Australian Partners

Mulloon Institute

Mulloon Institute (MI) is a not-for-profit, research, education and advocacy organisation. MI is recognised globally as a demonstrator of sustainable agriculture and environmental regeneration, through landscape rehydration and restoration.

MI’s approach to landscape restoration is holistic, it delivers outcomes that respond to the RAMSAR convention on wetlands and the three international conventions on climate change, biodiversity and desertification that emerged from the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Water is the blue thread that runs through all these conventions, the Rio Trio plus one. MI’s work, on-the- ground, restores this blue thread by focusing on restoring the hydrological function of landscapes. This means funding allocated to landscape rehydration and restoration can concurrently deliver on the goals of all three conventions.

MI believes the long-term sustainability of agriculture and the environment requires transformational change in the way landscapes are perceived, managed and valued. Our work demonstrates the critical role and co-benefits of restored landscape function in sustainable land management. It delivers benefits across:

agricultural productivity and profitability; and
restored biodiversity.

It also delivers a suite of co-benefits across water quality and quantity, improved soil health, climate change mitigation, food and water security and enhanced farmer health and wellbeing.

The MI team carries out landscape repair and rehydration of catchments across Australia, by designing nature-based solutions, sharing sustainable land management practices, monitoring the outcomes and educating farmers and land managers. We work with rural and First Nations communities to deliver these practices at scale.

MI has its own commercial farms comprising 2,500 hectares, located in Southern Tablelands, NSW, 40 minutes east of Canberra. These farms act as demonstrator and form part of the Mulloon catchment scale landscape rehydration project. This project is delivered in partnership with 23 landholders across 23,000 hectares and partly funded by the Australian Government through the National Landcare Program.

Organisational capabilities

Research

Mulloon Institute’s (MI) research is focussed on measuring the benefits of more resilient, productive and profitable landscapes. Research is overseen by a Science Advisory Committee and methodologies take a multi-dimensional integrated research approach with three key elements:

environmental impact of rehydrating landscapes,
economic impact of landscape rehydration on landholders, community and the Nation,
social impact of landscape rehydration on community

We work with a variety of industry partners including HydroTerra and CIBO Labs and universities including the Australian National University and University of Sydney to make the wealth of data collected on the Mulloon catchment project available to national and international researchers.

Consulting

Mulloon Consulting applies cutting-edge landscape rehydration solutions to build natural capital and enhance agricultural productivity and environmental resilience throughout Australia. The team employs a technical approach to restoration of the water cycle using nature-based solutions at the property and catchment scale.

We deliver service excellence across the entire lifecycle of landscape rehydration and restoration projects, from site assessments and planning, capacity building and on-ground works, to monitoring and review. Mulloon Consulting delivers services in landscape rehydration design, approval and construction oversight, coupled with advice on sustainable land management practices.

Learning Programs

Our Learning Programs, focused on capacity building for landscape rehydration, offer a wide range of learning experiences for community groups, landholders, First Nations, schools and volunteer organisations.

MI provides a structured learning journey, building understanding and knowledge of landscape rehydration and restoration through field days, workshops, bootcamps, mentoring programs, professional training, school tours, VIP tours and university field trips. We have developed a comprehensive landscape rehydration curriculum that includes learning modules, not just for farmers and professionals, but also for teachers and educators of young learners.

Advocacy

In common with many countries across the world, Australia’s regulatory frameworks are not fit for purpose when it comes to supporting landscape restoration projects. Current regulations were never intended to prevent environmentally conscious landowners and expert eco- restoration practitioners from repairing degraded landscapes.

To meet this challenge the Mulloon Law Committee has achieved a new planning and approval pathway for landscape rehydration in NSW under the Infrastructure State Environmental Planning Policy. We have further proposed, and we are seeking support for, the development of an outcomes-based National Code of Practice for Landscape Rehydration & Restoration, streamlining approvals and reducing cost barriers for rehydration and restoration projects across Australia.