Sustainable Land Management

The Sustainable Land Management group is headed up by Rick Humphries richardhumphries@bigpond.com, and comprises of three focus areas: Sustainable Land Management, Biodiversity and Eco Tourism.

Sustainable Land Management

GBSAN has formed a consortium of agriculture and natural resource management stakeholders to develop and promote a certified land management system that is designed to deliver enhanced climate resilience, farm profitability and biodiversity outcomes at the property level in a whole-of-landscape context. This will be achieved by strengthening on-farm managerial skills and improving on-farm natural resource management.

What we do:

• Working with primary producers to ensure the Granite Belt’s agricultural sector is both resilient in the face of climate change and sustainable in the long-term.

• Promoting soil and water security and on-farm biodiversity.

• Fostering a greater understanding of the income diversification opportunities offered by emerging carbon markets.

In a little over twelve months we have positioned the GBSAN led Land Management Consortium to be a significant player in establishing a national land management system. The GBSAN Land Management Working Group has:

• Formed the Land Management Consortium the core of which is the Southern Downs Regional Council, Southern Queensland Landscapes, the Regional Economies Centre, Granite Borders Landcare and of course GBSAN. Other organisations within a 200kms radius of Stanthorpe are considering their participation.

• Documented a Sustainable Land Management (SLM) system. The design principles of SLM are very similar to those of the Certified Land Management (CLM) system designed and operated (2000-2015) by the Australian Land Management Group (ALMG).

• Been involved in on-going development of a national Agricultural Stewardship system through the National Farmers Federation, The Australian Farm Institute, Meat and Livestock Australia and the Minister’s Office

• On-going discussions with several private sector players in the land management space

• Contributing to the development of three funding applications to the Future Drought Fund from SDRC, SQL and the REC.

Biodiversity

The Biodiversity group is dedicated to enhancing the protection of the Granite Belt’s flora and fauna including expanding conservation efforts on private land and advocating an expansion in the protected area estate in the Region.

Eco Tourism

The Eco Tourism group is working on creating a thriving, diverse and environmentally sustainable eco-tourism sector on the Granite Belt and Southern Downs based on enhanced protection of the region’s landscapes, better resourced management of these areas and the development of a variety of nature-based tourism opportunities compatible with the protection of the areas.

The creation of a thriving, diverse and environmentally sustainable eco-tourism sector on the Granite Belt and Southern Downs based on enhanced protection of the region’s landscapes, better resourced management of these areas and the development of a variety of nature-based tourism opportunities compatible with the protection of these areas.

We are working to build stakeholder support for the development and implementation of an eco-tourism strategy that is aligned with Shaping Southern Downs and the Granite Belt Wine and Tourism strategy. The strategy would support the expansion of nature-based tourism business opportunities and the protection of the Region’s unique landscapes.