People living in coastal catchments are learning from the Murray-Darling’s bitter lesson. Just over the hill, Sydney’s water catchment spreads 300 km south-west, and, although it covers only 2% of NSW, it is receiving special attention because it provides drinking water to 60% of the State’s population, 4 million people.

Native vegetation has helped protect Australia’s catchments since time immemorial. Deserts have been created by humans in previous centuries in other parts of the world by clearing forests. It has now been scientifically proven that large old trees increase the volume of water collected in catchments (CSIRO: Land & Water, 2001). Experts advocate retention of at least 30% of native vegetation on most properties.

Cooperative federalism faces a reality test. In 1999 the Federal Government announced a ‘National Framework for the Management and Monitoring of Australia’s Native Vegetation’ saying, "In a unique cooperative commitment, all states and territories, in partnership with the Commonwealth, have signed up to the framework ... we cannot afford to see history repeat itself." Howzat! – every day in 1999/2000, Australians cleared native vegetation equivalent in size to 500 Melbourne Cricket Grounds (around 310,000 ha every year).

Queensland and NSW were the worst offending States over the last three years of the 20th century. Almost 70% of Australia’s native vegetation has been cleared or thinned out, most in the last 50 years. The effect on Australia’s precious animal and bird habitats has been devastating. Twenty mammal, 9 bird and 97 plant species are already extinct.

Conservation, and the challenge for Landcare

Conservation, use and repair are the three pillars of catchment protection – built in that sequence. Conservation of remnant native vegetation is the first priority, in every local area and region. Repair after unsustainable use is very expensive and salinity is one classic example. Prevention is always better than the expensive cure – especially when full recovery is impossible.

City dwellers are used to living with tree preservation orders. Some farm groups seem to think clearing of native vegetation is their God-given right as a land owner, yet the same people apparently see no contradiction in also asking for public funds to repair lands degraded by salination, weeds and erosion caused by over-clearing.

Most farmers and graziers have taken short-term (in landscape terms) profit by spending the property’s natural capital. More often they spend it on sheer survival. Unfortunately, some farmers remain in an angry state of denial. Others are foregoing their ‘victim culture’ and are ‘bouncing back’ after hitting rock-bottom problems. Many join Landcare and are determined to work cooperatively with the other 90% of people in their regional communities. This scenario is reflected by the fact that Landcare membership is inversely proportional to the native vegetation remaining in local areas.

How can we ‘beat the bounce’ in those regions, local areas and properties still rich in native vegetation? How can we get politicians to make long-term decisions in our national interest? Volunteers and taxpayers will inevitably revolt against endless tree-planting re-vegetation repair projects, whilst governments themselves continue to hypocritically condone clearing of wetlands and old-growth trees in woodlands in areas of higher conservation value.

How can short-term governments ever do their job of protecting Australia’s natural and cultural heritage unless they are prepared to show leadership by reining-in their resource-industry-driven agencies? The 1998 collapse of Wingecarribee Swamp whilst a peat mine was still being allowed to continue will soon be documented as a classic State Government blooper in which annual royalties of just over $2,000 were followed closely by a multi-million dollar repair bill. Private profit was made at great public cost.

Another major example being documented is that of regional forest agreements (RFAs) around Australia. RFAs did pioneer better scientific assessment of ecosystems and species, but the political decisions that followed have failed to protect Australia’s old-growth natural capital in native forests outside the 15% of areas declared as national parks and reserves. Ecologically unsustainable logging and burning continue to threaten the landscape. Our heritage of native forests and woodlands is being converted into eucalypt plantations virtually identical to those overseas. Jobs are no longer a valid excuse because sustainable tourism and environmental management are proving growth industries in rural areas.

Most farmers now realise retention of native vegetation aids productivity, and they should be given more credit for their custodianship of wetlands (see also p 13), and other habitat remaining on their properties. The environmental services provided to catchments by these key regional Australians must eventually be recompensed as a far better and more cost-effective alternative than destructive marginal grazing and cropping.

The last decade of Landcare began as a partnership between the Australian Conservation Foundation, the farmers and governments. Australia’s report on the Biodiversity Convention (Commonwealth, 1998) recognised, "National-level community groups such as ACF, WWF, National Parks Associations, Society for Growing Australian Plants, and Greening Australia also contribute to the debate on such issues as institutional change." One of the challenges for our next decade of Landcare and Bushcare programs is to beat the bounce by protecting our irreplaceable native vegetation ecosystems.

What we have left is all that we will ever have. The threat to our precious native animals and plants from land clearing is a fact of life. Denial is irresponsible in the face of scientific knowledge and our responsibilities to future generations. Protecting our remaining native vegetation in every catchment must be a top priority.

Australia’s national identity itself depends on our integrated natural and cultural heritage. We should celebrate and protect them both together.

Mike Thompson
Executive member of NPA
and the Nature Conservation Council of NSW
He can be contacted at mike.thompson@nature.net.au