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Best Management Practice guidelines published for wetlands on cane farms

Canegrowers Australia in conjunction with BSES, have launched a series of Best Management Practice (BMP) guidelines for sugar cane farmers, including 'Riparian and Wetland areas on Cane Farms' written by Bob Smith of WetlandCare Australia.

The booklet 'Riparian and Wetland Areas on Cane Farms', is one in a series of booklets designed as a guideline to assist cane growers and others working with the sugar industry to improve environmental performance on cane farms. In preparing these BMP guidelines, WetlandCare Australia draws heavily on the experience gained throughout coastal Queensland whilst undertaking the Great Barrier Reef Coastal Wetland Protection Programme - Pilot Programme (GBR CWPP-PP), 2005-2007. This involved developing wetland management plans and implementing on-ground wetland improvement projects at 20 sites, many adjacent to cane farms.

BMP Objectives

SmartCane 'Riparian and Wetland Areas on Cane Farms' aims to:

• provide the sugarcane growing industry with guidelines for sustainable management of
  riparian lands and wetlands associated with sugarcane production
• promote to landholders the benefits of adoption of the BMP in protecting and enhancing wetland biodiversity, fishery production and water quality
• document examples of where the implementation of BMP has achieved improvements in environmental performance without impacting adversely on farm productivity
• ensure that the BMP is acceptable to, and endorsed by, the sugarcane industry; and
• identify the necessary incentives for cane growers to adopt BMP to protect and enhance the ecological values of wetlands on cane farms

 

The BMP booklets have been developed by industry, together with the EPA which contributed seed funding for the development of the series. The first three booklets in the six booklet series were released during the launch in Brisbane on 17 Sep 2008.

To download the SmartCane 'Riparian and Wetland Areas on Cane Farms' click here.

 

• Riparian_and_Wetland_Areas_on_Cane_Farms_(pdf 4MB)