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

government. In this way the long-standing division of
responsibilities which delays the implementation of conservation
plans,wy be minimised.
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8. - C&&O
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-. 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. This should apply for a period
of 20 years-.
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 doesn'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 littJe to
take their necessary level of responsibility for encoulaging
their members to develop their stewardship role and the land
ethic associated with trusteeship. Recognition .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
fed responsibility for land use policy and associated
inc schemes.
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2. ,=-mncial
____ Incentives and Asribusiness
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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