SA Arid Lands Landscape Board Communique

Partners in Wild Dog Management

During the Board’s October meeting guests from PIRSA, the Dog Fence Board of SA and Livestock SA, discussed the future for collaboration on integrated management of wild dogs south of the Dog Fence. 

Given pressures on the Sheep Industry Fund (SIF), the board heard from Livestock SA that the oversubscription to the fund had resulted in no co-investment funding for a second consecutive year to the board’s Biteback Program.  This follows many years of industry investment in addition to the board’s investment in wild dog control. 

The discussion with PIRSA and the Dog Fence Board highlighted the collective success of each partner’s co-contribution to baiting, trapping, aerial baiting and the fence re-build and maintenance. These combined efforts have drastically reduced stock losses and impacts on production in SA.  The board is satisfied this discussion will result in a review of the long-term commitment of all partners to support outcomes and reduce the costs and impacts on land managers in wild dog control. 

The spring injection services have occurred recently with the cost associated with coordinating and implementing the service covered by the board.  Other services typically delivered through the co-investment of the Sheep Industry Fund will not be funded this year, including north fence bait injection services and the Autumn injection services.

These services can be delivered on a cost recovery basis, pending any additional funding being made available to support industry outcomes.   All partners are working together to leverage longer term commitments to resourcing the services, in addition to compliance action where minimum bait standards are not reached.  

The board continues to invest significantly in the Biteback Program which, for more than 15 years has supported participation, education and compliance with land managers toward the successful management of predators to the livestock industry in SA.

Opportunities to inform the priorities of Livestock SA can be found HERE

Landscape Group connection

Representatives of each of the district Landscape Groups engaged directly with the board staff for updates of programs and current matters of business across the region, before engaging with the board to explore opportunities for future effort.  The Landscape Groups are statutory sub-committees of the board, each of which provide advice to the board and it’s planning processes, in addition to communicating updates and information to the local communities across the seven districts within the SAAL region.

Members of the groups engaged with board across the suite of board programs, including water management and policy, sustainable agriculture, biosecurity and ecology projects.

Board members enjoyed dinner with the group members followed by a joint session to discuss matters of significance to each region, incorporating water policy, wild dog management, progress and governance of the district group model, and shared updates on the upcoming Regional Landscape Plan consultation.  The board’s investment in the groups, membership and capacity to extend into the region is fundamental to informed decision making and engaged communities.  The opportunity to meet with members and chairs of the groups is an important way to ensure community is at the heart of the board's business.

Regional Landscape Plan - draft for consultation

The board reviewed and approved its draft Regional Landscape Plan (2026-2031) which will be released for public consultation on Friday 14 November 2025. 

The revised plan captures the board’s intent to remain consistent, given themes and priorities are largely unchanged from its current plan which expires in June 2026. 

The draft has been informed from an evaluation of the delivery of the current plan, and by internal consultation board members, its seven district landscape groups, and staff. It includes changes in legislative requirements, suggestions by board, group and staff members, and learnings and refinement from the existing plan.    

Full details are on the board’s website.

Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) Alliance

The board and district group members were briefed on a recent opportunity where SAAL staff were involved in a research and partnership opportunity in Africa’s Cubango-Okavango Delta. 

In 2015 the LEB Alliance, consisting of Qld, NT and SA NRM entities, were awarded the International River Prize.  This resulted in prize money being awarded to develop further capacity and shared learning in the management of significant global rivers and their importance. 

A ‘twinning’ partnership was established between the LEB and the Okavango Delta given their similarities and comparable attributes, where shared knowledge, resources and data could improve management and protection at a global level.  As a result, nine delegates from across the LEB Alliance visited Botswana to engage in a three-day intensive workshop on Global Ecosystem Typology (GET), a mechanism for measuring, monitoring and recording information on the state and condition threats to the respective basins. 

Prize money supported the first ever convergence of partners from Angola, Namibia, Botswana, the USA, UK and Australia in support of shared learning, data interpretation and practice exchange. The trip concluded with on-ground analysis and exploration of the Okavango Delta at Khwai in Botswana, as the downstream part of the river. 

Observations of the life-giving impact the river has on communities, nature, wildlife and the economy enhanced the data analysis and interpretation process of the workshop.  A rich information exchange and partnership has been forged for future sharing and capacity building across the globe, with the utilisation of the GET as one key way to better analyse and manage the data associated with the management of each system.