Government: Natural Heritage Trust

Farmers: National Farmers Federation (NFF)

Conservation: Australian Conservation Foundation

Private Sector: Landcare Australia Limited

International: Secretariat for International Landcare

Stakeholder/Community: Australian Landcare Council

The Australian landcare movement is a groundbreaking example of a participatory sustainable development effort that involves stakeholders, from the local to the national level, to improve natural resource management.

Solutions are developed with full involvement of those expected to implement them; conservation and production aspects are considered together:

All relevant stakeholders have a seat at the table and an equal opportunity to contribute;

Local communities have a fair degree of ownership of both problems and solutions;

Constructive partnerships/balance are fostered between: scientists and non-scientists; government and non-government; 'top down' and 'bottom-up' approaches; urban and rural; and young people and adults;

Problems are examined and solutions developed at a scale relevant to the issue at hand;

Costs of any sustainability investment are equitably shared among the beneficiaries of that investment.

In 2002 there are 4800 Landcare groups operating across Australia, mainly in rural areas who all have charge of their own local planning and bank accounts.

Landcare groups are supported by State and National governments under the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT), which funds a National Landcare Facilitator and approximately 500 local facilitators and coordinators across Australia. NHT also supports Landcare projects for "on-ground" work.

The facilitators and coordinators work with Landcare groups and the various departments of natural resources to help in the extension of research and also to support the applications from Landcare groups to NHT. The facilitators are usually on three-year contracts for start up or innovative projects and their people skills are of equal importance to technical.

New larger national programmes such as the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (NAP) and the NHT Extension have been initiated. These programmes provide a minimum five year guarantee of Federal, State and local matching funds, for salinity, water quality, bio-diversity and sustainable agriculture efforts. These will increasingly be strategically delivered at the regional or catchment level. Landcare groups are forming regional networks to meet the challenge.

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