Dryland salinity in the Upper Kent River catchment of Western Australia: farmer perceptions and practices

Abstract

Dryland salinity, resulting from extensive land clearing, has been increasingly recognised as a serious environmental and economic problem in Western Australia. Policy initiatives at the state and national level in Australia have attempted to influence farmers' choices of land management practices to reduce the threat of salinity. This study examines, for a particular catchment, what farmers' salinity management practices have been and are likely to be, how farmers view the salinity problem and its recommended treatments, and farmers' perceptions of why the salinity problem continues to worsen. We found that the farmers had high levels of knowledge about salinity and its treatment, although their perceptions appeared to be overly optimistic on a number of aspects of the problem. As a group they were highly uncertain about its extent and the rate of worsening, and they highlighted the complexity, modest effectiveness and relatively poor economic performance of available treatment options. It appears that the scale of salinity prevention practices in the catchment is insufficient for preventing ongoing increases in the area of saline land.