Recent changes to South Australia's legislative framework are designed to enable a diversity of new industries and activities on pastoral land. These changes open up new opportunities for collaboration and diversification of a pastoralist 's income streams, supporting the sustainable operation of pastoral businesses, improving long term conservation in a changing climate and increasing use of pastoral lands for a range of different purposes. South Australia's pastoral lands have been developed from the 1850s to provide a sustainable resource for cattle and sheep grazing, producing high quality food and fibre as part of the state's thriving agriculture industry. There are 322 pastoral leases making up 219 stations over an area of 40 million hectares, roughly 40% of South Australia. However, pastoralism is now only one industry thriving on our pastoral lands, and pastoralists have increasingly needed to work in partnership with a range of other users, including First Nations, mining, tourism, and conservation. Major new industries and markets are also emerging o n pastoral land, including carbon farming, renewable energy and nature markets, providing new opportunities and challenges. Regulation of South Australia's pastoral lands commenced in 1842 and legislation has been regularly updated to reflect changing community values and uses. Recent changes to the Pastoral Land Management and Conservation Act 1989 were made to clarify that pastoral leases can be used for conservation and carbon farming. The Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act 2023 has also been introduced to provide the ground rules for a major renewable energy industry that will be developed in collaboration with pastoralism.
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