Issue 5: Sustainable land management The sustainable management of rural land is critical for a range of reasons. Sustainable land management is a term that should be familiar to all rural land holders, whether for biodiversity reasons or to ensure the health of soils and waterways to protect future productive capacity or address a changing climate. In some instances, improvements to land management techniques have also been evolving for generations, ensuring long-term returns for farmers. With continuous improvement to techniques and technologies, there are however always further gains to be made. This section identifies a number of issues and opportunities to ensure that the Clarence Valley’s rural lands are able to be sustainability managed into the future including: o
Soil health and management, including carbon farming
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Adaptation to climate change
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Planning for and recovery from natural disasters
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Secure water resources for the future
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Biosecurity and weed management
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Protection of biodiversity and scenic outlooks
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Vegetation management
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Mining and resource use
Ensuring sustainable land management practices provides for the long term future of rural lands for a variety of outcomes.
5.1
Soil health
Soil heath has been recognised as a key measure of productivity of rural lands. High quality soils are a key component of mapping important agricultural land, and the ongoing care for these soils is often linked to production quality and quantity. In more recent times, and as captured by Council’s LSPS, there are also trends towards regenerative agricultural techniques, especially to: increase carbon in soils to improve productive capacity, contribute to reducing atmospheric CO2, increase water holding capacity of soil so reducing drought impact and significantly reducing the effects of runoff and soil erosion on roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Regenerative agriculture is also integral to many of the current research and education processes being undertaken by (among others) Southern Cross University’s Farming Together Program & Regenerative Agriculture Alliance, Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre projects based in Coffs Harbour and soil carbon initiative through the Casino Food Co-op. With a range of soil heath research and programs operating in and around the region, there are opportunities to tap into leading practices into the future. Over and above the health and environmental benefits, there is also high potential for substantial financial benefits from such processes. Carbon farming and carbon sequestration initiatives would appear to hold great potential into the future. Various reports50 indicate the
50
See for example, https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2021-11-10/soil-solution-to-australias-netzero-climate-commitment/100592298 and https://www.theguardian.com/australia-
Clarence Valley Council Rural Lands Strategy – Background Paper
news/2021/oct/17/australian-first-farmer-mutual-aims-to-cut-out-carbon-farming-middleman accessed 17 November 2021
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