Summary
Extended dry seasons over several years combined with changed cattle production systems have placed increased pressure on native pastures across northern Australia. Over the past twenty years stocking rates in some areas have begun to exceed 'safe~ carrying capacities resulting in undesirable changes in pasture composition, and soil degradation. The increases in grazing pressure have coincided with an increasing awareness that the changed processes in the land that lead to pasture and soil degradation, can also affect water quality of the catchment. There is particular concern about the off-shore effects that changes in river water quality may be having. Such effects may involve, for example, increased sediment and nutrient inputs degrading the estuarine breeding grounds of commercial fisheries or changing the ecology of coral reefs. This concern is illustrated by the several conferences and workshops that have been held to discuss the changes in, and effects of, terrigenous inputs to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, and by the formation in Queensland of the Downstream Effects of Agricultural Practices (DEAP) committee.
There is also increasing awareness of the need for Australian industries to be productive and economically viable, but not at the expense of degrading our natural resources so as to impair their capacity for use, including use hy future generations. This need has been enunciated in the principles of ecologically sustainable development. As a result of the increased awareness within the community of the need to maintain the productivity of our natural environment, there are increasing requirements for agricultural commodities to be produced so as not to cause degradation of our biota, and land and water resources. It is becoming more and more incumbent on agricultural industries to demonstrate that their management practices are not degrading the environment.
It is now well understood that catchment water quality and its implications for downstream biota and water use, are the result of all activities within a catchment. This has led to the concept of Integrated or Whole Catchment Management and the development of catchment management groups. The aim of these groups was to develop catchment management strategies and plans to ensure that management is integrated and that the different land uses are not detrimentally affecting other industries. While the management of grazing lands must take place within a whole catchment framework, it is also essential that the off-site effects attributable to particular grazing practices be separated from those caused by other industries, or which occur naturally. By being in possession of the facts, the industry can take proper and realistic responsibility, and develop a strategic position for the future which will enhance its competitiveness, particularly internationally.
These issues are of concern to the Meat Research Corporation and the Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation and are being addressed in Phase 3 of the North Australia Program (NAP3). Phase 3 follows Phase 1(commenced in 1986) and 2, and extends from mid 1996 to mid 2001. The North Australia Program, which is jointly funded by the Meat Research Corporation and the Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation, seeks 10 "improve the profitability, international competitiveness and ecological sustainability of beef production in northern Australia". International competitiveness has been addressed by examining the determinants of competitiveness and concluding, among other things, that adoption of acceptable environmental standards will be fundamental to the future of the industry. Subprogram 2 ofNAP3, Improving Resource Management, aimed to increase international competitiveness and hence profitability, by improving the development and adoption of ecologically sustainable resource management systems and their profitable utilization by the northern Australian beef industry.
