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Rangelands
The Australian rangelands occupy approximately 6.7 million square kilometres, or around 85% of Australia. Approximately 2.3 million people inhabit this important economic region. Agricultural production, mining industries and increasing tourist traffic provide a major contribution to the Australian economy. In response to global and national economic influences, significant changes are occurring to the Australian rangeland economic and social structures. These economic and social transformations are placing pressure on the rangelands and the rangeland ecosystems.
The importance of the rangelands for the condition of the natural resource base can be measured in terms of its contribution to vegetation, water, biodiversity and carbon. The ecologically sustainable management of rangeland systems provide the basis for future economic viability for the pastoral, mining and tourism sectors, as well as, continuing social benefits to rangeland communities.
Rangeland ecosystems are experiencing increasing pressures due to:
- Changes in agricultural productivity including industry structural adjustment, changes in tenure, constraints on lease sizes, and pressure for evidence of sustainable land management practices by national and international markets.
- Maintaining ecosystem functions incorporating tradeoffs and impacts between agricultural production, grazing, community water resources and biodiversity.
- The impact of climate change and rainfall variability on rangeland activities, fire management and carbon sequestration.
- Evolving demographic and socio-economic trends such as the long term financial viability of pastoralism, the impacts of globalisation, aging rangeland communities, population shift away from rangeland areas, and social dislocation.
- The protection of biodiversity under threat by the total grazing pressure (domestic, feral and native animals).
Sustainability options for Australian rangelands
In June 2006, the Bureau of Rural Sciences prepared a report that explored some key points for the sustainable future for the Australian rangelands. Following on from a previous 2003/2004 study that:
- described the extent and geographical limits of the rangelands
- identified rangeland assets and natural resource management issues, and
- analysed patterns of use in the rangelands and sustainability of the natural resources.
'Towards Sustainability for Australia’s Rangelands: Analysing the options' recognises the complex economic, environmental and social diversity of the rangelands landscape. Diverse community views and aspirations and limited information availability creates a challenge for decision-makers and policy options. The report sets the scene for the development of appropriate and sustainable land management through incentives, and evaluation procedures that can assist decision makers to more effectively target policies that have direct and indirect impacts on the Australian rangelands.
Download the report Towards Sustainability for Australia's Rangelands - Analysing the options
Rangeland’s resilience
To assess the sustainability of landuse management practices in the rangelands, a knowledge of the range of social, economic and environmental issues as well as some institutional arrangements are required. The outcomes of this assessment assist in identifying policy instruments that will help improve the management of these landscapes and efficiently target public investment.
BRS is currently using a multi-criteria spatial analytical and mapping tool, the Multi-Criteria Analysis Shell for Spatial Decision Support (MCAS-S), as a flexible means of exploring relationships between biophysical, economic and social attributes in the Australian rangelands.
These methods allow for integration of large amounts of disparate factual information (environmental, social and economic) with value judgements, public opinion and policy and management goals.
Use of multi-criteria analysis for assessing landscape scenarios
MCAS-S is the latest of several multi-criteria decision support tools that has been used for the assessment of Australia’s rangelands: analysing natural resources, patterns of land use, threatening processes, and agricultural commodity assets.
Future directions
The BRS rangelands work program will continue to develop and enhance the MCAS-S system to assist with:
- undertaking integrated analysis of social, economic and environmental factors impacting on rangeland resilience and sustainability
- the development of an integrated rangelands assessment at the national scale and selected regional case studies
- improving understanding of pressure between competing claims on the natural resource base
- identifying opportunities for improved productivity, social and economic sustainability, and
- informing development of ‘tracking changes’ activities under the Australian Collaborative Rangelands Information System and National Land and Water Resources Audit reporting on the rangelands.
Related information
- Report - Australia's Rangelands: an analysis of natural resources, patterns of use and community assets
- Poster - Australia' Rangelands: analysing natural resources, patterns of use and community assets
PDF [491kb] - Paper Abstract: Multi-Criteria Assessment of Tensions in Resource Use at Continental Scale: A Proof of Concept with Australian Rangelands
- Australian Collaborative Rangelands Information System
- Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry, Natural Resource Management, Rangelands information
- Department of Environment and Heritage 'Managing rangelands'
Contact
Dr Rob Lesslie
Phone: 02 6272 5236
