Western Australia's strategy for tackling land degradation to the year 2000 was launched in Tammin today by Agriculture Minister Ernie Bridge.
Mr Bridge said the Decade of Landcare was a unique opportunity for concerted action throughout Australia to resolve looming and immediate problems.
"Our whole lifestyle and many life-sustaining systems such as agriculture, mining, water catchments, recreation areas, and urban settlement are dependent on our ability to meet this challenge effectively," he said.
"Western Australia entered the Decade of Landcare with 443,000 hectares of arable land degraded by dryland salinity - a 68 per cent increase over the previous decade - and if that trend was to continue, the repercussions for our children would be severe.
"We are already paying a high price, with soil erosion alone estimated to cost Australia more than $600 million a year in lost production."
Mr Bridge said the WA Decade of Landcare Plan was a 106 page strategy for achieving the ultimate goal of sustainable land use.
It was prepared by the Soil and Land Conservation Council, with assistance from the Department of Agriculture, and incorporating community submissions received last year.
Mr Bridge said many Western Australians had already taken up the challenge by forming self-help Land Conservation District Committees and catchment groups, and their efforts should be applauded.
"But it is time now that all Western Australians shared this responsibility and did their bit to help out," he said.
The WA landcare plan sets a number of targets for managing land degradation involving public education, increased research, environmental monitoring, on-farm assistance, clarification of statutes, and landcare group support.
By the end of the decade, it was intended that 60 per cent of agricultural land and 90 per cent of pastoral land would have been assessed, and land use planned to match land capability.
"Much of the work has already started," he said.
"At least 40 landcare groups are now involved in catchment and property planning projects, thousands of hectares of salt-affected soils have been replanted to salt-tolerant shrubs, and WA farmers have led the nation in the adoption of minimum tillage and direct drilling cropping, and high-yielding crop rotations.
"Education materials linked to key curriculum areas are now in place at primary and secondary schools and tertiary institutions, while Government initiatives such as the National Soil and Conservation Program, One Billion Trees, Save the Bush, and the Greening Western Australia programs are starting to show real results."
Mr Bridge said landcare groups, shires and organisations such as Men of the Trees, WA Naturalists' Club, Rotary, and the WA Wildflower Society were all involved in massive tree planting and farm tree programs, with commendable results.
