Sustainable productive landscapes

The Sustainable productive landscapes – Western connections project supports land managers across the Western Local Land Services region to:

• adopt sustainable agricultural practices
• protect and improve natural capital on farm
• adapt to a changing climate.  

The project assists land managers to collaborate, share and improve their knowledge of landscape processes, condition and trends, and identify constraints and opportunities for managing the region’s agricultural lands more effectively.

Project background

Activities aim to reduce threats to agriculture in the region, which include:

• soil erosion
• knowledge gaps impacting effective farm business management  
• insufficient data to support more effective farm business decision making
• climate change, especially changing rainfall patterns
• ineffective grazing and land management practices.

Project objectives

This project aims to protect natural capital, boost productivity, and enhance biodiversity on farms, while preparing for climate change.  

The work helps land managers to:

• adapt to shifting market conditions
• access carbon and biodiversity incentives
• implement industry sustainability frameworks.

Project delivery

Work includes:

• mapping activities on demonstration sites to identify focus areas for landscape function improvement works like
  • improving groundcover
  • reducing grazing pressure
  • wetlands reclamation
  • recovering habitat diversity
• helping land managers undertake a natural and physical asset stocktake of their entire property including
  • soil
  • water
  • native vegetation
  • biodiversity
  • farm infrastructure
• training and capacity building events  
• provision of education and advisory services
• on-farm demonstrations of tools, technologies and practices
• skills and knowledge surveys
• circulating information resources.

Training and capacity building topics include:

• sustainable rangeland management
• climate-smart practices
• sustainable agriculture practices
• natural resource management
• native vegetation management
• livestock health
• agricultural production
• emergency and biosecurity management.

The project has 4 streams covering:  

1. Sustainable landscapes – helping pastoralists understand landscape processes, conditions and trends to improve landscape function and adopt sustainable practices.
2. Improving dryland productivity – reducing wind erosion, improving soil health and increasing dryland agriculture productivity and resilience.  
3. Aboriginal land manager network – supporting First Nations landholders to share and develop sustainable NRM practices that drive agricultural growth.  
4. Data driven decision making – using data to improve decision-making and adoption of management options that protect natural capital; includes long-term monitoring.

Project timeline

2024–25

• Establish contracts/agreements with participating land managers.
• Mapping activities to identify focus locations for works.
• Establish baseline dataset.
• Carry out skills and knowledge surveys.
• Deliver landholder workshops.

2025–28

• Continue dataset monitoring.
• Carry out skills and knowledge surveys.
• Deliver land manager workshops.
• Run on-farm demonstrations.
• Publish and circulate information products.
• Conduct biannual roadside survey of dryland cropping properties.
• Project close (30 June 2028) and outcomes reporting.

Work underway

• Contracts are being established with delivery partners and contractors.
• Development of project guidelines and expressions of interest.
• Identification of demonstration sites. 

Funding and partnerships

Our key delivery partners are:

• land and livestock managers
• agricultural consultants
• farming systems groups
• Aboriginal Land Councils
• Aboriginal Community Advisory Groups. 

This project is supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program and delivered by Western Local Land Services, a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners panel. All outcomes for this project are recorded in MERIT.