Preface to 'Defending the Social Licence of Farming: Issues, Challenges and New Directions for Agriculture'

Abstract

It is glib to say that society is becoming increasingly aware of the impacts that we are having upon the natural environment. What is less obvious is that this increasing awareness, borne of increasing competition for scarce resources (which encompasses demands for the conservation of these resources), is leading to fundamental changes in legal and social institutions. This includes marked changes to the practical meaning of property rights. In the tradition of the philosopher Locke, property rights to the natural world and freedom to exploit the natural world were intertwined. In the mind of many farmers, and farming-linked political organisations, the dominant belief remains that with ownership comes a largely unfettered freedom to make full productive use of the resource, with few direct controls over the way in which the farm is managed. However, in farming as in many other aspects of our lives, an individualist freedom paradigm is no longer a reliable guide to how to make your way in the world. ... An alternative response to the contest between private rights to exploit and public interests in conservation is to find ways to bring these two interests together. In this context, the idea of a farmer's 'social licence' becomes as important as 'legal right' in determining the legitimate boundaries between freedom to exploit and obligations to conserve. Farmers who are able to demonstrate to society that their exploitation of natural resources does indeed maximise the benefit from their use and minimises the harms are in a far better position to gain the maximum freedom to benefit from their private property. This book is intended to explore contemporary aspects of the 'social licence to farm', to provide those who are thoughtful about both the private interest and the public duty of farmers with insights into how this concept is developing in both theory and practice. However, lest readers think this is a concern limited to the farming sector, one only needs to consider recent debates about mining and other resource extractive industries to see a broader application. Such contests are demonstrated through the public media almost every day of the week.