A pause to consider: the value and feasibility of wetland management incentives

Land and water degradation costs the Australian economy approximately $6.5 billion annually so major and rapid changes are needed in the way our natural resources are managed to stop further decline and repair what has damage already happened. Over the past ten years, incentives have increasingly been seen as an important tool to encourage more sustainable use of natural resources. However, the progress toward widespread change has not occurred or is occurring more slowly than is required to stop or reverse degradation. This paper is not a review of incentives, but an exploration of why incentives may not have yet resulted in a widespread and rapid improvement in land management. Wetlands are used as a case study.