The Centre for Ecosystem Science (CES), UNSW Australia, supports legislative and other instruments of government that effectively regulate threats to biodiversity conservation, founded on a strong evidence base while supporting socio-economic values of society.
The Centre for Ecosystem Science (CES), UNSW Australia, supports legislative and other instruments of government that effectively regulate threats to biodiversity conservation, founded on a strong evidence base while supporting socio-economic values of society. Current rates of loss of biodiversity around the world, including Australia are unprecedented. The continued loss of biodiversity in Australia indicates a clear need to assess the effectiveness of the legislative and regulatory frameworks that implement biodiversity conservation and management and its interface with other economic activities. CES welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to Productivity Commission’s draft report on Regulation of Australian Agriculture.
Improved efficiency for Australian agriculture depends on sustainability of ecosystems and their dependent biodiversity. Much of this underpins economic productivity in the form of ecosystem services, such as soil stability, pest control, pollination and good water quality. Further, unsustainable land and water practices can incur long term economic and social costs which future generations of Australians will bear. Impacts of unsustainable agricultural land use practices on biodiversity and its conservation are well understood, supported by a strong scientific evidence. The complexity of the issue and the potential impacts of draft recommendations in the Productivity Commission’s report underestimate the potential impacts and consequence not only on the environment but also economic and social productivity. Consequently, the Centre for Ecosystem Science, UNSW Australia cannot support the recommendations of the draft report of the regulation of Australian Agriculture in their current form.
This submission provides comments on the three key issues related to management of ecosystems and their related biodiversity, land use regulation, environmental regulations and on farm regulation of water which reflect the scientific expertise of the Centre for Ecosystem Science. Comment is provided for each of the recommendations, findings and information requests. In addition, the submission further identifies contextual issues which are largely ignored by the report in relation to the responsibilities of Australian Governments.
To read more, download the full submission below.