Landcare's success owes much to the formation of community landcare groups. In sharing the local concerns, better solutions to land management problems can be found. These groups enable land users to work together in tackling local problems in an holistic and more efficient manner. Those in groups don't just see themselves as patching up past mistakes, but are much more directed to actively developing more sustainable systems of land use, which take cognisance of economic, environmental and social issues, which take into account the future of the rural communities they live in. To this end, landcare groups see themselves as active participants and are gaining confidence to have a say in all sorts of aspects.
Successful groups rely on their individual identity to address land management issues.
The role of government is to facilitate the work of the group and provide technical assistance on specific issues. The Future The Decade of Landcare has now reached the halfway mark. The land management issues which we currently face have developed over many decades and will take considerable time to resolve. Efforts throughout the first half of the Decade, however, are tackling the processes of land degradation and we do have some very encouraging signs, however, which indicate that people are caring more for the land. One third of all Australian farmers are members of Landcare groups.