Commercial and Sustainable Use of Wildlife: Suggestions to improve conservation, land management and rural economies

Commercial sustainable use of wildlife has received increasing attention in recent years, both internationally and in Australia, as a tool to achieve both improved conservation and land management outcomes and support diverse, resilient rural economies and societies. While the concept remains relatively unfamiliar in Australia, a wide range of forms of wild resource utilisation offer the potential to achieve these objectives, including several "Sustainable Wildlife Enterprise" trials supported by RIRDC. This report examines the policy and regulatory constraints facing initiatives to conservation through sustainable use.

It seeks to provide insight to landholders, industry stakeholders, and conservation and land management practitioners, and recommendations for policy and decision-makers with responsibilities for wildlife, natural resources management, and rural industries.