ABSTRACT
Sustainability of many human communities in agricultural and pastoral regions is diminishing. In many parts of the world, a significant contributor is natural resource degradation within these regions. The Australian National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (Commonwealth of Australia, 2000) estimated that land and water degradation costs Australia at least $3.5 billion annually. The real cost to society is probably much greater through the inter-dependency of social-ecological systems. The effects on rural communities, their social systems and economies, are increasingly visible.
