What South Australia’s landscapes demand from us in 2026

The impacts of climate change and pressures from development are seeing our critical water resources and dependent ecosystems under unprecedented strain. 

The state’s eight regional landscape boards and metropolitan Green Adelaide are responding as a connected system, grounded in local accountability, but increasingly aligned around shared priorities that focus on creating a resilient, productive and liveable landscape for future generations. 

We asked general managers what the year ahead demands of SA’s landscape board system. The question isn’t about what each region plans to do – it’s what the landscape itself needs and how the state’s coordinated, landscape board network will meet those challenges head on.

Climate readiness is no longer optional 

Hotter temperatures, more extreme weather and prolonged dry periods are already reshaping ecosystems across South Australia. 

In arid and remote parts of the state, climate extremes are accelerating landscape transformation. Increased lightning strikes and flash flooding are powerful drivers of change, spreading invasive and highly flammable species like buffel grass. 

At the same time, reduced rainfall is placing increasing pressure on rivers, wetlands and groundwater, with flow-on effects for farming, biodiversity and community wellbeing. Responding effectively means identifying synergies and partners, sharpening our focus on drought readiness, improving monitoring, and strengthening meaningful community engagement. 

Community stewardship sits at the centre of the landscape board model. But as regions strain under prolonged drought and growing social pressure, landscape boards must apply disciplined prioritisation and be transparent about where effort is directed to deliver the greatest impact in the face of climate change. 

The year ahead is also about making real operational progress on climate readiness. This includes aligning with the South Australian Government’s Climate Ready Initiative and progressing toward net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with a 60 per cent reduction from baseline by 2030. This requires changes not only in what we deliver, but in how we operate. 

Water health and security: a non-negotiable priority

If there is one outcome that must define success for South Australia’s landscape board system in 2026, it is water health and security. 

We must be able to demonstrate that water allocation planning, riparian condition and catchment health are working together at a statewide scale. 

Recent public attention on algal blooms has heightened community awareness around water and ecosystem health. This provides an opportunity to build understanding that secure water relies on getting the fundamentals right: how water is allocated, how catchments function and how riparian zones are protected and restored. 

Critically, water – and other landscape drivers - do not respect administrative boundaries, which means our response must do the same. What’s needed is a fit-for-purpose water policy framework, supported by transparent allocation settings and a strong, coordinated focus on improving riparian condition. The outcome that matters is secure water supply, backed by measurable and sustained improvements in catchment health. 

Delivering this outcome will also require modernising the systems that govern water management. The review of the Landscape South Australia Act 2019 must return as a priority. Several recommendations relate directly to water, and reform is essential if legislation is to keep pace with the scale and urgency of the challenge. Clear leadership and resourcing from the South Australian Government will be critical to progressing this work and ensuring water security is elevated as a non-negotiable across the state. 

Communities at the centre of landscape action

South Australia’s landscape boards are built on their strong connection to community. The knowledge, experience and stewardship of landholders, Traditional Custodians, volunteers and local groups shape how landscapes are managed every day. 

This ground-up understanding does more than guide local delivery, it filters through to influence priorities, investment and policy settings at a broader scale. 

All landscape boards are now developing second-generation regional plans, based on extensive consultation with the community, volunteers, industry bodies, councils, scientists and cultural authorities that will direct their efforts for the next five years. These sit alongside a new State Landscape Strategy, currently under development. This strategy is led by the collective of general managers and is about pursuing shared partnerships and strengthening existing support networks so that landscapes can thrive in 2026 and beyond. 

It will also help direct collaborative effort to key issues like invasive species control, biodiversity, sustainable agriculture and water management. The value of collective, long-horizon programs like coordinated deer management are already proving their value. 

Investing where it matters most 

One of the defining challenges of the second half of this decade will be prioritisation: how to direct limited funding and resources to the programs that deliver the greatest ecological, social and economic return. 

Landscape boards are being asked to do more with less, at a time when expectations are rising. This reality reinforces the need for secure, equitable resourcing that matches the remit of landscape boards so skilled people can be retained, data capability strengthened, and long-term programs sustained beyond one-off projects. 

It’s also about thinking outside the square for funding opportunities, like establishing a set of natural capital accounts that allows landscape boards to be at the table for Nature Repair Markets, Environmental, Social and Governance opportunities and potentially philanthropic investors. 

What success looks like

Success is when people see value in the work landscape boards are delivering for their region, because they can see real change, see the role they play within it and feel a sense of ownership and pride in their natural areas.  

That means healthier catchments together with fair, future-focused water management. Landscapes that are more resilient to fire, flood and drought. Urban areas cooled by expanded tree canopy. First Nations knowledge genuinely embedded in planning and delivery. 

Success will also be cultural. More people recognising that caring for land and water is everyone’s responsibility and that nature underpins food, fibre, wellbeing and liveability. Landscape boards have a role to play in continuing to educate and inform the community and landholders and facilitate access to science-based practices and solutions. 

Individually, regions will continue to lead on local priorities, while collectively, South Australia’s landscape boards will demonstrate how community-centred, system-wide leadership can drive results far greater than the sum of local actions.

More information 

SA's 8 regional landscape boards and Green Adelaide work with partners to deliver practical, on-ground programs to manage landscapes.  

Contact your local landscape board to find out how you can get involved in caring for land, water and nature in your local area. Contact details for all boards can be found on the Landscape SA website.