New environmental market opportunity for graziers expands from reef to national waterways

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has partnered with Verterra Ecological Engineering to pilot new environmental market opportunities in water quality improvement and measure whether on-farm actions that improve water quality also deliver productivity benefits.

Grazing enterprises are eligible to earn credits through the Reef and national water quality improvement schemes for on-farm projects that reduce sediment run-off to sensitive waterways under the Grazing Livestock Management (GLM) method.  

The GLM method quantifies the reduction in sediment losses resulting from improved grazing land practices, aiming to incentivise graziers to increase ground cover before high-intensity rainfall periods.

Eligible activities include a range of actions that could be expected to increase ground cover, such as grazing management changes, installation of infrastructure or weed and native vegetation management.

Administered by EcoMarkets Australia, eligibility to participate in the water quality improvement scheme has recently expanded from the Great Barrier Reef to all sensitive waterways nationally, under the Australasian Catchment Water Improvement Standard.

The pilot is seeking a number demonstration sites to be the first GLM method projects registered under the expanded national scheme.

Landholders interested in or already engaged in a soil carbon project are encouraged to apply to explore how water and ACCU projects could be “stacked” for greater returns.  

“We believe the future lies in integrated landscape performance, where the same improvements in ground cover, grazing management and soil function can potentially generate multiple environmental and production benefits simultaneously.” said Andrew Yates of Verterra Ecological Engineering.

“This project isn’t just about generating credits.  It’s designed to build real-world evidence around how improved landscape function can support productivity, water quality and diversified farm income together,” Andrew said.

Landholders will be supported to develop an on-farm action plan with all monitoring and reporting services delivered by Verterra’s DROVER™ Land Management service.

“DROVER™ provides project owners with insights into property condition by quantifying the difference between historic and present-day sediment losses through monitoring of ground cover change via remote sensing technology,” Andrew said.

From reef to national waterways 

The ENVOMARK Reef Credit Scheme has had active participation from other commodity sectors in projects targeting reductions in nitrogen or sediment runoff and is recognised by the Queensland and Federal governments as an approved offset mechanism.

Over 68,000 credits have been generated from 14 projects with 42,046 retired to buyers from the airline, banking and mining sectors, according to the scheme’s public registry.

While no GLM projects have been registered yet under the Reef Scheme, it is hoped that more landholders are able to engage in the scheme with its expansion to national waterways. 

"Eco-Markets is delighted with the approval of the GLM methodology under our Australasian Catchment Water Improvement Standard (ACWIS),” said Dr Goslik Schepers, CEO – EcoMarkets Australia.

“This signals the arrival of a new mechanism for farmers to tap into a revenue stream that doesn't fluctuate with primary industry trends and challenges."

"We look forward to working with farmers to scale these markets across Australia, and encourage government agencies, including the new National EPA, to recognise high-integrity credits and their contribution to a nature positive outcome."

The landholders participating in the pilot will be offered: 

• Participation in water quality project development at no cost for the first three years, where applicable.
• Whole-of-property grazing land management planning support, including baseline assessments of soil, water quality and landscape performance opportunities.
• Monitoring and reporting completed to the regulator.
• Ongoing technical support throughout the pilot period.
• Optional assessment for soil project applicability through partnership with Agriprove.
• Access to field days, demonstration activities and knowledge-sharing initiatives.