The future of farming and biodiversity in agricultural landscapes: the Muttama Creek Catchment area

This booklet summarises the work undertaken in a project that sought to understand different land-use priorities and explore the future of farming and biodiversity in the Muttama Creek Cathment area. Located in the sheep-wheat belt of south-eastern Australia, this area sustains many farming families and communities and has been on a long road of change with increasing volatility and pressures. What should we consider to integrate profitable farming and successful biodiversity conservation? Through 94 interviews, we identified four different viewpoints on the relationship between farming and biodiversity, the farmers' roles and responsibilities and approaches to protect biodiversity on farms. How will we create a future where our landscape sustains viable communities, profitable farming and a rich biodiversity? In two community workshops, different ideas about what a positive future would look like and pathways towards those futures were discussed. This booklet highlights that whilst the perspectives on biodiversity conservation in farming landscapes differ substantially, there are shared interests and community aspirations towards the future. These shared interests provide a fertile ground for collective action to create a positive future.