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Abstract
The landcare movement in Australia has contributed towards a significant change in
environmental awareness, and understanding of the immediate and real issues that face
landholders. Consequently, many are now questioning the very farming systems that they implement and are keenly aware of the fragility of the environment around them.
The long-term future for Australia's agriculture depends on linking environmental
management with sound commercial food and fibre production. Sustainable and profitable
farm systems are the key to achieving this future. The farming community is faced with
increasing calls for the farming community to be more sustainable. Unfortunately, while most farmers accept this, they do not have access to regional indicators for the measurement of sustainability.
Therefore, there is an immediate need to develop further some of the work that has been completed nationally into regional models, where farmers reliably adapt the sustainability indicators to on farm applications. To achieve this, national leadership and cooperation
between government, industry and research organisations is required.
Environmental Management Systems (EMS) are receiving close scrutiny as a means of
measuring the impact of a business on the environment. There are many perceived
advantages of EMS. These include achieving market access, protection and enhancement of
the environment, provision of better management information, and providing a positive image for agriculture. Equally, the farming community is wary of yet more administration and bureaucracy, and would like to be convinced of the positive cost benefits from EMS before embracing EMS as a concept.
In comparison to many overseas countries, Australian agriculture is relatively unregulated in an environmental sense. The need to address the challenging question of sustainability, and the potential of EMS as a tool of measurement, provide grounds for strong debate within the country. There is no question that Australia must establish credible systems that are profitable and sustainable. To achieve this, both national leadership and a commitment from
the farming community are required.