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		News Release: Review helps cotton growers protect environment Date 22/12/03 No 234/03 The Australian cotton industry has taken an important step towards its goal of restoring, maintaining and enhancing biodiversity on cotton farms. That step is the publication of a review, funded by the Cotton Research and Development Corporation, of all available information on the subject. Titled A Review of Biodiversity Research in the Australian Cotton Industry, it ranges from reports on biological and ecological studies on farms, to legislation and policy documents. It was launched during this month's annual conference of the Ecological Society of Australia, held at the University of New England. Professor Hugh Possingham from the University of Queensland, who officially launched the review, congratulated the authors: Nick Reid, Gabrielle O'Shea and Letitia Silberbauer from UNE's School of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources Management. Professor Possingham, who chairs the Australian Government's Biological Diversity Advisory Committee, said: "The cotton industry needs biodiversity and biodiversity needs the cotton industry." He said primary producers were in a "powerful position" for protecting native ecosystems on their land. The review would help "maintain and restore the biodiversity of cotton-based landscapes", he concluded. UNE's Associate Professor Nick Reid, the principal author of the review, said it was part of a long-term strategy for the cotton industry's involvement in biodiversity issues. He outlined the aims of the review as:   To describe the role of biodiversity in cotton production systems. To identify the legislative and policy frameworks for biodiversity that are relevant to the cotton industry. To review information about the biodiversity of cotton growing areas. To identify gaps and opportunities for further research. To suggest ways in which the industry could embrace a stewardship role in protecting biodiversity in a cooperative partnership with government and the community. The Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Cotton Cooperative Research Centre, Guy Roth, spoke at the launch and presented a paper, during the conference, on the subject of cotton farms and biodiversity. "Cotton farms, as economically productive land, could also be highly productive in biodiversity outcomes," he said. "On many cotton farms, biodiversity could be conserved or enhanced on the 20-30 per cent of land not used for cotton and grain production." He said the cotton industry would be investing more money in biodiversity research, and growers would implement the outcomes through the Best Management Practices Program (the cotton industry's environmental management system). Media contact: Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE, Armidale (02) 6773 3049 or Guy Roth, CEO, Australian Cotton CRC, Narrabri (02) 6799 1509. A photograph, taken at the launch of the review, is available for download. It shows (from left) Professor Hugh Possingham, Guy Roth, Associate Professor Nick Reid, and Bruce Pyke (the Cotton Research and Development Corporation's Research and Extension Manager).

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