australian landscape science and its role in nrm
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Presented by Wayne Meyer as part of the 2009 Place and Purpose Symposium run by the Landscape Science ClusterTRANSCRIPT
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Australian Landscape Science and its role in NRM.
Wayne Meyer
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Landscape science and NRM
30 September 2009 Copyright © 2008 The University of Adelaide
Wayne S Meyer
Slide Number 1
Applying Landscape Science to Natural
Resource Management
Wayne Meyer, Brett Bryan, Andrew Fisher,
Neville Crossman and Megan Lewis
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Landscape science and NRM
30 September 2009 Copyright © 2009 The University of Adelaide 2
Landscape science – integrating environmental,
ecological, economic and social perspectives
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Landscape science and NRM
30 September 2009 Copyright © 2008 The University of Adelaide
Wayne S Meyer
Slide Number 3
Why the need for landscape science in NRM?
• Apart from some great local improvements, evidence that
condition of soil, water, native biota and atmosphere is
improving is hard to find.
• Natural resource condition is being eroded by:
• grazing production systems
• agricultural production systems
• urban and industrial growth
• Inherently, we agree that this is not viable in the long term
So the question is:
"what are the combinations of plans, incentives and actions
that will encourage changed attitude and practice to stop
exploitation and maintain renewable land use systems?”
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Landscape science and NRM
30 September 2009 Copyright © 2008 The University of Adelaide
Wayne S Meyer
Slide Number 4
Why the need for landscape science in NRM?
• Integration requires good process
• Planning without a shared vision is deficient
• Planning without people and resources to implement will fail
• Implementation without clear governance and management will
squander resources
• Action without evaluation is lost learning
• To improve, many pieces need to come together
• Successful NRM needs:
• system understanding
• people who do things differently
• supportive institutional arrangements
i.e. landscape science
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Landscape science and NRM
29 May 2008 Copyright © 2008 The University of Adelaide
Wayne S Meyer
Slide Number 5
Landscape science: the science of social-ecological systems
• Geology
• Climate
• Topography
• Hydrology
• Soils
• Biota
• Crops
• Agronomy
• Animals
• $$$$’s
• Conservationareas
• People
• Preferences
• Politics
• Institutions
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Landscape science and NRM
Are we currently missing the mark with
maintaining natural resource condition?
30 September 2009 Copyright © 2009 The University of Adelaide 6
• Soil
• Erosion – significant wind and water, loss of nutrients
• Carbon – low and declining
• Nutrients – some in balance, K and Mg being mined
• Condition – salinity, acidity increasing, physical structure variable
• Water
• Surface – 30% rivers and wetlands significantly degraded
• Groundwater – many beyond sustainable yield
• Native vegetation and biodiversity • 32% cleared
• ~ half agricultural areas have lost connectivity within native vegetation
• excessive rate of species loss NLWRA - 1995 to 2002
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Landscape science and NRM
“Australian farmers spent $3 billion on NRM over 2006-07 .. $2.3 bn on weed and
pest management …$649 m on land and soil related activities” (Farm Facts 2009–10, NFF)
“The dusty blanket that wrapped itself around Sydney this morning pushed air
pollution levels to 1500 times their normal levels - the highest on record” (SMH 23 Sep 2009)
A mismatch of measures and intents
30 September 2009 Copyright © 2009 The University of Adelaide 7
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Landscape science and NRM
A mismatch of measures and intents
30 September 2009 Copyright © 2009 The University of Adelaide 8
“The widespread adoption (35 – 90%) of conservation tillage practices represent
an agricultural practice revolution”
Soil carbon levels in Australian soils are generally low and declining – (NLWRA, 2002)
“farmers plant 20.6 million tree seedling for conservation purposes” (Farm Facts 2009–10, NFF)
Native vegetation and biodiversity
• 32% cleared in total
• half agricultural landscapes have lost remnant vegetation connectivity
• excessive rate of species loss (NLWRA, 2002)
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Landscape science and NRM
Australian farms and their closely related sectors generate $137 billion-a-
year in production – underpinning 12% of GDP” (Farm Facts 2009–10, NFF)
A very large proportion of Australian grazing and agriculture make no or very little
profit (NLWRA, 2002)
Farm enterprises often show a “spectacular mismatch between their
economic efficiency .. and their biophysical inefficiency”
i.e. short term profit is used to justify long term asset degradation
A mismatch of measures and intents
30 September 2009 Copyright © 2009 The University of Adelaide 9
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Landscape science and NRM
30 September 2009 Copyright © 2008 The University of Adelaide
Wayne S Meyer
Slide Number 10
Challenges for regional NRM
• local improvement, regional decline
• limited resources
• multiple demands
• an uncertain and changing future
• prioritisation
• are we making a difference?
What can we do to help?
- recognise the complexity
- improve decision support tools and capability
- identify cost effective planning and implementation
- promote successes
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Landscape science and NRM
30 September 2009 Copyright © 2008 The University of Adelaide
Wayne S Meyer
Slide Number 11
Regional NRM – operating in the landscape science domain
Human & social
capital
Natural resources
‘environment’
• Atmosphereoclimate
• Soils
• Wateroquantity
oquality
• Biota
Economics and
finances Adapted from
Good and Bald 2008
• Institutions
• Community
• Jobs
Landscape science
domainDecision „space‟
of NRM Boards
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Landscape science and NRM
• Identify regional NRM targets
• Gather regional data
• Agree on future scenarios –
uncertain but not unknown
• Analyse for possible options
• Options inform plans
Lower Murray Landscape Futures (LMLF)
- regional planning for the future
30 September 2009 Copyright © 2009 The University of Adelaide 12
http://www.landscapefutures.com.au/
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Landscape science and NRM
25 August 2009 Copyright © 2007 The University of Adelaide Slide Number 13
Least cost
Cost:
-1.2% of agricultural GRP
Cost:
-12.1% of agricultural GRP
Most cost effectiveConservation
farming
Deep rooted
perennials
Ecological
restoration
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Landscape science and NRM
Lower Murray Landscape Futures
Landscape Futures Analysis – regional benefits and costs
Policy options
IndicatorsGo
Anywhere CheapestBest for
BiodiversityBest for
NRMMost Cost Effective
Sustain -ability Ideal
Ecological Restoration (ha)
Total Biodiversity Benefits (Remnant vegetation) ($)
Total Wind Erosion Benefits ($)
Net Economic Returns ($/yr) -$64.1M -$3.8M -$38.3M -$39.5M -$33.8M -$92.4M
No option is economically better than current practice!
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Landscape science and NRM
25 August 2009 Copyright © 2007 The University of Adelaide Slide Number 15
Key message – landscape futures analysis
The look and function of future landscapes are determined more by the way we use the land now than by climate change effects
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Landscape science and NRM
• Potter Farmland Plan (1984 - )
• Trees, fences: Andrew Campbell (Landscapes, lifestyles & livelihoods)
• (2005 - )
• Linking land and water management to resource condition targets
• Learn from previous actions: Ted Lefroy
• (1998 - )
• Assess and prioritise environmental and natural resource projects
• 20 regions: Geoff Park
Other Australian experience and research
assisting NRM
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Landscape science and NRM
• The Fenner School of Environment and Society
• Knowledge for a Sustainable Future: Steve Dovers
Other Australian experience and research
assisting NRM
30 September 2009 Copyright © 2009 The University of Adelaide 17
International connections
• A multidisciplinary research group that explores the dynamics of
complex adaptive systems: Nick Abel
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Landscape science and NRM
30 September 2009 Copyright © 2009 The University of Adelaide 18
Successful NRM needs:
system understanding
people who do things differently
supportive institutional arrangements
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Landscape science and NRM
Proposed model for a sustainable regional NRM
system. J A Williams et al.(2008)
30 September 2009
Copyright © 2009 The University of Adelaide
19
Landscape/
Ecosystem
Approach
Integrated
outcome
focused plan
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Landscape science and NRM
30 September 2009 Copyright © 2009 The University of Adelaide 20
Successful NRM needs:
a solid foundation of system understanding
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Landscape science and NRM
• Vision and commitment
• Plans based on a sound foundation of systems
understanding
• Supportive institutional arrangements
• Policy with unambiguous signals
• People with capability and motivated to change
• Recognition and repetition of local improvement
• Adaptive learning
For a good result we need
30 September 2009 Copyright © 2009 The University of Adelaide 21
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Landscape science and NRM
• Financial drivers of land use continue to over-ride natural
resource maintenance
• Regional NRM needs new tools and capability
• Landscape futures analysis can show options for greatly
improved land use to land capability
• A sound bio-physical representation of an NRM region is a pre-
requisite to build renewable land uses
• Landscape science can help deliver improved NR condition –
successful improvement is infectious!
Conclusions
2 November 2007 Copyright © 2007 The University of Adelaide 22
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The Environment Institute