Controlling Non-Point Source Pollution in Australian Agricultural Systems

The Australian farming sector is continuing to intensify, particularly within 300 km of the east and southern coastlines. In the future there will be fewer and larger farms, which will use more fertilizer, support more stock, grow more monoculture crops, and utilise more marginal soils. This is likely to increase the major environmental impacts of soil degradation, salt, nutrient and sediment contamination of waterways, and greenhouse gas emissions. Australian national water policy continues to focus on land, stream and groundwater salinity issues, although there is now a greater recognition of the importance of nitrogen and phosphorus losses from agriculture. The general philosophy of policy for dealing with non- point source pollution has been towards a voluntary rather than regulatory approach, with state and national governments supporting a range of programs to encourage sustainable agricultural practices. A catchment (watershed) based approach, through the use of integrated catchment management plans, is the primary way that non-point source pollution is addressed at the farm and local level. At an industry level, cotton, grains, meat, sugarcane and dairy amongst others, as well as the Australian fertilizer industry, have responded to non-point source issues by investing in research and development, and developing codes of practice aimed at abating these environmental impacts. Understanding the economic, social, political and cultural contexts of farming as well as the environmental impacts of agriculture are very important in determining the appropriateness of policy responses for Australian farming systems.