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Project Overview

An understanding of the social, economic and cultural dynamics that influence adoption of land management practices is as important as biophysical condition and technical innovation in impacting on water quality. A tool that captures farmer's behaviour and stakeholders' perceptions towards key factors affecting adoption of land management practices with water quality benefits at paddock and sub-catchment levels would provide valuable information on management practice adoption. This project investigated factors that affect adoption of management practices with water quality benefits in cane farming in the Great Barrier Reef catchment and highlighted areas where interventions and support services can improve adoption rates.

This Project Will Deliver

Information that can inform decision-making and Natural Resource Management groups about the factors affecting management practice adoption in the cane farming within the Great Barrier Reef catchments. This will enable managers to improve or intervene in the adoption of management practices in order to improve the quality of water entering the Great Barrier Reef.

PROGRESS UPDATES for this project are summarised here

Study Areas

Mackay and Bundaberg region: NRM groups and cane farmers who have implemented LMPs that have water quality benefits.

Associated Reef Rescue R&D Research

• RRRD039: Integrated assessment of BMP cost-effectiveness and decision tool for regions and landholders
• Sharing information about best management practice (BMP) in cane farming, economic indicator data, sub-regional diversity information, social and attitudinal information about cane farming and cane farmers.

Related External Research

Paddock to Reef Program

• Management practice adoption component – link to landholder surveys.

Reef Rescue WQ Grants

• NQDT, Reef Catchments, Terrain NRM & BMRG

Project Catalyst

• Wet Tropics, Burdekin & Mackay Whitsunday sites

Reef Protection Research and Development Program

• Wet Tropics, Burdekin & Mackay Whitsunday data

Publications from this Project

The Research Outcomes Report for RRRD010 is available for download from the Final Report page. This report should be cited as:

Akbar, D., Rolfe, J., Greer, L., Smith, P., and Marshall, N. (2013) Factors affecting adoption of land management practices that have water quality benefits: Evaluation of scenarios for cane farming in GBR catchments. Report to the Reef Rescue Research & Development Program. Centre for Environmental Management, CQ University, Rockhampton (53 pp.). ISBN: 978-1-925088-27-4

Several presentations have been delivered to summarise the project results at Reef Rescue R&D forums; visit the Events page for further information.

Publications:

Akbar et al. (2013) Factors affecting the LMPs of cane farming in the wet tropics in Australia that have water quality benefit at the paddock level (submitted to Society and Natural Resources journal).