Agriculture for health and profit in Western Australia: The Western Oil Mallee Project

Land cleared for agriculture in Western Australia has become severely degraded as deep-rooted native perennial vegetation has been replaced with annual cereal crops. Dryland salinity is the most severe form of land degradation in this region. The Western Oil Mallee Project has the potential to provide an ecologically sustainable solution to problems associated with land clearing, including dryland salinity. The project involves local farmers planting native eucalypt species which may be harvested to produce eucalyptus oil, electricity and activated carbon. Some potential benefits of an ecologically sustainable approach to industry development include reduced land degradation, increased biodiversity, increased local employment, diversified farm production and higher local community capacity.