Transferring and extrapolating estimates of cost-effectiveness for water quality outcomes: Challenges and lessons from the Great Barrier Reef

In recent decades the declining health of the Great Barrier Reef has led to a number of government policies being implemented to reduce pollutant loads from the adjacent agricultural-based catchments. There is increasing use of cost-effectiveness measures to help prioritise between different programs and actions to reduce pollutants, given limited resources and the scale of the issues. However there are a small number of primary studies available, and the consistency of cost-effectiveness measures and their application is limited, particularly given the various uncertainties that underlie the measures. Unlike Europe and the United States of America water policy or benefit transfer approaches, there are no procedural guidance studies that must be followed in the context of the Great Barrier Reef catchments. In this study we review the use of cost effectiveness estimates for pollutant reduction into the Great Barrier Reef in the context of a benefit transfer framework, where estimates of costs from a particular case study are transferred to various scenarios within different catchments. The conclusions suggest a framework be developed for the Great Barrier Reef, which is consistent, transparent, and rigorous.

Motivators and barriers to adoption of Improved Land Management Practices. A focus on practice change for water quality improvement in Great Barrier Reef catchments

To protect and improve water quality in the Great Barrier Reef, the Queensland Government's Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan targets that 90% of sugarcane, horticulture, cropping and grazing lands in priority areas be managed using best management practices for sediment, nutrient and pesticides by 2025. Progress towards this target is insufficient and variable across catchments and industries. The motivation to adopt improvements in management practices is heavily influenced by social, economic, cultural and institutional dimensions. In this paper we synthesise the literature on how these human dimensions influence decision making for land management practice and highlight where future investment could be focussed. We highlight that focussing on -1) investigating systems to support landholder decision making under climate uncertainty (risk); 2) generating a better understanding of the extent and drivers of landholder transaction cost; 3) understanding if there are competing 'right' ways to farm; and 4) improving understanding of the social processes, trust and power dynamics within GBR industries and what these means for practice change- could improve practice change uptake in the future.

GrazingFutures: learnings from a contemporary collaborative extension program in rangeland communities of western Queensland, Australia

Producer reliance on drought subsidies instead of proactive planning and timely destocking in low rainfall years has prompted Queensland government investment in promoting business and drought resilience. GrazingFutures (AU$6 million budget, 2016–2022) is an extension project focussed on enhancing business management skills of extensive livestock producers in western Queensland, Australia. The region’s rangelands are in productivity decline, span 1 million km2 and are managed by graziers operating more than 2400 livestock businesses (beef, sheep and goats). The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries delivers GrazingFutures as a component of the Drought and Climate Adaptation Program, in partnership with regional natural resource management groups and other public and private organisations. Project delivery emphasised upskilling multi-agency staff and livestock producers to promote practice change within three whole of business themes: (1) grazing land management; (2) animal production; and (3) people-business. Three independent surveys (2018, 2019, 2020) indicated positive practice change was occurring in grazing businesses as a consequence of the project. Graziers instigated management changes even under major environmental challenges including extended drought (2013–2020), an extreme flood event in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This paper details the rationale, progress against the objectives, challenges and future direction of the GrazingFutures extension project.

Can extension programs improve grazing management in rangelands: a case study in Australia

A key challenge in reducing sediment moving from grazing lands into the Great Barrier Reef in Australia is to encourage beef cattle producers to improve management practices. Excessive grazing pressures cause land degradation, leading to both increased sediment runoff and lower future profits. Although higher grazing rates may be possible (and profitable) in better seasons, slow rates of adjustment to poorer seasons can lead to overgrazing and negative impacts on land condition. For policymakers the challenge is to find mechanisms that encourage or signal producers to be more precise in their management and avoid overstocking. Some of the most common options include extension programs, grant programs that use financial incentives, and regulation. In this paper we outline a conceptual framework that shows why extension may be a more powerful driver of management change than incentive programs, and then test this through an evaluation of a case study program conducted with beef cattle producers in catchments of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The pathway involving landholders to implement management change was through improved efficiency and productivity, as these are the issues that drive ongoing participation in broader environmental programs. The results present multiple lines of evidence to infer positive outcomes of an extension program in terms of changed management practices, which may be expected to generate improved productivity and better water quality outcomes. These can be grouped into three key areas. First, outcomes show positive improvement relative to the Grazing Water Quality Risk framework for the Great Barrier Reef catchments, which is designed to assess the links between land management and water quality. This indicates that resource condition is likely to improve and sediment emissions should be reduced over time. A second outcome is increased landholder engagement and improved understanding of their business and engagement in future programs, which should underpin ongoing adoption. A third outcome is improved management of risk and developing the skills to do this through data collection and monitoring, which should improve management responses in drought years.

Emerging opportunities for developing a diversified land sector economy in Australia’s northern savannas

We explore sustainable land sector opportunities for Australia’s 1.2 million km2 northern savanna rangelands where extensive beef cattle pastoralism is the predominant contemporary land use. Our focal region is characterised by mean annual rainfall exceeding 600 mm, ecologically bountiful wet season water availability followed by 6–8 months of surface water deficit, mostly nutrient-poor soils, internationally significant biodiversity and carbon stock values, very extensive dry season fires in pastorally unproductive settings, a sparse rural population (0.14 persons km–2) comprising a high proportion of Indigenous people, and associated limited infrastructure. Despite relatively high beef cattle prices in recent seasons and property values escalating at a spectacular ~6% p.a. over the past two decades, long-term economics data show that, for most northern regions, typical pastoral enterprises are unprofitable and carry significant debt. Pastoral activities can also incur very significant environmental impacts on soil and scarce dry season water resources, and greenhouse gas emissions, which currently are not accounted for in economic sustainability assessments. Over the same period, the conservation sector (including National Parks, Indigenous Protected Areas) has been expanding rapidly and now occupies 25% of the region. Since 2012, market-based savanna burning projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions occur over a further 25%. Returns from nature-based tourism focussed particularly on maintaining intact freshwater systems and associated recreational fishing opportunities dwarf returns from pastoralism. The growth of these latter industries illustrates the potential for further development of profitable ‘ecosystem services’ markets as part of a more environmentally and socially sustainable diversified regional land sector economy. We outline some of the imminent challenges involved with, and opportunities for developing, this new industry sector.

Towards protecting the Great Barrier Reef from land-based pollution

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is an iconic coral reef system extending over 2000 km along the north-east coast of Australia. Global recognition of its Outstanding Universal Value resulted in the listing of the 348 000 km(2) GBR World Heritage Area (WHA) by UNESCO in 1981. Despite various levels of national and international protection, the condition of GBR ecosystems has deteriorated over the past decades, with land-based pollution from the adjacent catchments being a major and ongoing cause for this decline. To reduce land-based pollution, the Australian and Queensland Governments have implemented a range of policy initiatives since 2003. Here, we evaluate the effectiveness of existing initiatives to reduce discharge of land-based pollutants into the waters of the GBR. We conclude that recent efforts in the GBR catchments to reduce land-based pollution are unlikely to be sufficient to protect the GBR ecosystems from declining water quality within the aspired time frames. To support management decisions for desired ecological outcomes for the GBR WHA, we identify potential improvements to current policies and incentives, as well as potential changes to current agricultural land use, based on overseas experiences and Australia's unique potential. The experience in the GBR may provide useful guidance for the management of other marine ecosystems, as reducing land-based pollution by better managing agricultural sources is a challenge for coastal communities around the world.

Pasture production and composition response after killing Eucalypt trees with herbicides in central Queensland

Clearing woodlands is practised worldwide to increase crop and livestock production, but can result in unintended consequences including woody regrowth and land degradation. The pasture response of two eucalypt woodlands in the central Queensland rangelands to killing trees with herbicides, in the presence or absence of grazing and regular spring burning, was recorded over 7 or 8 years to determine the long-term sustainability of these common practices. Herbage mass and species composition plus tree dynamics were monitored in two replicated experiments at each site. For 8 years following herbicide application, killing Eucalyptus populnea F. Muell. (poplar box) trees resulted in a doubling of native pasture herbage mass from that of the pre-existing woodland, with a tree basal area of 8.7 m2 ha–1. Conversely, over 7 years with a similar range of seasons, killing E. melanophloia F. Muell. (silver-leaved ironbark) trees of a similar tree basal area had little impact on herbage mass grown or on pasture composition for the first 4 years before production then increased. Few consistent changes in pasture composition were recorded after killing the trees, although there was an increase in the desirable grasses Dichanthium sericeum (R. Br.) A. Camus (Queensland bluegrass) and Themeda triandra Forssk. (kangaroo grass) when grazed conservatively. Excluding grazing allowed more palatable species of the major grasses to enhance their prominence, but seasonal conditions still had a major influence on their production in particular years. Pasture crown basal area was significantly higher where trees had been killed, especially in the poplar box woodland. Removing tree competition did not have a major effect on pasture composition that was independent of other management impositions or seasons, and it did not result in a rapid increase in herbage mass in both eucalypt communities. The slow pasture response to tree removal at one site indicates that regional models and economic projections relating to tree clearing require community-specific inputs.