Environmental Sustainability - Policy Matters

By RGA's Environment Manager, Neil Bull 


Landcare
Currently the RGA supports and partners with Landcare in a number of ways.

In the Murray the RGA hosts a Local Landcare Coordinator with funding support from NSW Landcare. In addition the RGA has a contract to provide support services to the Murray Local Land Services Regional Landcare Facilitator (RALF).  Erika Heffer based in Deniliquin, fulfils the Landcare Coordinator role and delivers the support services to the Murray Local Land Services RALF. The two contracts connect all RGA and Rice Extension activities to all Landcare NRM activities in the Murray region. Linked to the funding for these two contracts is the requirement for Erika to support her host group, the RGA. This involves supporting the RGA communications team, supporting the Environment Manager and assisting in the delivery of RGA and Rice Extension activities.

In the Murrumbidgee region the RGA is a member of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Landcare Collective. Participation in the collective allows for the sharing of ideas and communication of Landcare activities.

If members would like to know more about Landcare activities please contact Erika or Neil.

Bitterns in Rice
The Bitterns in Rice Project continues demonstrate the environmental benefits of rice growing in the Riverina. The recent SunRice video and the ABC Landline program allowed the outcomes to be shared with the broader Australian audience.

The Riverina Local Land Services “Boosting Bunyip Bird Yields” project will see incentives made available to some growers for implementing Bittern friendly practices. The final details of the incentives will be available in coming months. As the incentives will only be available in the Riverina Local Land Services region, the RGA will pursue opportunities to have a similar incentive program in the Murray region.

National Farmers Federation (NFF) Biodiversity Certification Trial
NFF recognises that farmers, as stewards of the environment and as land managers are providing benefits to the wider community.  The NFF has a $4m contract with the Federal Government to find ways to account/measure/verify and report this.

The project aims to:
Integrate productivity, sustainability and biodiversity management on Australian farms to provide lasting benefits to farmers and the community. 
Ensure Australian farmers can showcase best practice sustainability/biodiversity management of natural resources - and ensure these actions are recognisable by the community and others.

Project Timeline:
Phase 1 – July 2020: Analyse domestic and international systems
Phase 2 – June 2021: Develop certification/verification/label scheme
Phase 3 – March 2022: Assess farmer readiness & pilot trial of scheme

The RGA is contributing to this project with Environmental Sustainability Committee participating in a range of webinars to provide feedback to the NFF.  In addition the RGA Environment  Manager sits on the steering committee at NFF level for this project and also on the department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment’s steering committee for the broader $34m Farm Stewardship Program. 

Solar Farm Policy
Over the last 2 years the RGA has worked with members to discuss the range of issues faced when a new Solar Farm development is proposed close to their farms. From this and the review of NFF policies the Environmental Sustainability Committee has developed a Solar Farm Development Policy.

An irrigation farm owner should have the right to lease, sell or develop their farm land for use as a Solar Farm if a range of conditions are met. Examples of these include:
Ensure that any change in land use is compatible with agriculture by ensuring that water resources are protected, food safety and biosecurity are not compromised and that the ability of farmers to implement modern farming practices is not restricted.
Be based on up to date land use trend information and the best scientific knowledge.
   Solar farm operators should provide regional community benefits both during their construction and their operation. Where possible they should provide lower cost electricity to the community members in the area of their operation.
   RGA members be given the opportunity to challenge the appropriateness of solar farm developments when proposed for their region.
Solar Farm developers should create a reserve fund (or have insurance) to cover future possible adverse consequences connected to Solar Farm construction, operation and post decommissioning.

The Riverina Sustainability Framework
Even with the COVID-19 restrictions, SunRice, the RGA and Murray Local Land Services have made significant progress in the development of the Riverina Sustainability Framework. SunRice, contracted KPMG to review a range of sustainability documents including the Sustainability Pilot grower audits, Environmental Champion Program documents and feedback documents from events. KPMG then prepared a discussion document that highlights what could be the key themes of the framework. The first draft of the framework was presented at the recent Sustainability Academy Webinar. Grower participants provided valuable comments and feedback that will be used to create an updated version of the framework. This version will be shared with growers and stakeholders for further review in the near future.   
                                                                                 
This project is supported by Murray Local Land Services through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.