Biodiversity and Environmental Management Systems for Victorian Agriculture
Loss of native biodiversity is a major issue for all Victorians. Many flora and fauna species and vegetation communities have been so depleted by our past activities that they are now at risk of extinction. The future survival of these important biodiversity assets cannot be ensured by Victoria's extensive system of national parks and conservation reserves as some are highly dependent on conservation programs on private land.
For example more than 60% of the remaining indigenous vegetation communities on private land in Victoria are threatened. Similarly about 30% of the populations of our threatened species are found on private land. Victoria's Biodiversity Strategy provides high level policy direction for achieving biodiversity conservation within the context of ecologically sustainable agriculture. The strategy outlines a suite of tools which could be used to drive sustainable development for biodiversity – Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and BushTender are two new tools that the Victorian Government is developing in this regard.
On this page:
- What is an EMS?
- Market opportunities for Victorian Agriculture
- Excerpts from the Executive Summary
- Native Biodiversity Resource Kit
- Other related/suggested sites
An environmental management system (EMS) is a methodical approach to continuous improvement in planning, implementation and review of an organisation's efforts to manage its impacts on the environment. EMSs can provide a framework for a voluntary but systematic set of procedures for improving environmental performance. The ISO 14000 series of standards for EMSs are recognised under Australian Standards and are based on the "Plan, Do, Check, Act" cycle.
However EMSs do not specify the level of performance, quality or reliability of the organisation's impact on the environment. These attributes are provided by Performance Standards which are accepted specifications or codes of practice which define materials, methods, processes and practices that, when effectively implemented, ensure that consistent and acceptable levels of quality, performance, safety and reliability are achieved.
Biodiversity is characterised by the 'irreversibility problem' - once biodiversity has been lost, such as when a vegetation community is cleared, it cannot easily or practically be replaced (such as by revegetation) - this feature distinguishes biodiversity from most other attributes that are now treated by EMSs. For this reason, biodiversity conservation requires a combination of EMSs and minimum performance standards to achieve the best outcomes for the landholder and the community.
page top
Market opportunities for Victorian Agriculture
Commercial markets are just starting to investigate EMSs and "clean and green" agriculture - there is a potential market opportunity for Victorian agriculture. Parks Flora and Fauna Division of DSE has carried out development work to produce a conceptual framework to link this potential market opportunity to achieving better conservation outcomes for Victoria's biodiversity.
DSE has prepared and published a paper on this framework:
 |  | Incorporating Biodiversity into Environmental Management Systems for Victorian Agriculture: A discussion paper on developing a methodology for linking performance standards and management systems by Anderson S, Lowe K, Preece K and Crouch A 2001 Funds for the publication were provided through the Naturally Victorian Initiative, a Victorian Government program. The discussion paper can be found at the end of this document. |
The aim of the discussion paper is to stimulate change through voluntary mechanisms that improve the understanding and encourage the adoption, among a broad audience, of the conservation and restoration of biodiversity in the Victorian agricultural sector using Environmental Management Systems.
It will assist a wide range of people and organisations, including: the agricultural sector, farmers, research and development corporations, agribusiness, farm produce certification and marketing companies, government and EMS consultants. DSE and DPI have now commenced pilot EMS projects on grains, beef and wool properties to develop practical examples of how EMSs can improve biodiversity conservation and can support the substantiation of 'clean and green' production. This would potentially result in better conservation outcomes for biodiversity and recognition and rewards for farmers doing the right thing.
page top
Excerpts from the Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Section 1 EMS overview
Section 2 Current Policy Setting
Section 3 About Biodiversity
Section 4 Greening the terms of Trade
Section 5 Environmental Management Systems
Section 6 Performance Standards in Environmental Management Systems
Section 7 Incorporating Biodiversity into Environmental Management Systems
Section 8 Conclusion
Executive Summary
Recent years have seen a growing acceptance and adoption by industry of EMSs, partly due to the role that market pressures play in motivating businesses to reduce resource costs, meet regulatory obligations and demonstrate environmental responsibility. However, while governments have been successful in establishing partnerships with industry to develop EMSs that deal with pollution, waste and energy use, in Victoria work is yet to commence on developing EMSs that address biodiversity loss. As the maintenance of ecological processes is a key objective of ESD, biodiversity must be included into EMSs to provide a more holistic approach to environmental management.
This document is the first step in the process of incorporating biodiversity into performance standards and EMSs for an industry sector for Victoria. It focuses on the agricultural sector, as this is the predominant industry operating on private land, where many biodiversity assets are still intact. Several agricultural industry sectors have established partnerships between relevant research and development corporations and government agencies to develop EMSs, but these have dealt with the traditional EMS issues (e.g. pollution, waste, energy use) and have not explicitly addressed biodiversity.
Section 1 outlines the purpose of the document, which is ‘to stimulate change through voluntary mechanisms to improve understanding and encourage adoption, among a broad audience, of the conservation and restoration of biodiversity in the Victorian agriculture sector using EMSs’. The document is not an instruction manual for individual farmers.
Section 2 provides an overview of the policies under which DSE and DPI are operating. It identifies government policies that relate to biodiversity conservation on private land, and investigates the role of government in ensuring the incorporation of biodiversity into EMSs. It proposes that DSE and DPI could assist the agricultural industry to understand the impacts of agricultural activity on biodiversity and provide advice and assistance on how to improve practices; that is, to facilitate change through voluntary mechanisms.
Section 3 defines biodiversity and identifies the importance of biodiversity for the continuation of agricultural systems. It describes the ‘reversibility problem’ for biodiversity, discusses why biodiversity loss is a serious environmental problem, and summarises the impacts of Australia’s agricultural and pastoral industries on biodiversity. It identifies biodiversity management objectives for rural landscapes, particularly the recommendation to use EMS frameworks to ensure that biodiversity management principles are incorporated into agricultural activity.
Section 4 investigates the future terms of trade in relation to the potential requirements to demonstrate environmental credentials of products. It indicates the need to be cognisant of future market demands and establish programs that have appropriate environmental (including biodiversity) performance standards which producers must meet to substantiate any ‘clean and green’ claims. Lastly, it identifies the potential benefits that could flow from the adoption of EMSs in agriculture.
Section 5 defines an EMS and describes the most common types being used by industry, including those stemming from the ISO 14000 series of standards. It reviews the current status of biodiversity in EMS as well as several international and domestic EMS initiatives for agriculture, including a National Framework.
Section 6 explains the need for EMSs to go beyond a basic process system, to include specific and measurable performance standards relating to the conservation and restoration of biodiversity in Victoria, if claims of ‘clean and green’ production are to be made. It also reviews some existing agricultural certification systems and the limited manner in which they generally address biodiversity conservation. Finally, it discusses the use of market mechanisms (such as labels, guarantees and sanctions) to achieve environmental conservation objectives.
Section 7 outlines a generic biodiversity module within an EMS framework that has been developed to exemplify how biodiversity conservation and management objectives can be translated into measurable standards and actions on an individual farm enterprise, and also on a bioregional level. A scenario is used to illustrate how this biodiversity module within an EMS framework could be applied to individual farm enterprises (in this case a dairy farm in Gippsland). Section 7 also outlines the process DSE adn DPI staff could undertake, in partnership with farm owners, to develop and apply this biodiversity module. Existing DSE and DPI programs (such as Land for Wildlife and FarmBi$) could be used as a vehicle to support the delivery of this program, assisting in the rollout and assessment of biodiversity modules within an EMS framework.
Section 8 concludes that governments have a role in facilitating change to ensure that biodiversity management concerns are integrated with the normal business operations of the agricultural industry. A biodiversity module within an EMS framework will help this process. Government has a role to provide the impetus to ensure uptake of this new system. This will require close relationships with the relevant industries, and also within DSE and DPI businesses, to assist in the modification of biodiversity modules for specific farm enterprises. The successful integration of a biodiversity module into an EMS framework (that also includes other modules such as waste and salinity) will lead to a more holistic approach to environmental management and will help to achieve ecologically sustainable development."
back to summary
Incorporating Biodiversity into Environmental Management Systems for Victorian Agriculture: A discussion paper on developing a methodology for linking performance standards and management systems" by Anderson S., Lowe K., Preece K. and Crouch A. 2001
Incorporating Biodiversity into Environmental Management Systems for Victorian Agriculture (PDF - 891 KB)Should you have any queries please contact:
Biodiversity Conservation Strategies Section,
Biodiverstiy and Natural Resources Division,
Department of Sustainability and Environment,
Level 2, 8 Nicholson Street (PO Box 500),
East Melbourne, Victoria, 3002, Australia,
telephone: +61 3 9637 8501
page top
Other related DSE sites:
Plants & Animals
The Role of EMS in the Emerging Land Stewardship Concept
Living Systems - Including Biodiversity in Property Management Planning
Other related DPI sites:
Agriculture and Food
Environmental Managment Systems in Agriculture
Victorian Resources Online - Biodiverstiy
Other Related Sites:
RIR&DC - Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation - Environment Management Systems for Australian agriculture
The development of Environment Management Systems for Australian agriculture is an important contributor to sustainability and to future trading and marketing processes. RIR&DC, along with other corporations, underpins the development of internationally acceptable accreditation systems for sustainable agricultural production, environment management and new agriindustry systems.
DAFF - Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry - Australian - Environment Management Systems
There is great potential for collaboration between government, industry and the community on production certification - integrating management and action. Adoption of EMS may assist Australian producers to maintain market access or gain new markets where consumers demand sustainably produced products. Growers who adopt production certification may not necessarily attract premiums - long term market access is the issue.
page top
Please note: Document(s) on this page are presented in PDF format. If you do not have the Adobe Reader, you can download a copy free from the Adobe web site.