Conservation on land not used for commercial purposes is among the most highly taxed land uses in Australia. There are tax incentives to encourage people to conserve biodiversity on land used for commercial purposes, but there are no tax incentives for people who manage land solely for nature conservation. This paper evaluates a range of proposals for providing tax incentives for the protection of native vegetation and biodiversity that is of high conservation value.

Quickchecks is an NRM Monitoring tool for woolgrowers. It is designed to be used as part of a facilitated group, or by individual producers. It can also be of value to farmers with other enterprises

This report provides a review of water and nitrogen balance in natural (rainforest) and agricultural (sugarcane and horticulture) systems in the tropics, with a special focus on the North Queensland wet tropics

This booklet summarises the outcomes of discussions about peri-urban natural resource management issues from a one day workshop of invited experts in May 2006. Land & Water Australia's Social and Institutional Research Program (SIRP) convened the works

Annual Operating Plan 2006 2007

This guide provides practical tips to assist woolgrowers in identifying the issues and trade-offs that can occur in managing riparian land. Much of the information described here has been developed and used by growers, and can be applied to increase production and profit, while also maintaining the farm's natural resource base and improving its capital value. Some of the principles outlined can also be applied to the management of large farm dams.

The purpose of this study is to review existing information and data sets concerning water and nutrient use by natural plant communities and agricultural plant production systems that have replaced them in southern (primarily mediterranean) Australia. The purpose of the review is to provide a sound starting base for R&D projects within the CSIRO/LWRRDC R&D Program on _Redesign of Plant Production Systems_.

Over the past decade, substantial resources have been invested in a range of focal species-based restoration projects in Western Australia, Victoria, NSW, ACT and Queensland, typically as partnerships between government and community-based organisations. Despite this, there has been no national-scale evaluation of the application and performance of these projects in conserving the biodiversity of fragmented agricultural ecosystems. This is essential to determine the utility and efficacy of the focal species approach as a practical conservation tool, improve knowledge and adoption outcomes, and help inform and guide strategic R&D investment. The following information outlines the objectives of this review and overviews the focal species approach (FSA) in Australia - its history, key features and current trends, the scientific debate, alternative approaches, and main findings, messages and opportunities for knowledge exchange that have come from FSA projects funded by Land & Water Australia (Land & Water Australia).

This report evaluates the impact of property-based rates levied by local governments and State-based land taxes on the ability of landholders to conserve native vegetation. It does so with the objective of understanding how private investment in the conservation of native vegetation can be more effectively promoted in Australia. Private investment is required because many of Australia's most vulnerable ecological communities (different types of native vegetation) are only found in small isolated patches on private land. These valuable patches of native vegetation are often found within agricultural regions and on the coastal zone where development pressures are greatest.

This document is the product of a one month writing sabbatical undertaken in June and July 2005. It attempts to describe and analyse the knowledge system for natural resource management in Australia how we as a nation learn our way to more sustainable systems of land and water use and management.