15 August 2006
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| Professor Chris Cocklin |
A Monash University academic will push for the Victorian Government to pay farmers to take care of their land, as part of his new role on a key Victorian Government advisory body.
Professor Chris Cocklin, Head of Monash University's School of Geography and Environmental Science, was recently appointed to the Victorian Catchment Management Council, which advises on matters including water quality and salinity.
Professor Cocklin said the repair of environmental damage was already costing tax-payers vast amounts of money, and the concept of contracting farmers to perform services to the environment -- such as planting trees to combat salinity or retaining trees that are vital habitat for birds and mammals - was a cost-effective way to address the issue.
Surveys consistently show people are concerned about the degradation of land and water, he said, yet their demand for ever-cheaper food leads to cost pressures that worsen the problem.
"The simple reality is that if farmers are getting paid less and less to produce food, it leads to a situation where they need to be much more exploitive of natural resources," Professor Cocklin said.
"Farmers have to make a dollar. But it's hard to be green while you're in the red. If you're in economic difficulty it's hard to be a good environmental citizen. Most urban consumers don't see a connection between the food they are purchasing and the environmental impact of that."
Professor Cocklin said the types of schemes he is advocating have been run on a trial basis in different parts of Victoria since 2002. The Wimmera Catchment Management Authority has introduced two this year. One aims to preserve the habitat of the red-tailed black cockatoo - the Commonwealth Games mascot - and the other to control salinity.
Regardless of what many people think, farmers don't like a handout, they don't like subsidies. Payment for ecosystem services is workable and it does the right thing by everybody."
He said the Victorian Catchment Management Council had shown considerable interest in such schemes in the past few years, and he looked forward to working with the newly- appointed Council to further develop them.
For more information, contact Professor Cocklin at Monash University on 9905 2926, or Ms Sharon Lee, Media Communications, on 9905 9919. Photographs of Professor Cocklin are available.
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