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

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.