Leveraging Landscape Change: Instrument design for supporting the evolution of new natural resource industry niches

This paper outlines how resource degradation in Australia could be reversed with innovative investment approaches that compensate for the main impediments to beneficial landscape change. We argue that the existing suite of policy responses is incomplete and there are benefits to be had by introducing some new approaches for encouraging innovative and creative, appropriate landscape change. We discuss two examples that address the need for instruments that encourage the evolution of new natural resource industry niches: 1. the proposal advanced by the Allen Consulting Group in its recommendations to the Business Leaders Roundtable in 2001 on options for leveraging private investment entitled Repairing the Country 2. a pilot project that is being undertaken by Greening Australia and the CSIRO with funding provided under the Market Based Instruments Program of the National Action Plan on Salinty and Water Quality. The paper concludes with a comparison of existing instruments and their usefulness.