Understanding the social context of land-use in the Boorowa catchment

Researchers from Charles Sturt University (CSU) have worked with DPI researchers, Lachlan Catchment Management Authority staff and other partners during 2005-07 to undertake a project that:

1. identified the social impacts of current land-use change in the Boorowa catchment at both the landholder and community scales;
2. identified feasible and socially acceptable pathways to achieving the change in land-use required to manage land degradation, with a focus on dryland salinity;
3. constructed and refined an effective and efficient methodology for assessing the social and economic impacts of changes in land-use at the catchment scale, for potential application in other catchments.

There are four sections in this report:

• Section 1. Socio-economic profile of the Boorowa catchment
• Section 2. Socio-economic profile of landholders in the Boorowa catchment
• Section 3. Indicators of the social dimension of land use
• Section 4. Conclusion