This study has identified key considerations and constraints in managing the cumulative impacts of multiple industries - cropping, grazing, mining and CSG extraction - on the Darling Downs (defined as Toowoomba Regional Council and Western Downs Regional Council areas).
The research questions that guided the study were:
1. What barriers, challenges, and opportunities inform current thinking and behaviour in relation to combined, or alternative, land uses and managing their impacts?
2. What are the priorities and roles of various sectors and organisations in managing the cumulative impacts of resource extraction and agriculture in rural regions such as the Darling Downs?
3. How can agriculture and energy production co-exist in ways that create a better future for local communities?
Publisher: Sustainable Minerals Institute
CITATION
Collins, N. et al. (2013) Energy resources from the food bowl: an uneasy co-existence. Identifying and managing cumulative impacts of mining and agriculture. Research Paper, Sustainable Minerals Institute, University of Queensland: Brisbane, Australia.