Market-based instruments for achieving conservation outcomes are being implemented by Australian governments and regional natural resource management organisations with increasing regularity. Their benefits are argued to include: increased flexibility in resource management, improved individual incentives and application of specialist site knowledge to management, achievement of outcomes at lower cost, and greater adaptability to ever changing goals. This fact sheet is based on the report Barriers to and opportunities for increasing participation in conservation auctions by Stuart Whitten, Andrew Reeson, Jill Windle and John Rolfe.

The program aimed to: *further develop indicators under the National Natural Resource Monitoring & Evaluation Framework including guidelines on collecting and collating data *develop information products to support policy and management needs *facilitate the development of data and information management systems

Leading and emerging researchers in landscape ecology and conservation biology gathered in Bowral, southern New South Wales, in March 2006 to discuss whether it was possible to create a general framework to guide the management of landscapes for conservation. Participants were asked to appraise a given topic in landscape research and identify 5-10 general insights or key issues emerging from that topic. The topics were clustered into 10 major themes with researchers asked to produce 4000 word essays on each topic.

A national study commissioned by the National Land & Water Resources Audit will inform the design of future NRM programs and provide an important baseline for evaluating their impact.

The overall plan for this Research Fellowship was to read and digest the literature on droughtand aquatic systems and their biota, to produce a report for Land & Water Australia on the major findings from the review of the literature, and to use this Fellowship effort to set up the writing of a book on drought and aquatic systems. The time to read about drought and think about what we know, in spite of some necessary interruptions, has been a very rewarding experience, and I am grateful to Land & Water Australia for giving me the opportunity to dig into the drought literature.

When it comes to restoring the natural values of our agricultural landscapes, revegetation with native plants would have to be one of the more common approaches employed. This technical note presents a summary of a recent review of the scientific literature carried out by Nicky Munro, David Lindenmayer and Joern Fischer from the Fenner School of Environment and Society at the Australian National University (ANU). The three ecologists are investigating how you manage agricultural landscapes to look after its biodiversity, and were interested in reviewing what the current state of knowledge is on revegetation and its use by native animals. Their review also sought to identify any significant gaps in our understanding. They looked at 27 studies (22 of which examined birds) and found that while revegetation provides habitat for many species of birds and some arboreal marsupials, it is far from being a substitute for remnant vegetation, at least in the medium term (several decades). Species richness of birds was greater in revegetated areas that were large, wide, structurally complex, old and near remnant vegetation. Bats, small terrestrial mammals, reptiles and amphibians did not appear to benefit significantly from revegetation in the short term.

The purpose of grazing crops in low rainfall areas is primarily for feed, however with good seasonal conditions, early grazed crops may provide the opportunity for grain. This document give guidelines on determining cereal development when considering grazing

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people own or control approximately 20 per cent of the Australian continent (150 million hectares), and manage substantial land, freshwater and marine resources. In partnership with Indigenous people, communities and organisations, Land & Water Australia manages research projects which focus on Indigenous Australians, their relationship with the environment and their involvement in natural resource management (NRM).

This booklet is part of a series describing the status of data and information for reporting on natural resource condition indicators agreed under the National Natural Resource Management Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.

The Healthy Soils for Sustainable Farms (HSSF) Program was an Australian Government initiative funded through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). The Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC) was a major co-funder, and the HSSF Program was managed by Land & Water Australia.