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

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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.
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 - -
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SOUL CObJSERVATION PEOPLE, RELIGION
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with " Generous sod", Dennis displa
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Stewardship - What Is It? Stewartls
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the earth's resources. However, it
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Certainly the earth and thus man, w
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That each Church set up a commissio
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LET THE RED VAN SPEAK In 1854 "the
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WHAT SHOULD WE TEACH What must the
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established a dualism of man and na
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R IBLIOGRAPHY Anonymous. 1985. Stat
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PREFACE : This paper has been writt
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vital supplies. The once-heroic pio
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to land use decision-making which t
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a approach for Australia. The dange
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As Ashby points out past experience
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exclusive right to use the land, ne
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matter. They certainly don't do tha
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a constraint on our freedom of acti
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and every individual creature and t
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Christians was noted. Both display
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Nature's Harmonies'. As David Lowen
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key phrases in Genesis are: "Have d
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Can Values and ~thics be Taught? Pl
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"The university's job may not be th
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coming generations. The list below
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National goals should change as pro
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indicators can continue to progress
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the problems of the present. It sho
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Cook, E. 1970. Environmental Ethics
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Santmire, H. P. 1970. Brother Earth
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--- - - - - - I. ORGANISATION AND I
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7' - - F a - - present parties, hav
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5. Res~onsibilitv of Faculties of A
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A -- 15. Role of Urban-Based conser
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FEDERAL STATE LOCAL EDUCATION l N C
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- - --< -- - I. ORGANISATION AND IN
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present parties, have failed to con
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Responsibilitv of Faculties of Agri
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15. Role of Urban-Based Conservatio
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FEDERAL STATE LOCAL EXTENSION LANDH
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government. In this way the long-st
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on a permanent basis. 8. -Role -- -
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%==. 10. Wider Use of Group Methods
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N0113V UOJ S31V3S3Lnlll QNV S13A31
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11. In Queensland, about 40% of nat
Page 118 and 119: Earth Garden, May 1 986 speak or th
Page 120 and 121: combines very small holdings with s
Page 122 and 123: The stages of cultural and ecologic
Page 124 and 125: The role of trees in controlling so
Page 126 and 127: proportions,. - _ 6. We must bring-
Page 130 and 131: an Land Degrad By Brian Roberts The
Page 132 and 133: principles ror de~elopment In \uch
Page 134: Exposed clay subsoil following seve
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Page 146 and 147: A.I.A.S. Symp. 20/10/89 EFFECTIVE G
Page 148 and 149: These figures exclude the contribut
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Page 154 and 155: A rational analysis should be made
Page 156: REFERENCES Anonymous. (1978). Basis
Page 159 and 160: APPENDIX 2 ELEMENTS OF A SHIRE LAND
Page 164 and 165: ' I a -I how T'S NEW IN LAND C CTS
Page 166: and tresspassers, rather than as cr
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Page 175 and 176: APPENDIX 2 * 1. clear goals which a
Page 177 and 178: .A- 7. Planninq -- - -,sip - proble
Page 182 and 183: Brian Roberts, DDIAE 1989 Farm plan
Page 184 and 185: farm plan or major changes in physi
Page 188 and 189: Cover Story LAND STE ARDSH udes Tow
Page 190 and 191: individual's rights. No individual
Page 192 and 193: B R Roberts Darling Downs Institute
Page 194 and 195: attention at an early date. Advisor
Page 196: TABLE 1 1 LE AGRICULTURE 1. LAND CA
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Page 208 and 209: CLEARING: WHO SHOULD DECIDE? Brian
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Page 214 and 215: Range Monitoring Workshop Nat. S.C.
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FIGURE 1 iabifity ratings for Austr
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environment as distinct from the ef
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will be referred to later. It is de
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~ield workers are agreed that the i
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consumed in good and poor seasons r
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sufficiently to meet the criteria a
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Roberts, B. (1986). Proc. Sec. Int.
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The second reality is that in some
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choices of cultivation practices ar
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For those roads that are parallel t
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Role of Trees in the Property Plan
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