BENEFITS OF CERTIFICATION

Natural resource management organisations

The purpose of ALM Group is to improve environmental outcomes in ways that enable recognition and reward for landholders and their support organisations.

Effective

ALMCS is a most effective way to engage large numbers of landholders in improving the environmental impacts of their farm activities. No need to cajole landholders to invest in meeting imposed targets; ALMCS builds on the motivations and capabilities of each landholder, taking into account catchment wide priorities and strategies. It also reflects that, under the ALMCS, land managers must prioritise and improve the impacts of their management practices rather than focus on a particular element of the natural resource base.

Broadly based recognition

Having one system that enables recognition and rewards to flow for both environmental and agricultural products is a major advantage for both landholders and the source of reward.

Superior planning tool

Using the ALMCS at the property and/or sub-catchment levels ensures continuing communication between the agency and landholders is based on verifiable processes that identify targets individual landholders are committed to acting on, not just talking about them. 

Effective delivery platform

The ALMCS not only delivers environmental improvement in its own right but it is an effective foundation or scaffolding system that can be used for shorter term and more narrowly focused natural resource management instruments, programs and regulations. For instance in the Queensland Murray Darling Basin landholders with ALM Group certification receive preferential access to NRM program funding. Also, in Queensland work is progressing to better align ALMCS with regulatory requirements for leasehold renewal, land and water management and protection of the Great Barrier Reef. These initiatives reflect a growing appreciation of the need to efficiently provide integrated and longer-term support to landholders for improving land management.  

Highly cost-effective

The ongoing nature of ALMCS, its workshops and review process, the use of the software tool myEMS, and an innovative approach to external auditing all contribute to making the ALMCS very cost efficient.

Enhanced reporting capabilities

The combination of ALMCS and myEMS enables relevant and current reports to be generated about those farm activities having significant environmental impacts, the nature of those impacts, what actions are being taken to reduce those impacts and the effectiveness of those actions.