Drivers for uptake of environmental management systems by pastoralists in western Queensland

Pastoralists from 37 beef cattle and sheep properties in western Queensland developed and implemented an environmental management system (EMS) over 18 months. The EMS implemented by them was customised for the pastoral industry as part of a national EMS pilot project, and staff from this project encouraged and assisted pastoralists during this trial. The 31 pastoralists surveyed at the end of the pilot project identified few benefits of EMS implementation, and these were largely associated with environmental management and sustainability. In terms of the reasons for uptake of an EMS, these pastoralists identified drivers similar to those reported in other primary industry sectors. These included improving property and environmental management, financial incentives, a range of market benefits, assistance with red tape issues, access to other training opportunities and assistance and support with the development of their EMS. However, these drivers are weak, and are not motivating pastoralists to adopt an EMS. In contrast, barriers to adoption such as the time involved in developing and implementing EMS are tangible and immediate. Given a lack of effective drivers and that pastoralists are under considerable pressure from ongoing rural adjustment processes, it is not surprising that an EMS is a low priority. It is concluded that widespread uptake and on-going use of an EMS in the pastoral industry will not occur unless pastoralists are required or rewarded for this by markets, governments, financiers, and regional natural resource management bodies.

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Benefits, threats and getting started with Environmental Management Systems: views of primary producers and catchment managers in Victoria, Australia

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1071/ea06022 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 303 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

E. J. Seymour

Keyword(s):

Environmental Management ◽

Natural Resources ◽

Regional Differences ◽

Environmental Management System ◽

Catchment Management ◽

Community Perception ◽

Primary Producers ◽

Response Data ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Market Benefits

In Victoria, as in many parts of Australia, there is a mixed understanding of what comprises an Environmental Management System (EMS), particularly among professionals in government and industry and landholders. To help overcome this issue, the Victorian government (then Natural Resources and Environment) and the Victorian Farmers Federation formed a partnership in 2003 to promote EMS adoption and coordinate EMS activity on a statewide basis. The Natural Resources and Environment and Victorian Farmers Federation partnership held a series of 11 workshops for catchment management authority regions across Victoria. The purpose was to seek advice from primary producers and catchment managers about how EMS might realistically be implemented and promoted. This paper explores the issues raised at these workshops and the implications they have for EMS adoption and promotion in Victoria, with regard to: (i) potential benefits of implementing EMS on farms; (ii) potential threats to the implementation of EMS on farms; and (iii) how to get started with EMS. A total of 213 people participated in the workshops including 144 landholders. There were some important regional differences in the response data. Improved community perception was seen as a major benefit of EMS (13% of all responses), as were possible market benefits (12%). The major threats to implementation included perceived ‘regulatory creep’ and suspicion of government (14% of responses) and that EMS was a political instrument (13%). Primary producers and catchment managers thought that building on existing schemes and groups was an ideal way to get started with EMS. These results provide a useful basis for how EMS is promoted in Victoria. Ensuring that EMS is driven by industry without being government-heavy is perceived as very important. Better coordination between stakeholders, the provision of practical EMS products and the use of existing groups is a sensible way forward, but in practice this will be difficult to achieve.

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Environmental Management Systems in the Australian lamb industry: challenges and opportunities for family farms

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1071/ea06256 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 294 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

K.-J. Huhn ◽

E. J. Seymour ◽

A. M. Ridley

Keyword(s):

Environmental Management ◽

Pilot Project ◽

Environmental Management System ◽

Iso 14001 ◽

Family Farms ◽

Self Assessment ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

Staged Approach ◽

Iso 14001 Certification ◽

Extension Support

An Environmental Management System (EMS) has been piloted in the Victorian lamb industry by two producer groups, one with an export focus and one with a domestic focus. We report on producers’ motivation to become involved in EMS, their current environmental performance in 15 aspects of farm management estimated through self-assessment and their experiences with an entry level EMS process. Producers were surveyed to assess motivation for participating before commencing. The results showed a major motivation was concern for the environment and an expressed ‘feeling’ of being responsible for the environmental impacts of their farming activities, both on and beyond the farm. Results from the completion of a self-assessment workbook indicate that producers on average scored well (>66%) in the management of more traditional farming aspects such as livestock and pastures and less well (<49%) in non-traditional aspects such as energy efficiency. All producers in the pilot project have progressed from self-assessment to implementing part of or a full EMS. This has provided insights into producer readiness for adoption with most supporting a staged approach and entry at a low level. We conclude that without market drivers, progress to ISO 14001 certification is not practical for most ‘small’ lamb producers. This supports the concept of a staged approach to EMS as being more achievable than immediate progress to ISO 14001 certification in the first instance because there are insufficient private benefits for most producers. We conclude that producers will need considerable extension support if EMS is to be adopted by more than a minority of producers (even the lower level approaches). Although environmentally motivated producers are likely to be interested in a Stage 2 EMS with extension support, incentives are likely to be required if the majority of producers are to embrace EMS.

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