Landcare in Australia - A success Story

The emergence of the Landcare movement in Australia is relatively new. “Landcare ” is the name given to a community based participatory program, initiated by the community and supported by governments of all persuasions. This paper provides a background to Landcare and why it has emerged as a significant force in encouraging environmental change. Australia is a large country with a diverse range of natural environments some of which are extremely fragile. Two hundred years of human occupation and agricultural activity has lead to significant degradation of natural resources. While some of this degradation will be very difficult to reverse, Landcare has provided a framework to address the problems, plan and implement solutions and most importantly to develop sustainable systems which are more empathetic with the environment on which they depend. Significant environmental problems include a continuing development of soil salinity in farming areas, the deterioration in waterway health and consequent water quality, erosion-and soil loss from farmed land, losses in biodiversity (vegetative and animal diversity) and thus an overall reduction in natural capital. Landcare, with its broad focus on the environment, has provided some solutions. There has been a substantial increase in awareness of the problems. There are many examples of success stories where environmental problems have been reduced or even eliminated Landcare has provided a catalyst for the development of new or modified farming systems which are more sustainable. Through Landcare, public funding providers have been provided with a focus which allows them to direct resources at a particular problem, such as water quality. This paper also includes two case studies, providing examples of how Landcare can work for individuals and a community. It is impossible to represent the number and diversity of Landcare projects in operation, however the examples shown do help to build a picture of the operation of Landcare in Australia.