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Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Tasmania Together

Related Issue Reports

Actions taken

Objective

To implement programs to achieve continuous improvement in land management practices.

Recommendation

It is recommended that:

• extension programs are implemented to increase awareness and adoption of sustainable land management practices as defined in industry and government best-practice guidelines;
   
• the adoption of environmental management systems at a local land management scale is encouraged to guide and accredit sustainable land management practices;
   
• capacity to assess the current status, condition and trends of land resources and land degradation processes is enhanced through well-targeted research and development programs;
   
• land use planning and decision-making is undertaken to minimise and avoid resource degradation; and
   
• the above recommendations are assessed and prioritised at the regional scale through Regional NRM strategies.
   

Key issues

Tasmania's land heritage and land resources remain in a relatively good state: the diversity of landform and vegetation, together with the State's reserve system, has provided some degree of protection from environmental problems. Nevertheless, a range of pressures-reflecting the legacy of historic land management practices and unsustainable practices today-continue to affect Tasmania's land resources. Significant environmental pressures facing land in Tasmania are not confined to any one land tenure or land use. All tenures and uses have priority land management issues and responses to these issues often need to be considered in an integrated manner.

The cumulative effects of pressures on vegetation, soils, biodiversity, geodiversity and landscapes can be significant. Pressures are sometimes linked; for example, tree decline and land clearance may contribute to forms of soil degradation such as salinity.

The condition of Tasmania's land resources is linked to the condition of water resources-both freshwater and estuarine-through catchment management. Some of these relationships are highlighted across chapters: for example, an indicator of estuarine water quality is used to describe consequences of deterioration in soil condition.

Much can be achieved through harnessing current policies and programs within the integrating vision established by Tasmania Together. Continuous improvement programs would be established linking the three tiers of government and the community.

Links to each of the related Issue Reports are provided below and in the table of related issues. Some of the points to emerge from the 'At a glance' sections include the following.

• Soil Condition: Recent work by Cotching et. al. (in prep) indicates that most soils used for cropping in Tasmania are in good condition. However, one third of paddocks investigated showed signs of soil structure decline. Grice (1995) estimated that approximately 15% (317,000 ha) of private land in Tasmania had been affected by moderate to severe soil structure decline.
   
• Rural Tree Decline: Tree decline, the premature death of forest and woodland trees, is the most extensive form of land degradation in Tasmania, estimated to be affecting 42% (861,000 ha) of private land. It extends throughout the low rainfall (below 900 mm per year) districts, with the most severe and extensive areas being in the Midlands and the upper Derwent Valley.
   
• Land Tenure, Land Use and Land Cover: There has been a general trend towards more intensive production of commodities providing higher yields and higher profits. This is achieved through intensification in the form of increased irrigation on agricultural land and plantation development in State and private forests.
   
• Wilderness: The indicators presented provide only a limited perspective of the issue of conditions and trends in Tasmanian wilderness. There is a need for periodic updates of the wilderness inventory, particularly of the disturbance data. Nevertheless, there has been an improvement in levels of reservation of high quality wilderness.
   

What has been achieved 1998-2003

A number of key management actions have occurred since the previous SoE Report, which contribute to sustaining Tasmania's land resources. These include:

• Establishing the NRM Framework for Tasmania;
   
• Assessing the extent and severity of salinity for Tasmania at a Statewide scale (Bastick and Walker 2000);
   
• Establishing the State Policy on the Protection of Agricultural Land;
   
• Progress with land capability mapping; and
   
• Preparation of soil management guidelines (Hamlett 2002).
   

Work is currently underway within DPIWE to develop on-farm environmental management systems (EMS) tailored for Tasmanian farmers. These systems will require the critical components of monitoring and review in order to be considered acceptable as EMS by independent audit. The appropriate environmental indicators to be monitored at the farm level in such a process have yet to be determined.

Soil management guidelines have been produced (Hamlett 2002). However, there is a need for ongoing monitoring of the extent of uptake of the guidelines by the farming community. Monitoring of water quality is one means to assess improvements in land management practices over time and the extent to which the farming community is accepting soil management guidelines.

The completion of a land use map of Tasmania is an important development, providing a reliable inventory of how land is used in the State.

Tasmania Together

Relevant Tasmania Together goals and standards for 'Land' are listed in the linked file. The Tasmania Together Progress Board reported on progress toward targets for benchmarks set (Tasmania Together Progress Board 2003). Indicators, targets and baseline data are available in the latest Progress Report June 2003. Further information, including progress report updates, is available from Tasmania Together.

Related Issue Reports

Actions taken

This section will be updated over time as management responses occur. It will provide feedback as to what actions have been put in place.