Current research findings that directly relate to native vegetation management have been described in previous chapters, with some broader discussion about terrestrial biodiversity. Question 3 examined a range of pressures and threats on native vegetation, and Question 4 the responses that have been developed at a regional scale to address the broad range of management issues managers have to face. Around 63 per cent (485 million hectares) of the continent is managed for agricultural production, with grazing being the major land use by area. The 37 per cent not used for agricultural production (285 million hectares) is largely in the desert country in central and western Australia, which is predominantly Aboriginal land. An anomaly is a large area of temperate woodlands around Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, where mining rather than agriculture is the major income earner. Integrating native vegetation management with other natural resource issues across this diversity of settings is a major challenge.

This chapter considers the impacts of other natural resource management decision-making on our ability to manage native vegetation effectively and in turn how managing native vegetation may impact on other resources. Targets for catchment health have already been set in some regions that are more far reaching than targets for expanding native vegetation cover or conserving threatened ecosystems. For example, the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council in its policy statement on integrated catchment management has outlined targets for terrestrial biodiversity, water quality, water sharing and riverine ecosystem health. In taking action to achieve the broad range of targets being set at the regional scale, it will be important to consider the linkages and impacts of management actions taken on all aspects of catchment and regional health.

Question 5 starts by presenting two national studies on the integration of biodiversity – and by association native vegetation – in regional natural resource management. It then presents projects and resources that primarily focus on single issues and their relationship with native vegetation/biodiversity management. For example, plantings to help mitigate dryland salinity may not be the optimum location for biodiversity outcomes, and broad-scale plantings to address revegetation targets could have an impact on the amount of water available in creeks and rivers. This has been included to illustrate how management actions designed to address one issue can have both positive and negative impacts on native vegetation and vice versa.

Because regional managers have to deal with pressing issues such as salinity that can have a major impact on agricultural production and human well-being, opportunities for integrating management to achieve multiple outcomes are not always adopted. The second half of this question therefore examines a number of approaches that aim to integrate a range of natural resource management issues, including native vegetation and biodiversity. The projects and approaches identified will help regional managers address the challenging issue of integration. The report on Native Vegetation and Property Management 524 highlights a number of case studies where native vegetation and agriculture have been linked, and is complementary to this chapter.