Sustainable management of land degradation: the example of secondary, dryland salinity in south-western Australia

Worldwide, population growth is placing growing pressures on the land. Traditional, mostly sustainable farming systems developed in conjunction or integrated with native vegetation, are being or have been replaced by commercialised agriculture. Modern agriculture is often large-scale, mechanised, and reliant on agricultural chemicals and hybrid crops grown in monocultural systems. Land degradation — which has been defined as ‘alterations to all aspects of the biophysical environment by human actions to the detriment of vegetation, soils, landforms, water, ecosystems and human well-being’ (Conacher and Conacher, 2001, 364) — is one outcome. It has been described as Australia’s number one environmental problem (Diamond, 2004).The International Geographical Union’s (IGU) Study Group on Erosion and Desertification in Regions of Mediterranean-type Climate initially focussed on land degradation processes, with a strong geomorphic emphasis (reflecting the background of most of the Study Group’s members). However, it soon became apparent that research into land degradation needs to be more broadly based. This realisation is reflected in the chapter headings of Parts II and III of the main publication which arose from the work of the Study Group (Conacher and Sala, 1998). Part II’s chapters identified the main problems of land degradation in the Mediterranean world, their historical origins, the causes of the problems and some of the broader ecological, social and implications. Part III then considered a rangeof solutions to the problems, including farming practices and, more broadly, economic, social, agency and policy changes required to enable such changes to be made.