The National Landcare Program (
NLP) is a longstanding program within the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry which supports the Landcare movement and the sustainable use and management of natural resources. The NLP encourages landholders to undertake Landcare and related conservation works by supporting collective action by communities to sustainably manage the environment and natural resources.
It complements the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) and funds community projects. These can include measures to combine production and conservation on farms, improve the skills of NRM managers, promote best management practice and better integrate natural resource management into business and property plans.
The National Landcare Program encourages, on a voluntary basis, continuous improvement and adoption of best practice NRM and sustainable resource use, including integration of conservation into farming systems and engaging land managers by linking NRM to profitability.
The Community Support component of NLP funds local and regional Landcare activities consistent with priorities in accredited, regional NRM plans and investment strategies.
On Eyre Peninsula, the types of NLP funded projects have included catchment level projects to cope with the effects of dryland salinity, region-wide projects to encourage the adoption of best practice land management and research based projects to demonstrate new techniques and innovations.