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

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
D CARE
THROUGH LOCAL GROUP ACTION
Brian Roberts
Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education, Toowoomba
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.