Evaluating an incentive program for improvement in land management: The sustainable landscape program at Mackay

A number of government strategies and programs have been developed to encourage improvements in agricultural practices that will minimise adverse water quality impacts. One recent program that has been implemented was the Sustainable Landscapes Program (SLP) at Mackay, Queensland, where incentive funds were used to encourage voluntary changes in a range of activities. In this paper, the efficiency of the bid selection process in the SLP is reviewed. The results indicate that selection through a competitive tender mechanism rather than a grant-based mechanism would have generated increased efficiencies, but that it was appropriate to focus on sediments as the key measure of environmental outcomes.