Land and Biodiversity

Contemporary Land Use Change

Land in Victoria is divided between public (39%) and private (61%) tenures. Public land consists mostly of State forests and National and State parks, while 95% of private land in Victoria is farmed. Of the farmed land, most is un-irrigated, with irrigated agriculture accounting for less than 2% of Victoria. Metropolitan Melbourne accounts for less than 1% of Victoria but accommodates 75% of the population. The high concentration of population in the urban area places extreme pressure on Melbourne’s biodiversity and native vegetation. Social and demographic changes are now also driving a demand for housing development on Melbourne’s fringes and in rural and coastal areas close to Melbourne. These trends pose risks for biodiversity but may also provide opportunities for habitat improvement, depending on land management decisions. Loss of productive land to housing, along with global market forces and environmental change are also driving changes in use and management of Victoria’s agricultural land. Cropping is becoming more intensive and more widespread, irrigated agriculture is moving away from traditional irrigation areas, and farming land is being converted to hardwood plantations in some parts of Victoria.

This section looks at the impacts of current trends in land use in urban and rural Victoria, and the implications of these trends for Victoria’s landscape health and native species. This section also provides an overview of policy responses to the challenges of balancing land use and planning for beneficial environmental outcomes and economic development.

Part 4.2.2 Contempory Land Use Change (PDF - 885 KB)