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From market to multifunctionality? Land stewardship in Australia
Author(s) -
COCKLIN CHRIS,
DIBDEN JACQUI,
MAUTNER NAOMI
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
geographical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.071
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1475-4959
pISSN - 0016-7398
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4959.2006.00206.x
Subject(s) - stewardship (theology) , sustainability , agriculture , environmental stewardship , environmental planning , land degradation , meaning (existential) , environmental resource management , state (computer science) , agricultural land , business , natural resource economics , political science , geography , economics , ecology , psychology , archaeology , algorithm , politics , computer science , law , psychotherapist , biology
Recent assessments of Australia's land and water resources have revealed widespread patterns of serious decline, much of it directly associated with agricultural practices. The environmental degradation associated with agriculture has both biophysical and socio‐economic underpinnings. While there have been calls to attend to the sustainability ‘crisis’ of Australian agriculture, policy settings remain firmly locked onto a productivist trajectory. We consider the implications of contemporary policy settings for farmland sustainability against the background of debates as to the meaning of ‘multifunctionality’. The discussion is then turned to the Land Stewardship project, a strategic policy initiative within the State of Victoria that was looked to as a means of redressing environmental degradation in agricultural landscapes while also being attentive to rural community and economic issues. Towards the end of the paper we reflect on the question of how the Land Stewardship project aligns with theorizations of multifunctionality.