Landcare GIS: Evaluating Land Management Programs in Australia.

Land degradation in Australia is a persistent national problem. Australian governments, in partnership with community groups, are addressing land degradation through initiatives such as the Decade of Landcare Plan and the National Landcare Program (NLP). The NLP has funded over 3500 projects, through various sub-programs since the start of the Decade of Landcare in 1990. The Commonwealth Government is currently evaluating these programs as Australia enters the middle of the decade. To assist this evaluation, the Bureau of Resource Sciences has developed a spatial information system - LANDCARE GIS - to provide an integrated analytical approach. LANDCARE GIS has been used to identify and analyse the spatial relationships between the NLP, land resource condition and land use practices. It presently contains five main categories of data including: details of projects; national and State surveys of land condition; State surveys of landcare groups; surveys of landcare and land management practices; and other resource, biophysical and socio-economic data. LANDCARE GIS is one of the first examples of spatial information technology developed for the evaluation of Australian Government programs and policies. It is able to provide information on the effectiveness of programs and on the strategic allocation of resources within priority areas. A preliminary assessment of landcare activities is described, including (i) descriptions of NLP activities, (ii) the extent to which the NLP is targeting land degradation problems, (iii) a comparison of landcare and non-landcare farmer management practices, and (iv) an analysis of farmers' perceptions of land degradation. Many Australian Government departments are now adding geographic information systems (GIS) to their management 'tool kits'.