Land Clearing

29 April 2003

Northern Territory: Still The "Lucky Country" When It Comes To Landcare

But It's Time To Stop Repeating Southern Australia's Mistakes

The Environment Centre of the Northern Territory (ECNT) today welcomes the opportunity to address the Annual Landcare Conference on conservation Issues in Northern Australia. ECNT hopes that the conference will highlight the need for a fresh approach to development in Northern Australia, which avoids the mistakes made in Southern Australia

Environment Centre Coordinator Mark Wakeham said today "The Northern Territory has a unique opportunity to lead Australia in sustainable land management and protection of conservation values across the tropical north."

"The Northern Territory is lucky that is hasn't faced many of the acute land management crises facing Southern Australia. Land degradation, soil loss, and dry land salinity are major land management issues in Southern Australia that Landcare has been attempting to address. These land management problems have cost hundreds of millions of dollars in lost productivity and taxpayer's funds."

"Unfortunately, the Northern Territory is heading down the same pathway as southern States by promoting development that leads to land degradation and decline in water quality. We're already seeing many species disappear from northern Australian landscapes and the growing impacts of weeds and feral animals. The Northern Territory must avoid the mistakes made in southern Australia and steer clear of unsustainable agricultural development."

"Intensive agricultural development in the Daly River catchment for instance could cause the same land management problems facing southern Australia. Clearing hundreds of thousands of hectares of bush and extracting millions of litres of groundwater will lead to uncontrollable land degradation and decline in water quality for the Daly Basin."

"Landcare in the Northern Territory should take a fresh approach to land management and prevent the same development mistakes that have devastated southern rivers like the Murray-Darling. The Northern Territory should be focused on protecting catchments like the Daly and then looking at what development options might work with, rather than undermining, the health of the landscape."

"The Northern Territory now has the chance a chance to prevent land degradation on a massive scale and take sustainable and productive pathways to development."

For more information on Land Clearing contact ECNT:
Phone: 08 8981 1984
Email: ecnt@octa4.net.au

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