Landcare NSW is supporting the National Landcare Network (NLN) and Landcare Australia’s policy statement, Landcare Communities – Australia’s Future, which seeks an ongoing commitment to the community Landcare movement, providing reliable funding that supports a foundation of local action undertaken with regional, state and national support.
“We are calling for all candidates in the upcoming Federal election to commit to supporting policies to enhance and ensure the sustainability of Landcare in urban, peri-urban and rural settings,” said Dr Adrian Zammit, Chief Executive Officer, Landcare NSW.
“We also want Landcarers across NSW to ask candidates in their electorates to demonstrate this commitment.”
Extract from The Landcare Organisations, Policy Statement 2019 Executive Summary:
Collectively, the Landcare Organisations together represent community Landcare nationally. Community Landcare is a foundation of strong communities, with tens of thousands of Landcarers acting together to restore land, water and coastal landscapes across all boundaries. This approach builds resilience in communities, towns, on farms and in the outback, improving human and environmental health and wellbeing. Investment will empower the movement.
Landcare Communities – Australia’s Future is a statement from Landcarers from across the country. The document’s focus is on giving the community the capacity to ensure a stable Landcare system in the long term.
The key principles to underpin a renewed strategic investment in community Landcare in Australia are:
- A clear philosophical approach to support a grass-roots movement and volunteerism
- Funding delivered at the most local level possible – to support action on ground with paid local coordinators/facilitators
- Landcare Network Hubs leverage state and territory funding, staffed by federally funded but locally directed community Landcare networkers
- Modest core funding to support Landcare Organisations provides impact at scale, government relations, a unified voice and wider connections
- Measure and amplify local successes at regional, state and national scales.
Outcomes will meet local, regional and national commitments with a six-fold return on investment to:
- Empower local communities to act
- Address downward trends in land, water and coastal degradation, species loss and climate change
- Build overall resilience in communities and nature
- Increase carbon capture in soil and vegetation
- Deliver on local, regional, national and international commitments efficiently and effectively, maximizing co-benefits
- Empower Traditional Owners land management and decision making, recognising them as leaders in Landcare
- Provide children and youth a lifelong connection to place, community and food systems, bridge the city-country divide, and nurture a new generation of Landcarers
- Increase our knowledge base and capacity to learn, linking local knowledge and observations to national research, monitoring and evaluation systems.
Dr Adrian Zammit says: “This policy statement recognises the invaluable contribution that Landcare volunteers make to better natural resource management outcomes and is all about securing the Landcare movement for the future.
“We know in NSW how many valuable activities and projects are rolled out on the ground and understand that for this to continue there needs to be a commitment from the Australian government to ensure longevity and sustainability in the Landcare movement.”
To support Landcare you can:
- View Landcare Communities – Australia’s Future on the Landcare NSW website (link below);
- Find out who is standing in your electorate: Find Your Candidate;
- Write, email or phone candidates in your local electorate to ask for their support for Landcare policies before they go to the polls on 18 May;
- Follow Landcare NSW on Facebook and Twitter and share key messages with your networks;
- Talk to people in your community about how candidates in the Federal election can support Landcare.
Supporting Documents:
NLN and Landcare Australia Landcare Policy Statement 2019
NLN Landcare Policy Statement Background Paper 2019
NLN Policy Statement 2019 FAQs
Template Letter to Federal Candidates
