensive 

relative to the profitability of current 

production systems. 

Many regions of Australia appear 

to be entering this awareness era in 

the 1980's and though the depth of 

PAGE 6 

Firstly the financial incentives to 

improve the land will need 

substantial upgrading before many 

landholders will not be inclined to 

think further than short-term 

economic survival. 

The financial stringencies which 

have dominated the rural sector in the 

recent past have discouraged the 

development of both land ethics and 

the stewardship role of the 

landholder. 

In addition to the provision of 

greater incentives, is the need to 

Land tenure and 

man/land relations 

recognition and acceptance of the 

problem of land deterioration varies 

greatly between individuals in the 

same region, there is no doubt that 

most producers are becoming more Much has been written on the issue 

aware of both the need to apply of land tenure Systems in Australia. 

conservatjon methods and to Most writers concerned about 

appreciate the growing expectations conserving the land em~hasise the 

of the community at large, that rural advantages of leasehold as a basis for 

producers will increasingly be maintaininggovernmentcontrolover 

expected to act as trustees and land use through covenants on the 

stewards of the nation's food and leases. The negative view of leasehold 

fibre producing resources. 

tenure is that it does not foster a sense 

of permanency and a spirit of 

This awareness phase is likely to stewardship characterised by an oncontinue 

for several decades and will going commitment to keeping the 

be greatly influenced by the land in good condition. 

effectiveness of the educational 

programmes, from primary to adult The view that the 30-year lease 

education on a nation-wide basis. encourages overstocking and 

exploitaFion is widely Geld in 

3. Conservation or Balanced Land Australia. On the other hand, 

Use Era 

freehold tenure is generally held to 

Increasing the level of awareness is give the owner unfettered freedom to 

one thing - doing something about treat the land totally as he wishes, 

the problem is another thing. There with no fear of limitations or 

are several parallel activities which termination imposed by government. 

require positive political support (not Freehold is also considered to 

lip service) before the widespread encourage an attachment to the land 

implementation of conservative and a pride in handing the land to the 

production methods can be expected. next generation in a better condition. 

Many countries apply land use 

controls even on freehold. In other 

words, the State .maintains responsibility 

for preventing maltreatment of 

the nation's most precious asset - 

the land. The basic philosophy of 

controls on freehold land, is ;hat the 

present owner is but a temporary 

trustee, not an end-user; and as such, 

he does not have the right to reduce 

the productive capacity of the land 

for future generations. Such 

legislation reflects statemanship and 

vision and should not be interpreted 

as restrictive over-regulation of 

THE AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FARMER

individual's rights. No individual 

should ever have the right to damage 

forever, what belongs to the nation 

and its coming generations. It was 

John Ruskin who said: 

"The earth is a great entail. 

gs as much to those 

US, as to us, and w 

by anything we do, 

in unnecessary pena 

ve them of benefits 

opposition of informed taxpayers to 

the double standards applied to 

mining and rural industries in the 

realm of environmental impact 

studies is defensible and becoming 

more widespread. 

The way to define land rights in 

their true sense, is to recognise that 

all land uses should use land to the 

capacity of its potential and protect 

it according to its susceptibility to 

deterioration. 

. - . . This principle has been taught since 

the 1930's as the cornerstone of land 

Land rights and conservation but somehow it hasn't 

become part of the ethos of 

wrongs 

Australian values. 

The National Conservation 

Strategy represents a first attempt at 

an Australian list of pre-requisites for 

nation-wide sustainable land use and 

as such it deserves wide support 

despite its generalised statements and 

its accepted shortcomings. 

This strategy may appear to be 

only remotely associated with 

i 

attitudes toward the land but it forms 

a unique starting point for the birth ! 

of a long-overdue Iand ethic in this 

country. Such an ethic would change 

I 

the previous individualistic approach 1 

to land rights to one which recognises 

I 

and protects what is known as 'the 

I 

public interest.' 

Our common wealth is the soil. It 

supports us, it gives us security and 

in the final analysis we are totally 

dependent on it. The technocrats 

argue that our science has made us 

independent of the soil, to the extent 

that modern man has become the 

first animal who does not have to 

adapt to his environment to survive. 

Therein lies the most dangerous 

assumption of our time, since such 

technological arrogance is leading to 

man's ruination of his biosphere in 

the false belief that science will 

somehow solve his environmental 

problems. 

In seeing to his own needs, man 

has neglected the needs of the 

ecosystems which sustain him. He has 

treated land as if its only value is to 

supply him with milk and honey. He 

has been guided only by economic 

principles, neglecting the ecological 

and moral principles which should 

have an equal place in his value 

system. 

The time has come for Australians 

to re-define land rights in terms of 

acceptable land use behaviour. It is 

interesting to note that the term 

'freehold' has nothing to do with 

freedom of action but originally 

meant that holders of freehold were 

free of the obligation to provide 

soldiers for the king's army in ancient 

England. 

As social values change with time, 

so the understanding of rights 

changes. With the changes in social 

and moral values has come change in 

the community's concept of 

freeholders' rights. 

The opposition from producer 

organisations to the introduction of 

land use controls is predictable and 

understandable. Equally, the 

me National Conservation 

Strategy - trendy 

environmentalism or 

essential planning? 

While the leader of the National 

Farmers Federation refers to the 

"petty emotionalism" of environmental 

lobbyists, the Federal Minister 

for Primary Industry describes 

Australian land degradation as 

"extremely severe and costly." 

The annual report of the 

Queensland D.P.I. refers to the fact 

that "land resources in Queensland 

are being rapidly and permanently 

degraded.'' Perhaps it is none too 

soon for the concept of land rights to 

move from black consciousness to 

white consciousness of our madland 

relations. 

The National Conservation 

Strategy aims to marry the goals of 

conservation and develo~ment in a 

cational land use planning 

framework which will support a 

sustainable society. This entails 

adopting long-term goals in 

development and resource allocation, 

to maintain options for the future 

and increase productivity of the land. 

Few people realise that Australia 

has no national goals, no development 

plan, no visionary image of the 

nation's future. Such plans require 

value judgements and commitment to 

on-going paths of action aimed at 

balanced use of resources. This 

requires that conservation of land 

resources be regarded as an 

integrated segment of our production 

systems and not simply as an optional 

extra which is included if 

economically acceptable. 

Individual freedom and 

the public interest 

The early stages of settlement were 

not characterised by land use 

conflicts but as new lands became 

scarce and competition for resources 

and space became more serious, more 

serious thought was given to the 

relative merits of alternative claims 

on the land for different uses. Today 

the reconciliation of individual rights 

and the common good (or public 

interest) has become the fundamental 

element of the land degradation 

debate. 

For the first time in Australia's 

history, the community at large is 

I 

I 

starting to make it known to farmers 

i 

and graziers, that their impact on the 1 

land is the concern of all Australians. i 

1 

I 

As yet, there has been little evidence 

that the taxpayers are willing to / 

support landholders in their steward- 

1 

ship role. 

The community expectation that 

producers will act as genuine trustees 

must be based on the assumption that 

the individual landholder is motivated 

by education, incentives or 

regulations. The statement that land 

degradation has been caused by need, 

greed or ignorance, was warranted in 

the past. 

Today, extension services aim to 

overcome the ignorance problem, 

financial policy should aim to 

neutralise the need, and regulations 

can ensure that greed does not 

disadvantage later users. 

In the extensive grar~ ng region such 

as the mulga lands of western 

Queensland, there has JI ways been a 

I 

, 

THE AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FARMER PAGE 7

conflict of views between graziers' 

view of themselves and the view taken 

of graziers by others. This dichotomy 

of images reflects important differences 

in social values and is thus 

of importance in the evolution of 

attitudes to the land and expectations 

of the level of support warranted by 

landholders. 

Thus a group of producers may see 

themselves as embattled, resilient, 

independent, self-sufficient individuals, 

not only persevering through 

repeated onslaughts of climate and 

pests, but also financially 

disadvantaged through tariffs and 

labour awards. Such a self-image 

tends to justify the view that 

conserving the land for the benefit of 

other groups at future times cannot 

be seriously contemplated - at least 

not without significant financial 

assistance to do so. 

This same group of producers may 

be seen by other community groups 

as a privileged class, an elite rural 

minority, self-sustaining through its 

association with selective schools and 

historic family ties. In the eyes of 

others, this image is seldom deserving 

of special financial assistance. 

In practice, a breakdown of 

population in the rural districts, 

shows that while these stereotypes are 

not as common as is often thought, 

there is a distinctly stronger social 

grouping in the grazier cpmmunity 

than in the more closely settled 

farming communities nearer the 

coast. 

It is these variations in the rural 

community which cause city-dwellers 

and politicians to confuse the images, 

and thus the perceived merits, of 

landholders as a group. This 

confusion leads to unresolved 

political conflicts concerning the need 

for land use controls and financial 

incentives to encourage sound land 

use. 

Democracy's poor 

record in land use 

planning 

The community affected by land 

degradation is of course the whole 

population, not just the landholder. 

Sooner or later, the price of 

exploitation of the soil must be paid 

by the community at large through 

reduced production and increased 

product prices. 

Unfortunately, democracy tends to 

give the voters what they want in the 

PAGE 8 

short term, not what they need in the 

longer term. Future voters have no 

effect on present elections. It is thus 

no wonder that a democracy based 

on a three-year term, does nothing to 

encourage statemanship or reward 

visionary policies. It is for this reason 

that the old truism about learning 

from history still stands: 

"What men learn from history, is 

that men don't learn from history." 

Thus it is, that we do not heed the 

warnings of tne ancient Roman 

writers such as Virgil and Varo on the 

dire consequences of cropping steep 

slopes or of overgrazing natural 

pastures. Each community and each 

generation seems doomed to have to 

learn its own lesson and to gain its 

wisdom at the expense of the land. 

The Australian need today is for a 

combination of the principles of 

sociology and ecology in a 

perspective-making subject which is 

best termed social ecology. This new 

discipline must form the basis of a 

new realisation that our nation's 

future depends on the implementation 

of social policies whiqh 

recognise the ecological necessities of 

balanced land use. 

The evidence of degradation is so 

widespread that we are forced to ask 

whether democracy can handle our 

ecological requirements for 

maintaining land potential. In short, 

we can no longer allow the 

economic pressure of the market 

price to continue to cause us to live 

off our 'land capital.' 

The time has come to recognise the 

central significance of Routley's three 

progressive views of man's relations 

to his land: 

e Man the tyrant (arrogance and 

exploitation; 

e Man the steward (adaptation and 

dependence); 

e Man the co-operator (madland 

partnership). 

This evolution reflects our 

movement from a man-centred value 

system to an eco-centred symbiosis. 

Land ethics - 

education for change 

Aldo Leopold was one of the first 

to elucidate the concept of the land 

ethic, which he claimed, changed the 

role of man from conqueror of the 

'land community' to a mere member 

of that community. Land ethics 

* - 

expands our ethical behaviour from 

relations between man and man, to 

relations between man and land. 

The writer has repeatedly called for 

an education policy which teaches 

appreciation of specific, historic, 

social and ecological truisms at all 

levels in our education system. 

Additions to our school curricula 

could change the Australian view of 

madland relations and in one 

generation our nation could embrace 

a new stewardship ethos by 

integrating the following concepts in 

our schools: 

(i) The shortsightedness of an exploitative 

approach to land 

resources. 

(ii) The productive potential of 

conservation farming vis-a-vis 

total protection and antidevelopment. 

(iii) The equivalence of good 

farmers and applied ecologists 

in aiming for sustained 

production. 

(iv) The dependence of man on 

natural ecosystems despite 

technical advances. 

(v) 

The closed and finite nature of 

global ecosystems of which man 

is part. 

(vi) The lessons of history which 

demonstrate the socioeconomic 

disasters which 

follow land degradation. 

(vii) The optimism and challenge 

reflected in successful casestudies 

of conservation 

farming. 

(viii) The need for individual 

freedom in land use decisions to 

meet the criteria of 'the 

common good,' 

(ix) The need for political vision 

and the long-term view of 

. permanent production systems. 

(x) 

The appreciation of soil erosion 

as a problem affecting the 

whole population, not a 

problem of the rural sector. 

(xi) Development of pride and wellbeing 

from the stewardship of 

stable land. 

(xii) Recognition that landholders 

are temporary trustees not 

consumers or end-users of land. 

THE AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FARMER 

I 

i I 

I 

e 

I 

f 

I

B R Roberts 

Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education, Toowoomba. 

Australia is presently experiencing a remarkable change in 

attitude toward the land. For the first time in the nation's 

history there is not only a widespread awareness of the 

communityrs dependence on the land for the major portion of 

national production but a realization that land care is a 

necessary ingredient for national survival. Lost production 

through degradation has been valued at $600 million per annum. 

This long-awaited change in man/land relations has the 

potential to usher in an era characterised by new community 

values relating to environmental concern. This in turn can be 

expected to bring new responsibilities and roles for both 

landholders and land use advisors in agriculture, pastoralism, 

forestry, wildlife management and mine site rehabilitation. 

Several organizations and activities warrant identification as 

significant factors or steps leading to the present greening 

of Australia : 

* 

1. National Survey of Land Degradation (1975) 

This was the first, and to date, the only nation-wide 

attempt to estimate the extent and significance of land 

degradation in Australia. Published in 1978, it has not 

only become the basic reference and source of 

quantitative data in all States, but was the forerunner 

of the first serious steps to be taken by a federal 

government to address degradation problems (Anon, 1978). 

2. National Soil Conservation Programme 

This federal initiative in 1983 grew out of an increasing 

reali .zation of the need to act against the increasing 

loss of production potential. The programme spelled out 

five prime objectives and provided for direct federal 

f undi ng of state and community groups within a budget 

which rose from $1 million in 1983 to $45 million in 

1989. More than any other single factor, this programme 

signa lled the acceptance of degradation control as an 

emerg ing issue on the national political agenda. 

3. Landholder Committees 

The committees, known variously as soil conservation, 

land care, land management or land use committees, 

started on a large scale in Western Australia when the 

state Soil Conservation Act of 1982 formed the basis for 

dozens of district or catchment committees made up 

I

primarily of landholders. After similar but smaller 

scale activities in victoria and South Australia, the 

Cattlemen's Union in Queensland put forward a major 

- initiative in 1988, calling for the establishment of a 

network of Land Care Committees as the basis for 

producer-led improvements in land use (Douglas, 1988) . 

This development was closely associated with the joint 

ACF/NFF establishment of land management guidelines and 

property planning goals. 

4. Tree Planting Groups and Competitions 

The early 1980s brought an expanded interest in treeplanting, 

first as a means of controlling salinity and 

later as a measure to enhance wildlife and improve 

landscape stability generally. This focus on the 

desirability of trees was in sharp contrast to the values 

associated with land development based on massive 

clearing, especially" in western Australia and Queensland 

since the 1960s where the wheatbelt and the brigalow 

schemes respectively set new world records in the rate 

and extent of clearing. 

5. Recognition of Erosion and Salination by the Conservation 

Lobby 

Up to the late 1970s the conserration movement in general 

and the ACF in particular, placed little emphasis on the 

destruction of agricultural or pastoral land as 

environmental problems worthy of political action. When 

a poll among national consenration group membership 

identified this destruction as a prime problem, the ACF 

moved to address this problem in both the federal and 

state political arenas. From 1987 the ACF and NFF 

cooperated fruitfully within the federal Task Force to 

develop and disseminate rural land use guidelines. 

New Roles 

These recent developments, singely and in combination, create 

a new and different frame of reference for both rural leaders 

and advisory personnel. The thrust has been for landholders 

to be more pro-active, more innovative and more responsible 

for giving direction in land management. This reflects a 

major change in the attitudes and actions in the rural areas 

of all states, and constitutes a "new deal" in environmental 

awareness in Australia. Advisors, researchers and 

administrators'now find themselves responding to calls for 

support from a burgeoning corps of allies on the land, in 

their attempt to improve land management, productivity and 

stability of the ecosystems on which the community depends. 

Rather than acting as the expert, giving advice on a one-toone 

basis, the specialists are now invited to offer resources 

and support to groups acting in concert. Under the emerging 

circumstances, an understanding of effective group extension 

methods, which have been neglected since their development by 

the Americans and the Dutch in the 1950s, needs special

attention at an early date. Advisors will have their greatest 

effect on land management if they encourage the self-help 

groups to identify their own problems and to "own the 

solution^^^. This can be best achieved by evaluating causes 

and alternative solutions through vigorous and open group 

dynamics in which a majority of landholders are involved. In 

this way, land care, soil erosion and loss of fauna and flora 

will hopefully no longer be regarded as the government's 

problems waiting for the government's action. 

Confusion on Sustainable Land Use 

Predictably the rapidly emerging new approaches have led to 

uncertainty and insecurity on the part of those in leadership 

roles in producer groups, extension services, research 

organizations and educational institutions. The way to 

overcome the present tentative stance is to begin by 

discussing goals and objectives, in an effort to reach 

agreement on the targets of land care as a nation-wide 

movement of potentially immense significance. What are we 

trying to do? Who are the players? What are their roles? 

These are the questions that need to be seriously addressed 

within the concept of "~ustainability~~ as the guiding 

principle. 

The author has long grappled with the bewildering complexities 

of the large number of inter-related factors which contribute 

to sustainable rural production and llecological healthu of 

Australia's country districts. The result of what Odum has 

termed "the struggle for perspectivew, can be stated in simple 

tabular form as shown in Table 1, The Elements of Sustainable 

Agriculture (Roberts, 1989) . In essence the four factors in 

the right hand column are the targets which managers should 

aim at, whatever their production system. These can be 

achieved by a variety of practical methods on the property. 

It is suggested that if these four requirements are met, the 

system will be sustainable. Initially, it is not necessary to 

quantify in any precise way, the acceptable level of 

achievement within each criterion, provided the direction and 

trend is positive. Specious arguments about what is 

sustainable, become irrelevant in this initial stage of 

improving land management. 

It is suggested that these four targets are unlikely to be met 

unless the initial decisions on land capability (in the left 

hand column) are made correctly in the first place. These 

concern the fundamental issues of suitable slopes, clearing 

and carrying capacity. 

The central column of the table represents the elements of the 

socio-political framework required for acceptance and 

implementation of permanent production systems. 

The "ifs and buts" arising from any attempt to crystalize 

thinking about a complex situation, must of necessity lead to 

qualifications and additions to the "barev1 statements. 

Consideration of how each of the four target criteria can be 

achieved indicates how tree planting, wildlife habitat and the

use of fire are incorporated as building blocks of balanced 

land use programmes. 

The -0ueensland Situation 

This state presently has 27 Land Use Committees and a network 

of 33 departmental locations offering support with advice and 

mapping in property planning and management. In addition, the 

departments of Forestry, National Parks and Lands have 

district offices which can contribute practical information 

and assistance in a range of land use activities. The CSIRO 

has the capacity to undertake valuable research in most 

regions. Producer organizations based on cattle, grain, 

sheep, sugar, fruit and timber offer branch networks through 

which widespread information dissemination can be effectively 

achieved. The state-wide Rural Fires Board, TAFE colleges and 

tertiary institutions can offer a wide range of community 

education programmes to meet the needs of Land Care 

committees. 

The challenge now is to work together to gain firstly a 

commitment by landholders and advisors to a combined search 

for sustainable land use systems and secondly to reach an 

improved level of inter-organizational cooperation and 

teamwork. To achieve these objectives some of the narrow 

parochialism which has put departmental or group cudos before 

the greater cause of sound land management will have to be 

overridden by the national urgency of arresting irreversible 

degradation processes. 

References 

Anonymous. 1978. A Basis for Soil Conservation Policy in 

Australia: Dept. Environment and Housing, Canberra, A.G.P.S. 

Anonymous. 1988. Annual Report National Soil Conservation 

Programme, Canberra, A.G.P.S. 

Douglas, J. 1988. A Proposal to Establish Land Care 

Programmes for Australian Agriculture. Cattlemen's Union, 

Rockhampton, Queensland. 

Odum, E. 1971. Fundamentals of Ecology. Saunders & Co., 

Philadelphia. 

Roberts, B. 1989. The Elements of Sustainable Agriculture. 

Key Centre Workshop on Sustainable Agriculture, Roseworthy 

Agricultural College, South Australia.

TABLE 1 

1 LE AGRICULTURE 

1. LAND CAPABILITY PLANNING 2. SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL 

I?,RAME%ORK 

3. PRODUCTION MEITKIDS 

A. Choice of suitable A. Education - practical A. Choice of crop and soil 

Class 1-111 land for inf o m tion, permanent 

management - organic matter 

annual cropping. attitudes, appreciation of and humus build-up. 

limits to sustainable 

production levels. 

B. Selection of appropriate 

land for clearing. 

C. Stoclting rates determined 

on actual pasture yield. 

Be Incentives and financial 

support - loans, tax 

schemes and financial 

assistance. 

C. Land zoning - advisory 

cannittees and peer group 

recmnendations on 

sustainable yield. 

8. Fertility maintenance - 

legumes, phosphate . 

I C. Soil stability - water and 

wind erosion control by 

earthworks, surface 

management and plant cover. 

I 

I 

D. Control of toxic build-up - 

choice of sustainable pest 

and weed control metbds to 

avoid chemical accumulation. 

Brian bberts 

1989

Land ethics - who needs them? 

B. Roberts 

tt bstract 

[.and dcgrad;~tion through erosion and salinit!. IS 

..\i~qr ralia's most urgent environmental prohlcm. 

Despite the cxrent and rate of land deterioration. it is 

not 3 political issue and has no lobby. Solution to the 

problcm lics in education. incentives and repulat ions. 

each in their appropriate role. 

Basically Australia needs a fundamental change in 

attitude toward the land based on land ethics. Fifteen 

specific concepts are recommended for teaching in 

schools to encourage a sustainable ecological basis for 

rural production. 

The author challenges environmental educators to 

recognize and pursue the need for land ethics as the 

corners tone of Australia's soil conservation campaign 

and points out that. without a fundamental change of 

heart leading to greater respect and humility toward the 

land. neither laws or finances will reverse the present 

deteriorating situation on the land. 

Introduction 

In my struggle for a solution to the erosion problem 

over thirty years 1 repeatedly return to attitudes to the 

land, as the fundamental issue in need of change. The 

conviction that the key issue which ordinary 

Australians should appreciate is the basic Man/ Land 

relationship. has led to this overview concentrating not 

on the hard data of soil losses in tcrms of their 

production or socio-economic implications. but on the 

deeper values we place on land as our national 

foundation, When presenting a stark analysis of the 

ecological realities which face Australia today. it is 

predictable that one will be accused of emotionalism or 

even alarmist scare tactics. It is my firm belief that we 

need to, re-consider the factual basis of our apparently 

apathetic optimism and recognize the significance of the 

realities which confront our rural development. 

A useful starting point is Bolton's "Spoils and 

Spoilers" which reminds us of agricultural 

developments and their attendant attitudes at the turn 

of this century: 

"In the dozen years before 1900 every government in 

Australia set up a Department of Agriculture which 

included among its functions the spread of information 

about sound farming practices. By that time. starting 

with South Australia's Roscworthy in 1882. agricultur;il 

collegcs were esta blishcd in four of the SIX Austr;~lian 

colonies 

1.1kc thc~r I;II hcrc; hef'orc (hcnl I tic plorrccr\ 01 thc ncu 

1;lrrnlnp tf~\rr.lct\ cle;~retf the land ~11th ~rrcl~\cr~rn~ri;~tc. 

Toowoomba Erosion Awareness Movement, 

Darling Downs Institute, 

'Toowoornba. Qld. 4.350. 

/c;~l. \purred b! [tic urgc to render every acre 

prot1uctit.c ;~nd 10 Ic;rtc no sanctuary for vermin such as 

wi~ll;~ bics ;ind rit bh1[5 Soil eroslon and salt creep were 

t he conscqucnccs." 

Size of the land degradation problem in Australia 

'I-hc signilicance of soil loss. and the need for a 

change in our attitudes toward the land is reflected in 

the findings of the national soil conservation survey 

(Anon. 1978). "Fifty-one percent of the total area used 

!'or a_gricultural and pastoral purposes in Australia was 

assessed as needing some form of soil conservation 

treatment under existing land use. The total value oi 

fixed investment in this area subject to degradation is of 

the order of S I2 billion (at 1974 prices)". 

Recognizing the essential need for changing attitudes 

toward the land. as the basis for combatting the land 

degradation problem. the 3rd National Soil 

Conversation Conference (Anon. 1981) unanimously 

resolved: "This Conference should warn that unless 

there is greater awareness of. and remedial action 

against. this problem and that unless more funds and 

effort are applied to conservation of soil, it is inevitable 

that the production level and stability of essential 

primary products will diminish." 

Osborne and Rose ( 1981) quote Kovda's ( 1977) 

estimates of Man having destroyed 430 million hedares 

of crop and grazing land since agriculture emerged 

7.500 years ago. They point out that on a per capita 

basis. Australians have destroyed 1 1.2 hectares. 

compared to 3.5 hectares in the U.S.A. since settlement. 

It is in the very same corner of Australia about which 

Rudd waxed so lyrical. that some of the worst erosion 

in the country is now occurring. This area. between 

Toowoom ba and Warwick. has been the subject of a 

special study. It combines very small holdings with 

steep cultivations and intensive storms - a predictably 

disastrous com binat ion of circumstances where studies 

relating soil loss to grain yield have been well used to 

bring home the concept of the permanent cost of grain 

production. 

With an estimated rate of natural soil formation of 

10-15 tonnes per hectare per annum. and an estimated 

annual loss of 100-300 tonnes per hectare in several 

northern regions of Australia. the estimated productive 

11t.c ol much of our sloping cropland is iess tnan 30 

!c;lr\ prewnt loss r;tlcs, On the Darling Downs 

;Ippro\ ~rn;lrclv 10.000 trcctsres ol' some of' the country's 

hot cropli~ricl lr;~.; ;llrcady becn lost t'orever. This 

h.~\ OL'L*II rrc(1 u 11 tr~rr 80 years aftcr scttlcment. Surely

th~should be ol t1[;11 c.onc-crn to ctcr!orlc ir ho c;I~\ 

and \otcs. 

People, land and values 

We have a long record of clearing land and of 

apparently making the assumption that the resultrng 

cultivated soil will support permanent cropping. In 

;ome States. notably Queensland where 80.000 hectares 

.s cleared annually. very little use is made of existing 

land capability survey data or of existing legislation. to 

ensure a sound basis for clearing. Booysen ( 1980) has 

stated the plain facts of this crucial matter. as it affects 

the South African situation: "The modification of 

vegetation (clearing) must only be undertaken when 

knowledge is sufficient to ensure a management input 

capable of maintaining a stable and permanent cover 

and topsoil. Anything less than this will be disastrous." 

Indeed. it has been asked whet her the Brigalow of the 

1960s will go the way of the Mallee of the 19.10s. This 

possibility is certainly strengthened by the extent to 

which Class 2 Land prices are being paid for Class 4 

Land in Queensland's marginal regions. 

Land condition as an issue 

It has repeatedly been pointed out by protagonists of 

soil conservation (Roberts. 1984). that eroslon is not 

recognized as an environmental issue of any 

significance. In an unusual survey of newspaper 

coverage of issues. Sinden ( 1980) analysed the space 

given to environmental subjects in Australian 

newspapers over a full year. In that year ( 1978) 1 l SO 

environmental articles (averaging 3.9 per day) were 

published but neither land degradation nor soil erosion 

rate a mention in the listing of issues or their ranking. 

While the tragedy of starvation in Ethiopia appears 

to have little in common with the erosion problem in 

Australia. it is pertinent to note that both situations 

have in common the fact that they have been 

deteriorating for years and have been reported on in 

detail with pleas for action. In both cases the 

authorities have apparently regarded the problem as 

someone else's responsibility. 

Four main factors have contributed to erosion being 

a non-eveit amongst environmental activists. Firstly. it 

is seen as a natural process that is not really man-made 

and has always been with us. Secondly. because it is so 

widespread it very seldom arises as a major local issue 

sufficient to stir any one local group into action. 

Thirdly. soil as such has no appeal as a rare or 

beautiful resource when compared with say wildlife. the 

barrier reef. rainforests. or sand islands. Fourthly. and 

perhaps most signifi-cantty. soil erosion is associated 

with the little man. the battler. the man on the land 

struggling for a living against the elements. 

We have allowed the landholder to ruin much of our 

available soil on over half of the area of productive 

land. while we make it increasingly difficult for miners 

to produce enormous wealth for us on less than 1% of 

our land area (Roberts. 1982). 

In an article headed "The biggest job elf all for 

conservationists" Graham ( 1976) writes. "State 

Conservation Departments and their soil and water 

divisions. severely limited as they are. have been unable 

to stir up public and political awareness of the danger 

(of erosion). Could not the A.C.F. the champion of 

other environmental causes. take up this one. 

undertaking the monumental task of convinc~ng 

politicians that the decision to save thc >oil ciinnot he 

Iclt 10 thc last monlcnt." 

Since that tirlle the A.C'.F. has rcsposdctl u1tti3 

scrlcs ol' nlcctlngs irnd puhlicat~ons on >o11 tlcgr;itl;it~ol~ 

,111tl In ;r rcccn! \urbe! ( 1984) of t1.C'. F. nlcmbcr, it \$a\ 

\I~ou 11 that conser\at ionlsls now see soil erosion ;IS 

.\u\rrull;i's highcst prior~ty environmental issuc. 

Ir 1s thc author's VIL'W that a major defic~ency ~ r ~ l l 

cx~sts in thc exlent to which rural producer 

organizations are not accepting their share of 

responsi bllity for soil conservation. Who will spca k for 

the land. if those who depend on it. do not speak'! We 

nced to analyse why there is no effective political lobby 

l'or soil conservation and take corrective act ion without 

delay. 

Changing Australia's attitudes 

Downes ( 1972) in his overview of "The ecology and 

prevention of soil erosion" regards Australia as one of 

thc most recently settled countries where the effects of 

settlement on the land are now reaching their "peak of 

severity". The whole basis of soil conservation. erosion 

control and reclamation is "ecological" in Downes' 

view. indicating a need for a widespread understanding 

and appreciation of Nature and her limits. 

Part of the change in sentiment relating to 

Australians' relation to the land is reflected in the 

words of local folksongs. The bush ballads of the late 

1800's sang of the challenge of settling the country and 

the hard times that accompanied rural life. Sentiments 

relating to frontier activities such as tim ber-get ting. 

ringbarking and clearing have been superceded by 

concern for Australia's disappearing forests. e-g.. John 

William's country western song "The Trees are now 

symbiotic relationship in which people see themselves 

as one dependent biota integrated into the earth's 

ecosystems (Glacken. 1970). Without such change it is 

difficult to see the Australian "vision splendid" 

remaining so. 

This realization of our unfeeling arrogance toward 

the land has led to poets such as Judith Wright 

recording the poverty of spirit reflected in denuded 

landscapes such as her "Eroded Hills" ( 1963): 

These hills my father's father stripped: 

and. beggars to the winter wind. 

they crouch like shoulders naked and whipped - 

humble. abandoned. out of mind. 

In every rural community there are those rare 

individuals who show unusual concern for the land and 

its maintenance. Graham and Valmai Burnett of 

"Rathburnie" in the Brisbane River Valley. Queensland. 

exemplify these opinion-leadersA Burnett (1984) after a 

quarter of a century of conservation farming states with 

stark simplicity. "Humus is the most important natural 

resource on earth". Even when conscientious husbandry 

ofthe land shows real benefits in times of drought. as 

was clearly demonstrated by the Burnetts in the.early 

1980s. general non-acceptance by the local community. 

of the permanent philosophy. is predictable and 

widespread. This unwillingness to consider the virtues 

of the permanent approach to the land is 

symptomatic of the leeway which needs to be made up 

belore constructive land ethics can be established in 

Australia. 

Let us consider the words of Aldo Leopold: 

"Conservation is a state of harmony between men 

and land. Bv land is meant all the things on. over. or in 

the earth. Harmony with land is like hi~rmony with il 

l'ricnd: \*ou cannot cherish his right hiind and chop ol'l 

III\ lctt 

1 hc problcni. thcn. IS hou to hr~ng ithour ;I \trl\ 111g 

tc)r tlarrilon!' u.~th land among a people man! 01 H hon~

ha\r Iorgortcn thcrc I\ ,in! such t li~rig ,I\ I;rn~l. aniorig 

honi cdu~at~oti and culrurc ha\ e hcco~i~c ;IIIIIO~I 

synonymous tilth 1;tndlcssness. 1 h ~s IS the prohicrl~ of 

'conscrvat~on education'. 

\\ lien one considers the prod~p~ous achievements 01 

the profit moti\.e in wrecking land. one hes~tates to 

reicct it as a vehicle for restoring land. I am ~nclined to 

believe we have overestimated the scope of the profit 

motive. It is profitable for the individual to build a 

beautiful home:) To gi1.e his children u higher 

education'! KO. it is seldom profitable. yet wc do both. 

These are. in fact. et hical and acsttiet IC preniiscs which 

underlie the econonlic system. 

No ethical and aesthetic premise yet exists for the 

condition of the land these childrcn livc in. Thcrt. is as 

yet no social stigma in the possession of a gullied farm. 

a wrecked forest. or a polluted qtream. provided the 

dividends suffice to send the youngsters to collcgc. 

What conser\.ation educiition nlrlst build 1s ;In cttl~cal 

underpinn~ng for land economrcs ;I nd ;I un~t.crsirl 

curiosity to understand the land n~cchirni\rii 

Conscrvatroti ma! t hcn follot\" (Alclo I.eopold. 195.1). 

A Theology of the land 

'I-he use of moral obligations ils :I mciins ol'geining 

co-operation in landcare hiis not been widely iippli~d in 

Australia. In the United States the pulpits of countr!. 

churches were used by "father of soil conserva~ion" 

Hugh Bennett in the 1940s. "Big Hughie" made it very 

clear to his congregations that it was nothing less than 

our Christian duty to preserve the land and keep it 

fruitful. Elliot (1978). the Australian philosopher. 

makes a crucial point when he challenges our 

samaritanism toward the land: 

"When we see someone being exploited. our response 

as Christians ought to be to mirror God's concern for the 

outcast and the down-t'rodden. In a similar way. when 

the earth is being exploited. our response ought to be to 

mirror God's concern for His Creation". 

It has been noted by Cook ( 1970) that our approach 

to the land could form a permanent relationship 

through one of three bases: 

I. Ecological ( McHarg. 1969). 

2. Humanistic (Wilson. 1970). 

3. theological (White. 1971 ). 

The proponents of a conservation approach to land 

resources have appealed to all three of these sentiments 

which have essentially the same goals but differ 

markedly in their motivating force. 

Christian land ethics 

What did Christianity tell people a bout their 

relations with the environment? The short answcr is. 

"not very much". although many religious philosophers 

challenge this interpretation. 

Especially in its Western form. Christianity is the 

most anthropocentric religion the world has seen. Lynn 

White ( 1971) has written at length on this matter: 

"Man shares. in great measure. God's transcedence of 

nature. Christianity, in absolute contrast to ancient 

paganism and Asia's religions (except. perhaps. 

Zoroastrianism), not only estabiished a dualism of man 

and nature but also insisted that it is God's will that 

man exploit nature for his proper cnds. 

At the level of the common peoplc this worked out In 

an interesting way. In antiquity every tree. every spring. 

cvcrv strcam. every hrll had 11s own gu:trct~itn splrlt. fly 

destroying pagan iinlml\m. (.'hrist~ati~ty niadc II 

pos\~blc to cxplo~t n;rturc In a mood oi ~li(j~Itcrcncc to 

rhc Iccltnps ol ti;itirr;~l obicct\. 

I IIL. grC.il~'>I \~~fltll;lI rc\ oI~11rlri;tr! 111 \i'c..;tcrn 

ti~\tor\. b;t~rit l-r.rr~c~.*. propo~zd u hat he thought \tits 

;Iri alrcrnitti\e C'hr~atriin blew ol'naturc and man's 

rcI;it~on to it: he tried 10 subst~tute the idea of the 

cqual~ty of' ;ill creatures. ~nclud~ng man. for the idea of 

niat~'s limitless rule of creation. He failed. Both our 

prcscnt science and our present technology are so 

tinctured with orthodox Christian arrogance toward 

naturc that no solution for our ecologic crisis can be 

expected Srom them alone." 

"Man is still of the earth. earthy. The earth is literally 

our mother. not only because we depend on her for 

nurture and shelter but even more because the human 

species has been shaped by her in the womb of 

evolution. Each person. furthermore. is conditioned by 

thc s~irnuli he receives from nature during his own 

cx istcncc" ( Du bos. 1973). 

Kcnc 1)ubos hits a special message for us in 

Auh[r;~lia: 

" I'llc phr;~sc "conquest of niiturc" IS ccrtainl!. one of 

t tic niost obiec~ion;~ blc and rnislcnd~ng c.\prcsslons of 

\{'c\Icrrl IiitIg~iJg~\. 11 rctkcts 111~ 111uslon that ;ill 

n;~tur;rl forccs car1 be cntlrcly co~~trollcd. and it 

clprchsch the crrnlinal coticctt tha~ naturc 1s to be 

ct)tisidcrcd primarily as a source of rau materials and 

cnerg? for human purposes. 'This lieu ot'our 

rciationship to nature is philosophicall! untenable and 

destructive. A relationship to the earth based only on 

its use for economic enrichment is bound to result not 

only in its degradation but also in the devaluation of 

human life. This is a perversion which. if not soon 

corrected. will become a fatal disease of technological 

societies." 

Education and attitudes 

The most important contribution which ecological 

education can make is the development of what we may 

term the Ethic of Responsibility. Here we refer to 

responsibility toward our ecosystems. our fellow 

humans and our creators. Marsh (1864) was one of the 

first to expound this idea and has been followed by 

ecological philosophers such as Passmore ( 1974) and 

Routley (1975)- writers whose thoughts deserve much 

more attention within the present Australian situation. 

Only in this way will the clash between private 

convenience and public welfare be resolved. 

We might start with James Thurber's suggestion. that 

is: "Let us not look back in anger. nor forward in fear. 

but around in awareness." l would add. "not with 

arrogance but with humility. not as though we were the 

last generation to inhabit the earth. but as temporary 

trustees of posterity's resources" (Roberts. 1974). 

Conservation is essentially a concern for the human 

species. Ecological action. in the long run. can only be 

based on compassion, respect. understanding and a 

\villingness to share with others. Not. "The land belongs 

to US" but "We belong to the land". Not "We are the 

conquercrs of the earth" but "We are a part of the 

earthly system"(Roberts. 1974). It is this concept of our 

dependence on our natural ecosystems in the form of a 

lasting symbiosis, which forms the basis of Sampson's 

(1982) plea for giving land ethics a central place in 

agricultural education. 

Ebenreck ( 1983) in her mini classic paper entitled "A 

Partnership Farmland Ethic9'advances from the 

stewardship ethic to the concept 01- partners - man and 

I;~rltl. irnd \t~ou.\ how permanent product^\ 11 y can result 

1 roll1 t he pract 1c;11 appl~cirt~on 01 "do~rig I h~ngs toper her 

,111d t tic I;rr~tl" I: hcrircch'\ ;ipproa~.h I\ dc\erv~np 

of orlr Lcr\ \crlorr\ con\~ricr;~t~ori ;I\ t hc gcr nl of an idea

which could form the cornerstone of a whole new sense 

of values concerning our land and our respect for it. 

This idea ties in closely with Ashworth's (1982) notion 

of recognizing land as more than simply a chattle to be 

used: "So long as land is conceived of as property, the 

evolution of an ethic which circumscribes liberty to use 

property as we please, will be difficult." The partnership 

ethic recognizes that our land relationship is a complex, 

two-way. on-going process in which both partners are 

recognized as having different intrinsic values in which 

both give and take from each other. Ebenreck goes as 

far as suggesting we listen to what the land has to say to 

us in terms of meeting its requirements as a permanent 

partner. 

This gentle custody is in stark contrast to Louis 

Bromfield's (1947) description of Western man as 

"behaving like a reckless son who has inherited too 

much money" (Pechey, 1980). 

One of the greatest services which ecological 

education could render, would be the development of a 

clear understanding of the difference between sentiment 

and ethics. Sentiment is an unreliable guide; but ethics 

gives us benchmarks, priorities, value judgements and 

accepted norms. Thus the starting point for ecological 

education is the development of realistic attitudes 

toward our treatment of our environment, and the end 

point of such an education is the cultivation of 

ecologically sound ha bits toward nature. 

Two points need to be made here; firstly we cannot 

return to a past Utopia, and secondly we cannot 

maintain the present wasteful and unrealistic way of 

doing things much longer. 

As Aldo Leopold said, "We abuse land because we 

regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see 

land as a community to which we belong, we may begin 

to use it with love and respect." Leopold, widely 

acclaimed as the Father of Land Ethics, goes on to say 

"There is as yet no ethic dealing with man's relation to 

the land and to the animals and plants which grow 

upon it. The land relation is still strictly economic, 

entailing privileges but not obligations. Obligations 

have no meaning without conscience, and the problem 

we face is extension of the social conscience from 

people to land. No important change in ethics was ever 

accomplished without an internal change in our 

intellectual emphasis, loyalties, affections and 

convictions. 

"The proof that [land] conservation has not yet 

touched these foundations of conduct lies in the fact 

that philosophy and religion have not yet heard of it. In 

our attempt to make [land] conservation easy, we have 

made it trivial ... That land is a community is a basic 

concept of ecology, but that land is to be loved and 

respected is an extension of ethics" (Leopold, 1966). 

The basic idea of land ethics is expanded by Anderson 

(1983) to a practical stewardship of good land 

husbandry. In this way guidelines for practical action 

on the land grows out of a code of ethics. 

It is generally recogniscd that the acceptance of a 

comprehensive conservation program throughout the 

nation requires a combination of financial assistance, 

regulatory guidelines and extension. If extension is 

broadened to include education from adults down to 

young children, a number of specific aspeas of such an 

educational program may be considered. The writer 

suggests that the following 15 Point Education Plan is 

worthy of implementation in Australia in answering the 

fundamental question. "What should we teach?": 

I. l'e should teach that the dominating and 

consuming approach to our non-renewable 

resources is short-sighted and has caused failures of 

civilizations through history. We should proclaim 

the truism that a rising standard of living cannot be 

maintained on a falling level of soil fertility. 

2. We should emphasize ihat conservation does not 

necessarily imply non-use or protection for its own 

sake. It means maintenance of productive potential. 

by marrying economic and ecological realities. as in 

the National Conservation Strategy. 

3. We should teach that good farmers are in fact good 

applied ecologists, for both seek to harvest the 

products of nature at a level that can be sustained 

by ecosystem equilibrium. 

4. We should teach that we are not independent 

controllers of Nature. but an integral part of the 

global systems on which we depend. It is a lack of 

awareness of this interdependence that has caused 

the environmental problems which the world 

presently faces. 

5. We should teach that environmental problems are 

complex and often require national and 

international solutions. 

6. We must bring home to coming generations the old 

Greek addage that what men learn from history is 

that men don't learn from history - that each 

generation seems doomed to have to learn its own 

lessons on ecological behaviour, unless we learn to 

read the signs. 

7. We must avoid the despair and gloom which so 

easily arises from consideration of environmental 

problems and we must teach the optimism and 

challenge which is demonstrated by the successes of 

dedicated and persevering individuals and 

organizations. 

8. We must teach that even in our democracy, the 

common good of the community takes precedence 

over the unfettered freedom of the individual to act 

irresponsibly towards the environment. 

9. We must stress the need for political ethics in our 

system of government. together with the 

desirability of more vision and less expediency. 

more permanence and less exploitation. 

10. We should emphasise the links and 

interdependence of landholders and city dwellers, 

of taxpayers and consumers. in such a way as to 

deveiop an understanding of resource conservation 

as an issue concerning the whole community. 

I I. We must demonstrate case-studies which bring 

home the disasters of poor land management and 

the achievements of sound planning as a basis for 

sustained stable production. 

12. We must imbue in the next generation ;I prde In 

good stewardship of the land. a lasting satisfaction 

from well-husbanded land. The spiritual well-being 

which flows from such fundamental achievement 

should become an integral part of our national 

ethos. 

13. Together with a national pride in conserving nonrenewable 

resources. should be acceptance of a 

land ethic which not only values our good fortune 

but develops an awareness of others less fortunate 

and how we might share our good fortune. 

14. We must emphasise that as a resource-rich western 

nation set in the eastern arena. we have grave 

responsibilities which accompany our role as 

trustees of such natural wealth.

15. F~nally. we musr teach rhaf WC are each [enlporar!. 

res~dents In the grand scheme of things - that wc 

are on [his earth for but a tlectinp moment in thc 

11fe of our land. As such we cannot be end-users 

with a right to consume the potential of the land. 

Rather we have the privilege of using the land and 

leaving it in a better condition that we found it 


I suggest that in our efforts to develop a Land Ethic 

in our nation's values. we be guided by John Ruskin: 

"The earth is a great entail. It belongs as much to 

those who come after us, as to us. and we have no right 

by anything we do. to involve them in unnecessary 

penalties. or to deprive them of benefits which are 

theirs by right." 

Bibliography 

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Conservation Conference. Tarnworth. 

Anon. 1978. A Basis for Soil Conservation Policy in 

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Ashworth. G. 1982. A New Land Use Ethic for the 'U.S. 

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Bolton, G. 1981. Spoils and Spoilers. Allen & U nwin. 

Sydney. 

Booysen, P. de V. 1980. The Importance of the 

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5-7. 

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P P- 

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CLEARING: WHO SHOULD DECIDE? 

Brian Roberts, DDIAE, 1/8/89 

The Situation 

For decades, Queensland has been developing new crop land and 

improving the carrying capacity of pastoral country at the 

estimated rate of between 40 000 and 60 000 ha per annum. 

Mechanical and chemical techniques of removing or killing 

trees have become important tools in the development of the 

State's potential. In recent years the problems associated 

with injudicious clearing have been highlighted (Roberts, 

1984) and landholders have accepted the need for careful 

planning of future clearing programmes. The QDPI have 

proposed a number of guidelines for ecologically sound 

clearing (Anderson & Dowling, 1987) and a rational framework 

for decision-making on clearing has been proposed (Roberts, 

1989) since the use of new chemical methods have reached 

political prominence. 

One of the central questions requiring early consideration by 

all concerned with sustainable production from ltimproved 

country", is that of who should be responsible for decisions 

on where and how land should be cleared. This, and associated 

questions, is the substance of this paper. 

Sustainable Pastoral Production 

Indirect adverse effects of clearing may include influences on 

microclimate and atmospheric C02, while lfnon-productivell 

effects include such factors as a reduction in arboreal 

wildlife and general aesthetic values. This paper makes no 

value judgement on these potentially significant effects, but 

concentrates rather on the relationship between clearing and 

sustainable pastoral production. It does not assume that the 

pastoral industry necessarily has priority over alternative 

uses. 

Producers justifiably ask, "What's the use of dense scrub 

which is neither productive nor rare?" and point to the 

apparently very stable kikuyu pastures carved out of dense 

rainforest in North Queensland. In the Brigalow belt, some 4M 

ha of "useless" scrub has been converted into productive 

country since the 1960s. Has the Brigalow Scheme been a 

success? Is it stable and sustainable or are the problems of 

regrowth and nitrogen depletion symptoms of faulty planning 

and ill-advised development? 

Without attempting to answer these questions here, it should 

be repeated that for any system to be sustainable it must: 

1. Retain and protect the soil. 

2. Maintain satisfactory levels of soil organic matter on 

which productivity ultimately depends. 

3. Sustain the required level of soil fertility in terms of 

essential plant nutrients.

4. Ensure that toxic chemicals do not build up to levels 

harmful to microbes, plants or animals. 

Most producers would agree to this theory of sustainability, 

but the problems of defining when practical situations meet 

these requirements, are complex and full of uncertainty. In 

other words where do we draw the line in defining the 

following as suitable for clearing: 

Minimum rainfall. 

Slope. 

Soil type. 

Soil depth. 

Size and shape of retained timber. 

Distance from water courses. 

Density of pasture cover. 

Management to maintain cover. 

Role of Trees: Some Fallacies 

As the level of political awareness of the environment has 

increased, so the importance of trees has been emphasized. 

The result has been a generalization which highlights trees as 

beneficial and clearing as harmful - usually without 

qualification. As with issues such as the use of fire or urea 

licks, unless proper use of these management tools is spelled 

out, no credible judgement can be made on their dangers or 

benefits. Because of the widely accepted benefits of trees, 

such as shade, shelter, habitat and aesthetic appeal, trees 

have been accorded the universal ability to stabilize land, 

increase fertility, control erosion and salinity, increase 

organic matter and generally improve productivity. 

It has 

become apparent to all who have attempted to apply land care 

in practice, that these benefits are not automatic and that 

the role of each species in each habitat needs to be 

understood before the most appropriate management can be 

developed for the land concerned. Examples abound of timbered 

country suffering from extreme erosion and instability - 

portion of the Burdekin catchment is a case in point (Roberts, 

1987). Similarly examples of dense permanent pastures on well 

managed cleared country have been repeatedly documented 

(Roberts, 1989a) . So there is a case for well planned 

clearing- and the practical question becomes one of deciding on 

the. appropriate process to be used in ensuring that further 

developments are ecologically sound. 

Who should decide? 

In an era when the independence of landholders is being 

reduced, the appropriate roles of the manager, the local 

group, the departmental authorities, the Crown Land 

administrators and the community at large in, contributing to 

land use decisions, come into potential conflict. All are 

generally agreed that sustainable production, stability of the 

landscape and aesthetic values must be the prime objectives 

and the decision-making. However, we must first ask:

. Who has the knowledge and information? 

. Who must manage the system in practice? 

. Who is responsible for maintaining the resources? 

. Who benefits from achieving sustainability? 

o 

Who pays the price for ecological failure? 

Ideally the manager espouses community environmental values 

and can afford to apply a conservative production system while 

making a reasonable income. In practice a range of factors may 

prevent this from happening, including: 

1. Impractical idealism of the community. 

2. Economic pressure on landholders unable to take the long 

term view, 

Unwillingness of landholders to accept recommendations by 

others. 

4. Lack of understanding by the landholder of the results of 

unsound clearing and overgrazing. 

5. Inability of advisors to develop sound and acceptable 

clearing guidelines. 

6. unwillingness of government to provide appropriate 

incentives for sound land management. 

The writer suggests that all the above six factors are of 

significance in Queensland at present. So what's a fair thing 

to ensure that the practical manager is given appropriate 

independence of action while guaranteening that the national 

soil resource is maintained? 

Firstlv a sound set of guidelines on where and how clearing 

should be done, must be developed and agreed to by producer 

organizations and departmental authorities. This needs to be 

qualified for each rainfall and major soil region. 

Secondlv an intensive information campaign for landholders on 

the dangers of unsound clearing and the principles of 

sustainable land use planning must be implemented in all 

pastoral regions. 

Thirdlv, government must develop a drought assistance policy 

which encourages land stewardship by being seen to reward 

conservative stocking and the conservation of feed for dry 

times . 

The Western Australian Situation 

In Western Australia the very large scale clearing of 

potentially saline sandy soils has caused serious problems and 

104 District Soil Conservation Committees have been formed 

since 1982 to initiate better land use. These committees are 

authorized: 

1. To recommend supplementary shire land ratings as a source 

for land improvement funds. 

To inspect, and recommend on, any proposed clearing.

The question must now be asked whether it is practical and 

acceptable for anyone other than the landholder to make 

binding recommendations on proposed clearing. If not, can the 

competence and integrity of the landholder be depended on? 

Other States use various combinations of departmental and 

producer group representatives to recommend on clearing. 

What's the Role of Land Care committees? 

The terms of reference of the new committees in Queensland 

requires them to encourage conservation farming by all means 

available including property planning. They are also expected 

to play an educational role in their entire community and to 

advise the department of needs and progress in their shire or 

catchment. Committees can also lead by example and establish 

persuasive demonstrations of sound practices. It seems 

reasonable however, that Land Care Committees, elected by all 

shire landholders, should also recommend on clearing, at least 

on land which is not freeholded. 

It is suggested that clearing guidelines and procedures be 

given serious attention at an early date. Such attention is 

required (i) from Land Care Committees who may be seen to be 

failing in their responsibilities if they do nothing, (ii) 

from the QDPI who administer the Soil Consenration Act, (iii) 

from the Cattlemen's Union and United Graziers Association 

whose members hold tenure of the land, and (iv) from the Lands 

Department who control covenants on leases and the issue 

clearing permits. 

References 

1. Anderson, E. and Dowling, A. 1987. Think before you 

clear the trees on your land. Qld. Ag. J. 113: 55-57. 

2. Roberts, Be 1984. Lessons from past land development. 

T.E.A.M. Seminar on Cropping in Western Queensland, Roma. 

5 October 1984, DDIAE. 

3. Roberts, Be 1987. The Burdekin Catchment. Video, 

DDIAE . 

4. Roberts, B. 1989. Tree Clearing: time for rational 

debate. T.E.A.M. Discussion Paper, DDIAE. 

5. Roberts, B. 1989a. The Care Takers - Pastoral Property 

Planning. Video. DDIAE.

Range Monitoring Workshop 

Nat. S.C. Conf., W.A. 

11 September 1989 

INTRODUCTION 

MANAGING THE UNMANAGEABLE - BUILDING ENVIRONMENTAL 

FEEDBACK INTO PASTORAL SYSTEMS 

B R Roberts 

Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education 

Toowoomba Qld 4350 

This overview aims to give a critical analysis of why feedback 

through rangeland monitoring is necessary, what purposes it is 

required for, how it is used in practice and what the role of 

short and long term monitoring is in the overall system of 

feedback. 

In the pastoral zone we are attempting to manage a dynamic 

resource within a climatic framework which is not only beyond 

our control but for which we have poor predictive ability - 

thus the title of this paper. In this age of high technology 

and remote sensing we have powerful tools for measuring 

changes in our pastoral ecosystem and there may be a danger of 

our infatuation with the technology overriding certain of the 

ecological concepts on which reliable.interpretation of our 

field data depends. In his paper to this workshop, Wilcox 

contends that we as scientists have let the community down by 

not attaining sound management of the nation's rangeland 

resources, despite the funds and expensive technology made 

available to us for 20 years. 

To the initiated it would seem unnecessary to explain why we 

need monitoring systems for our rangelands, but it needs to be 

realized that a major proportion of Australia's rangelands 

showed signs of deterioration when the national suwey was 

made in 1975. There is a .clear need to recognize that as far 

as Australia's national land degradation is concerned, the 

amount of soil loss, in absolute terms, is much greater in the 

pastoral zone than in the cropping zone. While the hard 

evidence for reduction of carrying capacity in the pastoral 

zone is limited, there is little doubt that the pastoral zone 

has suffered from a combination of overstocking, drought, 

small property size and poor distribution of fences and 

waters. The national situation is reflected in the tables 

below (Anon, 1978): 

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Because most of the pastoral zone is held under some form of 

leasehold tenure, there is a special responsibility on land 

administrators not only to monitor land condition but also to 

apply covenants and other conditions to leases which encourage 

land stewardship and sustainable pastoral production systems. 

In contrast to many other countries, Australia still has a 

long way to go to develop really permanent land use systems 

for the arid zone. This requires careful consideration of the 

role of tenure, animal numbers and spelling. 

While the topic of land tenure has become a hardy perennial at 

rural.gatherings (Does freeholding improve management?) 

Young's (1985) analysis of the desirable elements of leasehold 

agreements and the extent to which lease covenants can 

influence land use remains not only current but of increasing 

importance in this era of emerging land care. Lay's paper to 

this workshop shows the complexities of marrying scientific 

principles and administrative requirements when a monitoring 

system becomes a central element of an Act of Parliament. 

Some years ago Wilcox (1986) was bold enough to question the 

sustainability of the pastoral industry. Since that time 

lvsustainablelv has become something of a buzz word, to the 

extent of being the theme of many conferences. The divergent 

needs of rangeland administration and pastoral management were 

well contrasted by Schapper (1985) in his anti-establishment 

approach based on economic incentives. In ovenriewing the 

progress of implementation of range management in South Africa 

from 1934 to 1968 the writer (Roberts, 1969) found four prime 

factors responsible for slow adoption of management 

recommendations: 

1. Economic pressure. 

2. Complacency regarding deterioration. 

3. Inefficient extension. 

4. Unacceptable recommendations. 

It would be useful to consider the validity of these factors 

in the present Australian situation and to rectify the 

situation as necessary. 

The types of land use and degrees of viability of pastoralism 

.in each.vegetation region in Australia have been shown by 

Young et al., 1986 as follows:

. TABLE 3 

Principal land uses by area (sq km) in the rangelands 

--------------------------------a----------------w---------------------- 

STATE 

Land Use N.S.W. NOT. QLD. S.A, W.A. AUST. 

........................................................................ 

Grazing 309,272 760,773 1,251,867 417,919 965,558 3,705,389 

Vacant Crown 

Land 0 210,540 6,300 197,617 833,913 1,248,370 

Conservation 5,980 5,212 24,252 31,025 114,153 180,622 

Aboriginal 

Land 0 357,255 26,199 117,239 208,963 709,656 

Military 

Land 0 0 0 2,005 6,650 8,655 

Total 315,252 1,335,955 1.320,344 767,155 2,177,744 5,916,450 

* Aboriginal lands which are also grazed are included under Aboriginal 

lands. 

TABLE 4 

Extent of grazing and viability prospects of main rangeland types 

(arranged in order of percentage of area grazed) 

-------------- ------------------------...--------------------------------- 

* 

% % % 

low medium high 

Rangeland Area % viability viability viability 

type 

(000 km2 ) grazed prospects prospects prospects 

-----------w--.------..i.------------------.w----------------w------------- 

Mitchell grasslands 301.9 99.0 4.6 29.7 65.7 

Semi-arid woodlands 474.3 98.6 9.1 57.3 33.6 

Mixed tussock grasslands 107.3 94.8 7,1 48.5 44.4 

Other 693.0 79.3 42.5 31.6 25.9 

Chenopod shrublands 482,l 74.8 21.4 46.2 32 . 5 

Subtropical woodlands 747 0 70.6 44,7 51.5 3.8 

Arid mulga 662,3 68.8 53,8 33.7 12.5 

Central arid woodlands 426.7 61.2 49.9 35.7 14.4 

Mallee 97.9 40.0 41.2 15.5 43.3 

Hummock grasslands 1924.0 39.7 82.3 26.5 2.3 

Australia - 5916.4 64.7 50.2 32.9 16.9 

------------------a----------------------------------------------------

FIGURE 1 

iabifity ratings for Australia's grazed rannefands. 

% 

1-7 

. 

High viability 

1.- Medium viability 

Very low viability

SOME PAST DEVELOPMENTS 

The 28 February 1972 saw the formal birth of condition 

monitoring in Australia, when an informal condition and Trend 

Workshop for 25 participants was held at Alice Springs. The 

survivors of that epic meeting have seen monitoring techniques 

come of age despite the many unanswered questions and 

intangibles in that grey zone between the science and art of 

range management. 

The STARC model of Lendon and Lammercraft (1976) was a serious 

attempt to develop a homegrown Australian system of monitoring 

at the time when satellite imagery was coming into use in the 

arid zone (Graetz et al., 1976; Foran and ~ellier, 1980). 

Despite efforts to re-define assessment concepts, eg 

cunningham (1976), each organization still tends to use its 

preferred concepts and definitions. The attempt to develop 

the LIBRIS system for application in range monitoring (Graetz 

et al., 1983) was an important initiative in assessment 

methodology. 

Western Australian scientists have made a major contribution 

toward the development of a nationally accepted monitoring 

system. The system widely known as WARMS has developed from 

the original efforts of Carneggie, Wilcock and Hacker in 1970 

using aerial photography (~arneggie et al, 1971). The on-site 

photographic records (Morrissey, 1976) were the forerunner of 

today's WARMS system (Holm et al, 1987) which is explained in 

detail by Hacker at this workshop. At the same time Tongway 

and Smith (1989) and Lay (this workshop) have further 

developed approaches compatible with WARMS. 

The Centralian Range Assessment Manual (CRAM) has gained 

general acceptance by most cattle producers in the Centre, as 

shown by Basten's report to this workshop. 

The challenge to existing assumptions on plant succession and 

site selection by Wilson (1984) reflected the growing nonacceptance 

of traditional methodologies and gave impetus to a 

more objective approach to field sampling. By concentrating 

on the soil criteria of condition assessment, pickup (1985) 

used-the earlier concepts of Butler (1959) to interpret both 

condition and trend from the Iterosion cellv1 concept. This was 

followed by the modelling of the effects of grazing on erosion 

risk maps as a basis for determining preferred paddock layout 

(Pickup and Chewings, 1986). In view of the discontinuities 

caused by drought, flood and fire, ~ustralian range assessors 

could note Jameson's (1988) contribution on monitoring and 

adaptive management in which he refers to llsome extremely 

helpful aids in addressing the concept of equilibria (which) 

are found in the area of catastrophe theoryq1. Casti (1980) 

has combined the concepts of adaptive management and 

catastrophe theory, so breaking away from the so-called fixed 

schedule systems which have failed so often to provide a 

working basis for ecological models. The recurring criticism 

of modelling based on poor quantitative data should not 

detract from the usefulness of qualitative models in 

understanding relationships, especially the effects of

environment as distinct from the effects of management. 

Wilson et al's (1988) saltbush model is a useful example: 

FIGURE 2 

Atrlplrx 

Malreana 

Stage 

Danthonla 

m = mature 

8 = seed L 

D = bassi sprouting 1 A t p i e I 

j = Seedling 

Maireana 

(dl: diminished 

Oanthonia 

Atriplex 

Matreana 

Danthonia 

b.1.s 

Maireana 

Oanthonia 

Maireana 

Oanthonia 

Oanthonia 

Oant honia 

Model of changes in an Atriplex vesicatia - Maireana aphylla - 

Danthonia caespitosa community near Deniliquin, as influenced 

by fire and rainfall 

THE 

GERS CHOICES 

erazing land management is both the art and the science of 

planning and executing the use of vegetation so as to attain 

the highest livestock production consistent with conservation 

of the natural resources. This implies skillful manipulation 

of those factors subject to control by the manager. In the 

pastoral zone the following variables may be used in 

developing management strategies to meet the demands of 

different seasons, different types of grazing land, different 

condition of paddocks and varying economic demands and costs:

Breeds of livestock 

Ratio of sheep to cattle 

Total number of livestock 

Strategic alteration of numbers of each class of stock 

Combination of animal groups 

Fencing of separate vegetation types 

Spelling of paddocks 

Heavy intermittent grazing of paddocks 

Positioning of watering places and licks 

Burning 

Mechanical or chemical shrub control 

Water spreading 

seeding to sown pasture. 

The complex questions being answered by research can probably 

be simplified into only five practical questions of interest 

to the manager, namely: 

1. What animals should I produce? 

2. What numbers of animals are appropriate? 

3. How many paddocks do I need? 

4. When should animals be moved? 

5. Which paddock should they be moved to? (Roberts, 1986) 

The assumption is that our monitoring is only one factor in 

the broad sphere of rangeland administration and, more 

importantly, grazing management by the landholderd 

At the risk of being perceived as going over assumed knowledge 

by the old guard in condition assessment, the writer believes 

that some of the basic tenets of range assessment require 

clarification before we proceed to the important methods and 

practical applications to be reported in this workshop. This 

is included because over the past 30 years the writer has 

repeatedly been involved in the re-emerging differences of 

opinion on our practical goals, our definitions and our 

interpretation of field data. There is no apology for 

returning to the American roots of our profession, for it is 

from this basis that both our progress and confusion have 

developed. This paper does not ask for acceptance of these 

concepts but rather invites vigorous debate of their 

acceptability in our situation. The papers of Friedel, Hacker 

and Tangway provide stimulating substance for such debate. 

BASIC CONCEPTS 

One of intriguing aspects of range monitoring as a 

subdiscipline is that it offers scope for a variety of 

philosophies and objectives. It is this variety which is 

responsible for the differences of opinion and apparent 

conflict among advisors and managers in different regions. In 

recent years the terms "condition and trend" have been dropped 

in some states and replaced by monitoring with technical 

objectives. Whether the old and new approaches are really 

different or whether we are dealing with semantic differences

will be referred to later. It is deemed useful here to 

reiterate the original basic concepts from which modern 

monitoring evolved. 

The first proposed range condition assessment was that of 

Smith (1899) who suggested that "the occurrence of any one 

species as a dominant or most conspicuous grass is, to some 

extent, an index of the state of the land and of what stage in 

overstocking and deterioration has been reached". (It is 

interesting to note at after 50 years of range assessment, 

South African scientists have recently proposed a system using 

species composition as the only criterion of condition 

(Tainton, 1986) ) . 

Range condition may be described as the general state of 

health of natural grazing land and was originally defined as 

follows: "The state of health or productivity of both soil 

and forage of a given range, in terms of what it could or 

should be under normal climate and best practicable 

management" (Sampson, 1952). Because conditions may be 

changing, a report ~f~condition is always with reference to a 

certain time and as Dyksterhuis (1949) has pointed out, data 

on condition are gathered Ifto show current condition in 

relation to potential condition, thus enabling a range manager 

to recognize an attainable goal1v. (Note that Moore (1969) 

maintained that "the principle objective of management must be 

to maintain or re-establish conditions suitable for the 

regeneration and survival of useful species ...fr.) 

One of the simplest definitions of condition is that of 

Ellison (1951) which states that "condition is the character 

of the vegetal cover and the soil, under man's use, in 

relation to what it ought to be". 

The term "range trendv1 refers to the direction of change in 

condition of natural grazing land. In its original context, 

lgtrendvl indicated whether "the state of health, and thus 

productivity of rangeland, was moving toward or away from the 

climax condition. In its simplest terms @@trendwt is change in 

condition. Both the direction and the rate of change in range 

condition are embraced by the concept of "trend" and are 

influenced by a complex of environmental and management 

factors, 

The use of the "key speciesg1 concept was first proposed by 

Standing (Anon, 1938) as a basis on which correct utilization 

of grazing land could be judged. The key species are those 

species on which the correct level of defoliation for the 

vegetation as a whole is judged. Key species should be 

palatable, reasonably resistant to grazing and competition, 

reasonably abundant and nutritious and should produce a 

reasonable volume of feed. Usually 2-4 key species are chosen 

for use as indicators of proper utilization. In some cases 

one dominant may suffice and when this is judged to have been 

properly used (vlmaximum allowable defoliation without damageRf) 

it is assumed that the range as a whole should not be grazed 

further .

More recent approaches to monitoring prefer not to use terms 

such as condition, trend, succession, climax or other 

ecologically qualified concepts. The writer believes that 

whichever approach is used, an understanding of the dynamics 

and grazing value of the plants is essential to reliable 

interpretation of field data. Such understanding requires 

answers to a range of questions as listed in the section 

below. 

SAMPLING AND INTERPRETATION 

If condition assessment is to be objective and meaningful, it 

must be based on measurable attributes which can be applied, 

on a quantitative basis, to a variety of sites. In addition, 

unless condition ratings can ultimately be related to 

management and a causal relationship established, condition 

and trend assessment can easily degenerate into no more than 

an academic exercise and may be what has been called "painful 

elaboration of the obvi~us~~. 

Over the years, many criteria or indicators of condition have 

been proposed and used. Because the relative importance of 

the possible indicators differs according to the specific 

situation and the factors which are applicable to the 

environments concerned, no single choice of plant or soil 

indicator can be accepted as best for all cases. 

The following plant attributes are desirable, in the sense 

that they contribute to both the productivity and stability of 

the ecosystem: 

a. Acceptability to grazing animals (palatability). 

b. Productivity in terms of dry matter yield. 

c. Perenniality as reflecting soil stabilizing ability and 

both more permanent and uniform production. 

d. Drought tolerance. 

e. Nutritive value in terms of digestibility and protein 

content. 

The contribution of Friedel (1988) and Tongway and Smith 

(1989) to both sampling site selection and yield estimation 

have been important in developing a new approach to 

monitoring. Their papers to this workshop emphasize once 

again- the importance of clarity of.objectives before an 

effective system of monitoring can be achieved. 

In developing a local assessment system based on local 

standards, decisions are required on at least four major 

issues, and in the following sequence: 

a. The criteria of condition to be employed. 

b. The intensity and accuracy of sampling required. 

c. The actual scoresheet details. 

d. The weighting of criteria according to importance.

~ield workers are agreed that the intensity of sampling is 

almost invariably dictated by staff resources available and 

that constraints on the amount of ground truthing that can 

supplement remote sensing are the limiting factor to the rate 

of survey. Lay, Bastin and Friedel's papers to this workshop 

reflect the problems and alternative approaches concerned. In 

simple terms, representativeness, if it is ever achievable in 

rangelands, demands special attention. 

Since circumstances dictate procedures, in the majority of 

cases it is left to the assessors to satisfy themselves that 

their sampling assessment area: 

a. Has the same ecological potential as the greater 

portion of the paddock being assessed. 

b. Has been used to a similar degree by the grazing 

animals, as the paddock as a whole. 

c. Is truly representative of the present condition of 

the paddock overall. 

Although the requirements of a successful condition assessment 

system may differ according to the aim of the assessment, the 

size of the areas concerned, and the manpower available, 

certain characteristics may be listed as basic to all 

successful systems. These would include: 

a. Rapidity. 

b. Simplicity without loss of repeatability. ! 

c. Quantitative estimation of criteria. 

d. Applicability to grazed and ungrazed sites. 

e. Applicability in good and bad years. 

f. Usefulness in guiding management decisions. 

g. Acceptability to land users. 

The quantitative estimation referred to above, has led to 

comprehensive use of point methods over the years. The 

American Step-Point method and the South African Wheel-Point 

method are still widely used but as Friedel points out, they 

may have high errors where cover is very low. This error has 

led the writer to seek correlations between basal cover and 

botanical composition and where these exist, to use such 

correlations as a basis for measuring only botanical 

composition, by using nearest plant data from Wheel-Point 

surveys-and deducing grazing condition solely from 

composition. 

Irrespective of the region concerned, a number of basic 

questions need to be answered before any system of assessment 

of condition and trend can be applied in practice. These 

questions would usually include the following (Roberts, 1972): 

Which species are present? 

Which species could or should be present? 

. Which species dominate the community? 

Which species could or should dominate the community? 

. Has the vegetation changed since domestic stock were 

introduced?

If so, in what ways has it changed? 

Can the reasons for these changes be clearly 

identified? 

To what degree are the various species of plants 

utilized by animals? 

What is the relative productivity of the species 

present in terms of dry matter yield? 

What is the nutritive value of the species concerned? 

Are any species toxic or otherwise harmful to grazing 

animals? 

Which species are perennial and relatively stable in 

their annual production? 

Which combination of species is likely to give highest 

sustained animal production? 

Does this combination coincide with the ltclimaxflt 

vegetation of the area? 

It is useful to consider Hacker's contention that the WARMS 

philosophy (see this workshop) is a substantial departure from 

the traditional approach. The WARMS objectives to measure 

plant and soil changes, to understand their causes and to 

convert these into management recommendations, appear similar 

to the original objectives. The WARMS philosophy of being 

strictly utilitarian and production-oriented, can be met by 

the practical interpretation of the above questions. The same 

management recommendations from both short and long tern 

monitoring can be obtained whether the terminology of 

condition or monitoring is used. In all cases we:want to know 

what has changed, how does that change affect grazing animals, 

what caused the change and what should we do about it. The 

WARMS technique of comparing fenced sites with adjacent grazed 

sites has much to recommend it in isolating the effects of 

stock from the effects of climate. 

What is required to initiate the application of the concepts 

of condition and trend is, firstly, the deternination of which 

species may be regarded as lldesirabletg in any area, and 

secondly, the assessment of how far removed the present 

vegetation is from the potentially llbestw vegetation, as 

measured by its capabilities of sustained high animal 

production and maintenance of soil stability. 

MONITORING RESEARCH AND DROUGHT 

Taylor aid Whalley (1976) suggested that ~ustralian range 

research has been suppressed by "the seemingly unresponsive 

nature of native pastures to manipulation and the acceptance 

of the 'replacement philo~ophy~~~. The past decade has seen an 

improvement in this situation and, especially in the past few 

years, the formation of landholder committees to tackle 

property planning and pasture management in the pastoral zone. 

Central to a sustainable pastoral production system is 

realistic estimation of carrying capacity. It is important to 

note that in the Carnarvon area-of western ~ustralia, Zahran 

et al. (1988) showed that at a stocking rate of 1 sheep to 2.5 

ha, sheep consumed 1/6 of feed available when feed was 

plentiful and 1/2 when in short supply. At a stocking rate of 

1:13 ha approximately 1/9 and 1/3 of available fodder was

consumed in good and poor seasons respectively. Mills et a1 

(1989) assume that a dry matter yield of 200 kg/ha can support 

1 dry sheep on 2.5 ha if all pasture is consumed or 1 on 5 ha 

if 12.5% is consumed. Wilson et a1 (1988) regard 20930% 

utilization as safe in semi-arid woodlands and use Beale et 

al's (1986) estimate that 1 sheep will consume 400 kg pea.. 

However, Mills et al's survey in S.W. Queensland gives the 

yields shown in Table 5: 

TABLE 5 

Average rated carqing capacity, rated stocking rate, average 

area and average biomass for largest, smallest, best and worst 

percentile properties 

---------------m---------wwm--------m-m----------------------- 

Av. rated Av. rated Av.area Av.biomass 

carrying stocking (ha) (%/ha ) 

capacity2 rate 

(sheep) (ha/sheep) 

Largest 7 20 778 3.7 71 510 92 

Smallest 7 4 009 2.8 10 894' 91 

Best 7 8 503 3.9 38 671 137 

Worst 7 5 878 3.4 20 924 90 

--.---------------.-------.-------w--m-----------------.-m---- 

If landholders are to be convinced of the wisdom of reducing 

stock numbers, Australian researchers will have to expand 

their efforts to demonstrate the practical relationships 

within the Jones-Sandland (1974) model (see below) and the 

economic effects of variations in stock numbers.

FIGURE 3 

Weight gain 

Weight gain 

kg sheep-' yr-" , ,----. 

kg ha-' yr" 

L I J 

0 0.5 1.0 . 

Stocking rate (sheep ha-') 

Jones-Sandland model of weight gain per sheep (A) and per 

hectare (A') for a perennial grassland. The situation (B) and 

(B') represents the same model for a theoretical change in 

composition to a mixed perennial and annual grassland with 

higher quality but lower carrying capacity. 

The writer (Roberts, 1972) has summed up the required research 

programme in the pastoral zone in the following four central 

questions : 

1. What combination of species is likely to yield the best 

long term production from each type of land? 

2. matt-management, if any, is required to develop and 

maintain this desired state? 

3. What combination of type and number of animals can be 

safely used in the ecosystem envisaged? 

4. What size of holding is required to achieve ecological 

and economic feasibility for such a production system? 

Drought relief has become the subject of both state'and 

federal enquiries only this year, despite persuasive evidence 

for change over the past decade (~ilcock, 1981; Mills, 1981; 

Robinson, 1982). In a classical understatement, the most 

recent report on the pastoral zone of S.W. Queensland (Mills 

et al, 1989) reads: "It has been recognised that current 

drought declaration criteria tend to encourage producers to 

hold their livestock until their condition declines

sufficiently to meet the criteria and a drought declaration 

may be obtained. This practice leads to considerable 

overutilisation of the pasture and effectively imposes a 

financial penalty on those managers who adopt the desired 

approach of destocking before the pasture is exhausted and 

before rapid loss of condition of the animals takes place." 

Pressland and McKeonts paper to this workshop makes a 

significant contribution to the important national debate on 

drought assistance. Their use of the GRASP model and 

predictions based on climatic phenomena, notably the Southern 

Oscillation Index (SOI) is of particular significance in 

forming a scientific basis for policy decisions worth millions 

of dollars. 

FUTURE PRIORITIES 

Clearly there is a role for short and long term monitoring - 

the former for management, the latter for research and 

administration. In the meantime the pressing need is for 

acceptance and implementation of paddock assessment as the 

basis for animal management decisions. Pastoral extension 

workers must ensure-that their monitoring sites do not become 

irrelevant to landholders in the same way that farm plans were 

disregarded in earlier years. To achieve acceptance 

monitoring will have to be kept simple and relevant to 

practical seasonal decisions by the manager. The WARMS 

monitoring frequency of five years, segmented by managerst 

notes on a simple checklist in the interim is a useful 

approach that warrants serious consideration of how these 

complimentary records can most effectively be implemented for 

short and long term benefits. 

Equally important for sound land administration is the 

acceptance of stocking and drought policies based on reliable 

pasture yield information as a basis for realistic stocking 

rates (including kangaroos). Such pasture yield information 

may well be reliably obtained from albedo patterns on 

satellite imagery which reflect reduced vegetation cover 

clearly in many soil situations. Such techniques can 

contribute substantially to the effective choice of 

representative sampling sites within "albedo beltstt which 

reflect zones of differential grazing intensity or plant 

density, Whether such remote sensing can replace the proven 

ground truth of basal cover and botanical composition awaits 

further research. 

Lastly, more effective use needs to be made of the tgsuccess 

storiestt of commercial operators who have applied monitoring 

principles, so that more landholders can see the benefits and 

reap the rewards of good land stewardship. As Tidwell (1987) 

said, "Monitoring is Managementt1.

REFERENCES 

1. 'Anon. (1978). A Basis for Soil Conservation Policy in 

~ustralia, Rep No 1, Dept. Environment, AGPS, Canberra. 

2. Beale, I. et al. (1986). The Mulga Lands, ROY. Soc. 

Qlde , Brisbane. 

3. Butler, Be (1959) . CSIRO Soil Publ. 14. 

4. Carneggie, DON., Wilcox, D.G. and Hacker, R.B. (1971). 

Techn. Bull. NO. 10. West. Aus~. Dept. Agric. 

5. Casti, J. (1980). I.E.E.E. Trans. Automat. Contr. AC-25, 

1008-1011. 

6. Cunningham, G- (1976). Aus. Rangel. J. 1(1), 

7. Foran, B. and Cellier, K. (1980). Aus. Rangel. J. 2, 

189-200. 

Friedel, M. and Chewings, V. (1988). Aus~. J. Eco~. 13, 

463-468. 

Graetz, R. (1976). Aus. Rangel. J. 1, 52-9. 

Graetz, R. et al. Aus. Rangel. J. 5 (2), 63-7 3. 

Holm, A. McR., Burnside, D.G. and Mitchell, AwAw (1987). 

Aust. Rangel. J. 9, 14-20. 

Jameson, D. (1988). Vegetation Science ~pplications for 

Rangeland Analysis and Management. Ed. Pa Tueller, 

Kluwer Publ., London, 214-221. 

Lendon, C. and Lammercraft, R. (1976). Aus. Rangel. J. 

1, 40-8. 

Mills, J. et al. (1989). Land Degradation in S.W. Qld. 

Proj ect Report QDPI , Brisbane. 

Moore, (1969). Proc. Ecol..Soc. Aus. 4, 39-54. 

Morrissey, J.G. (1973). Rangeland Bull. No. 24. 

Aus~. Dept. Agric. 

West. 

C 

Pickup, G. (1985). Aus. Rangel. J. 7, 114-21. 

Pickup, G. and Chewings, V. (1986). Aus. Rangel. J. 8, 

57-62. 

Roberts, B. (1969). Proc. Grassl. Soc. Sth. Afr. 4, 92- 

8. 

Roberts, B. (1972). Ecological studies on pasture 

condition. Report QDPI, Charleville.

Roberts, B. (1986). Proc. Sec. Int. Rangel. Conf. 216- 

20. 

'Schapper, H. (1985). Range Man. Newsl. 85/2, 19-20. 

Tainton, No (1986). Second Int. Rangel. Conf., Adelaide, 

524. 

Taylor, J and Whalley, R. (1976). J. Aus. Inst. Ag. Sc., 

VO~. 42, 181-86. 

Tidwell, D. (1987). Rangel. Monitoring Workshop Proc. 

U.S. Bur. Land. Man., Golden, Colorado. 

Tongway, P.J. and Smith, E.C. (1989). Aust. Rangel. J. 

11, 15-20. 

Wilcox, D. (1986). Range Man. Newsl. 86/3, 5-8. 

Wilson, A. (1984). Aus. Rangel. J. 6, 69-74. 

Wilson, A. et al. (1988). Vegetation Science 

Applications for Rangeland Analysis and Management. 

P. Tueller, Kluwer Publ., London, 254-94. 

Ed. 

Young, M. (1985). AUS~ Rangel. J. 7, 43-6. 

Young, M. et al. (1986). Aus. Rangel. J. 8,!131-39. 

Zaharan, B. et al. (1988). Aus. Rangel. J. 10, 6-8.

OTHEREARTH 

The Role of Women in Developing Land Stewardship in Australia 

- -- 

The Land Situation 

Dr. Brian Roberts is Dean of 

School of Applied Science, 

Darling Downs Institute of 

Advanced Education, 

Toowoomba, Qld. 

PAGE 42 

The need to develop a land ethic in 

Australia has been well established 

and much publicised in recent times. 

There is an increasing awareness of 

the need to inculcate in the next 

generation, a sense of appreciation 

and permanence in our relationship 

to our land. 

Few today would argue with the 

recognition that: (i) we are dependent 

on the soil for our future, and (ii) our 

exploitation of this land has caused 

severe reduction in its productive 

potential. 

In trying to solve the complex 

problems of land deterioration, there 

is general acceptance of the need for 

a three-pronged attack, namely (i) 

community education, (ii) incentives 

to landholders, and (iii) regulatory 

constraints through land use planning 

and zoning. 

To reach our national and State 

goals in soil conservation and land 

care we shall need to use all the 

available educational channels 

available to the community to imbue 

in future generations, the land ethic 

and sense of permanent stewardship 

so desperately needed in our nation 

today (Roberts, 1984). 

If we consider the potential of our 

various social organisations for contributing 

to this education 

programme, we can see a role not 

only for our schools and our 

government advisory services, but 

also for community groups, the 

church and women's organisations. 

Many of us are apparently 

unaware of the way in which our 

rural production systems are 

producing wealth at the expense of 

our land's stability and productivity. 

It could be said that we have been 

living off our "land capital" for 

decades. One indication of this is that 

our national grain yields have remained 

static (wheat at 1.2 tonnes/ha 

since 1955) in spite of increased 

inputs into the cropping systems 

concerned. The most recent overview 

of the condition of Australia's land 

is given by the Federal Government's 

booklet, "The State of the Australian 

Environment 1985" (Department 

Arts, 1985). The Queensland 

situation is summarised by Gillies and 

Kame1 (1985). Similar overviews are * 

available for other States. 

The bottom line to all our surveys 

and our soil conservation research 

and advisory services is that land 

deterioration is getting worse rather 

than better. The situation is urgent, 

widespread and increasingly costly to 

repair as time passes (Roberts, 1984). 

Economics and Ecology 

We are now all well aware of 

campaign of the National Farmers 

~ederation to get a better deal for our 

rural producers. This campaign is an 

important social phenomenon and 

has many facets worthy of serious 

debate. This paper is not aimed at 

evaluating the merits of the case 

espoused by the NFF, but rather at 

a few basic realities of the present 

rural situation. 

The writer has dealt with the The first reality is that while the 

potential role of the church in a paper emphasis is presently on economic 

entitled Soul Conservation (Robens, survival, unless the rules of ecological 

1986). The present paper considers survival are heeded, all our efforts 

the special place of women in the will come to nought. We have cases 

programme envisaged, and calls on of whole communities having to 

women's organisations, especially move from their farms, not because 

rural organisations, to take up the of economic policy but because 

challenge of making a conscious, nature has simply thrown man off. 

planned attempt to contribute Soil erosion has reached such an 

directly to this crucial community extent that further production just 

programme on a nation-wide basis at wasn't possible under the traditional 

an early date. 

farming systems (Roberts, 1986a). 

THE AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FARMER

The second reality is that in some 

districts, notably the Eastern Darling 

Downs and the Central Highlands of 

Queensland, the rate of soil loss is such 

that, under present conditions, the next 

generation (30 years) could be the last 

to win reasonable yields from the 

eroded topsoils concerned. So the time 

factor becomes central and critical to 

our efforts to act against land 

deterioration (Roberts, 1985). 

The third reality is that only a small 

proportion of landholders take a 

permanent view of land husbandry. 

As a result, land care and conservation 

of resources is too often viewed 

as a luxury we can ill-afford. In truth, 

a nation which cannot afford to 

maintain its productive base, cannot 

afford to survive. 

Mother Earth and 

In this land of mateship there has 

been a tendency for women to keep 

a low profile in matters concerning 

rural politics, production and 

economics. Rural women's organisations 

have concentrated on home and 

social issues more akin to the 

traditional role of women in 

Australia's rural communities. 

We have now reached the hinge of 

history in establishing our Western 

society on the Great Southland. At 

this crucial point in our development 

as a nation, our people's attitudes, 

values and behaviour toward the land 

become central to our future security. 

We can no longer expand to new 

frontiers when landscapes collapse or 

become saline. The good earth 

becomes increasingly more finite and 

limited and instead of trekking to 

pastures new we must now learn to 

use what we've been given in such a 

way as to preserve and improve its 

productive potential. 

This essential stage in national 

development, unrecognised by most, 

reauires fundamental changes in 

community views on such basic issues 

as our definition of the successful 

farmer, our quality of life and the 

real meaning of standard of living. In 

otherwordswemuststandstilland 

ask ourselves whether the values we 

presently pass on to our children 

(perhaps unwittingly) will stand them 

ii gooh stead for-

Brian Roberts, DDIAE 

The principle of land capability 

You can't build a rising standard of living on a falling level 

of soil fertility - and you can't sustain fertility if the 

soil is used beyond its permanent capability. 

So what is land capability? It is that level of yield that 

can be maintained in the long term. So in land use planning 

we have always aimed at two goals: 

(i) To use each section of land according to its potential. 

(ii) To protect each section of land according to its hazards. 

In other words we aim to make full use of the productive 

ability and at the same time ensure that we don't degrade the 

land by producing higher short term yields at the expense of 

the soil's stability and future productivity. 

Acceptance of the reality of Land Classes 

Land classes are used to map sections of land according to 

their suitable intensity of use and to their need for 

conservation measures. This approach has been used with 

success since the 1930s and in essence, it distinguishes 

between deep level soils suitable for annual crops without any 

soil conservation measures, and steep shallow soils suited 

only to natural vegetation and its careful use. 

Much of the land degradation in Australia originated from the 

way in which land policy-makers ignored the fundamental 

natural laws embraced in land classification. As a result, 

the vital decision in land care Droarammes is whether the 

section of land concerned is suited to the use made of it. In 

other words, the initial assumption of whether land is 

suitable for annual cropping (Classes I to 111) is the key to 

further decisions on which crops, which tillage methods, which 

paddock layout, which weed control methods etc. 

The essential role of land capability planning in sustainable 

agriculture is shown in Appendix I. 

Class IV land is defined as suitable only for limited 

cultivation in a system of production based on perennial 

crops, usually grazing crops, which give a permanent 

protective soil cover. Classes V-VIII are suitable only for 

use in their natural state or as planted forests or other tree 

crops. 

This basic evaluation of whether land is arable (cropping) or 

not, determines whether land is suitable for clearing and 

cultivation. If this first decision in property planning is 

wrong it is often impossible to stabilize the land by whatever

choices of cultivation practices are selected thereafter. As 

a rule of thumb in the summer rainfall zone, slopes above 7% 

should be classed as non-arable. However, in semi-arid 

regions even level terrain may be unsuitable for clearing if 

the rainfall is insufficient to produce enough stubble for 

effective stubble mulching. 

The Pro~erty Plan 

In simple terms the Property Plan considers three questions: 

(i) 

(ii) 

(iii) 

The Pro~ertv Map 

Step 1: 

Step 2: 

Step 3: 

Where should be the cropland be? 

What crops and animals should be produced? 

How should the crops and animals be produced? 

Map the different classes of land. 

Draw in the physical features: 

Natural drainage lines 

Main soil types 

Vegetation types 

Existing fences 

Present land use in each paddock 

Watering points 

Buildings 

Roads and tracks 

Cross road drainage 

Prepare the Proposed Farm Plan. 

There are several useful approaches to actually developing the 

plan of future farm operations, but the following summary 

drawn up by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries 

gives a good framework for practical planning. 

"The farm plan is produced to suit the land classification 

classes, the physical inventory and the desires of the farmer. 

The plan should show the necessary conservation practices to 

control runoff and erosion and to maintain and improve 

productivity. 

The following aspects should receive detailed consideration in 

developing the farm plan: 

(a) The runoff disposal system must be coordinated in 

relation to surrounding farms, the overall catchment, and 

public utilities such as roads and railways. 

(b) The type of intended production must be considered in 

relation to the special requirements associated with it.

(c) The flexibility of the plan concerning its suitability 

for other forms of production if a change in owner 

interests or changing returns for farm commodities 

necessitate the change. 

(d) The ease and efficiency of working the property must be 

considered in relation to the particular needs of the 

type of production being undertaken. 

(e) The most suitable system of erosion control measures to 

be adopted on the various areas to gain maximum control 

of erosion and increased stable returns from the farm is 

a primary consideration. 

(f) Access with farm machinery, stock movements, subdivision 

fencing and location of the runoff disposal systems must 

be considered. 

The development of an effective soil conservation farm plan on 

a property generally requires a complete reorganisation of 

farm layout to suit the topography. Only permanent 

improvements such as farm buildings and permanent watering 

points are therefore considered when the plan is being 

developed. While the location of existing fences should not 

be discarded completely from consideration, there are few 

farms where the existing location is ideally suited for soil 

conservation development, and generally speaking location of 

existing fences should not be allowed to influence the layout. 

Some examples of the practical aspects of fam planning 

Plannina cro~land 

(1) The Plains (eg the low sloping alluvial plains) 

Concentration of flood waters on the plains leads to severe 

soil erosion and therefore the policy has been to recommend 

land use and management practices that will lead to the 

spreading of flows. 

Some obstacles (eg roads and access tracks, irrigation head 

ditches, fences, buildings, crop lines) on the plain not 

correctly positioned will lead to concentration of water. 

(a) 

Roads 

Those roads that are perpendicular to the contour cause very 

few problems. 

Those roads that are skew to the contour and substantially 

raised above ground level will concentrate sheet flow and 

scour the top side of the road. Such roads will spread water 

flows if either the crown height is lowered or if long lowered 

flood sections (not inverts) are constructed.

For those roads that are parallel to the contour, the 

downstream side of the road to the paddock should have a low 

gradient (1 in 6 to 1 in 8) and be grassed to prevent 

scouring. Lowering of the crown height will be beneficial. 

(b) Fencing 

Fence lines can cause the same problems as roads. Where 

possible all boundary and internal fencing should be removed. 

Care should be taken to retain the identity of major portion 

fences. Where it is essential for the management of the 

property that fences be retained, sufficient space should be 

left under the bottom wire to enable the clearing out of silt 

accumulations, etc. 

(c) Crop Lines 

Crop lines not perpendicular to the direction of flow will 

also cause concentration and diversion of flows. Strip 

cropping, with strip widths along the contour will prevent the 

concentration of water flows. It is essential to maintain 

vegetative cover in alternate strips at all times. Strip 

widths vary according to the depth of flow, slope of the land, 

and extent of water concentration. Strip cropping layouts 

should be coordinated between landholders. 

(2) The Uplands 

(a) Runoff disposal system 

Waterways should be located in natural drainage lines. If 

this is not possible, artificial waterways should be located 

to allow for the best workability of the farm (eg on the 

boundary fences). Waterways should empty into existing cross 

road drainage points. Each drainage unit on the farm should 

be of a uniform soil. 

(b) Internal fences 

Fences should separate land classes when the grazing 

management of one class differs from that of an adjoining 

class, 

(c) Access tracks 

Access tracks should be located along ridge lines and should 

not cross contour banks at their outlet. Stock should not 

cross contour banks, especially at the outlet ends, and should 

not use waterways as a track. 

(d) Farm enterprise 

Dairy farm - concerned with small paddocks. 

Grain farm - requires large paddocks and long contour bank 

lengths for ease of machinery operation."

~orkinsr Maps 

There has been a great improvement in the maps used for the 

implementation of farm planning over the past 30 years. Today 

reproductions of enlarged aerial photographs are used as the 

basis on which information on soils, land classes, cultivation 

areas, drainage and fences is depicted. While such 

photographic maps give useful additional detail which is more 

easily comprehended by landholders, the essential features of 

land use classes, water disposal systems and fences can be 

adequately displayed on simple maps as shown in this earlier 

example (1958) from South Australia: 

I 

0 Dams 

o Troughs 

& Houses and sheds 

Scale in cnalns 

0 10 20 30 

6 1 

Working maps rrsed by rhu lundholder

Role of Trees in the Property Plan 

In this era of enthusiasm for tree planting, it is important 

that the role, and thus the location, of trees in the Land 

Care programme is carefully evaluated. Trees have a number of 

important roles to ~lav in combination with other soil 

stabilizinq techniaues in the property plan. So each aspect 

of sustainable production should be evaluated before planning 

of banks, waterways, trees, and tillage methods are combined 

in a complementary range of land care techniques.

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