Demographic change in rural Australia: Future opportunities and challenges

In this chapter, we synthesise the main findings from the previous chapters in the book to highlight the key issues related to demographic change in rural Australia. We focus on the two major patterns of population growth and population decline in rural landscapes, but also explore the complexities underlying these general pat-terns. Demographic change, in all its forms, poses major challenges for rural land management requiring innovative and far-sighted planning strategies that aim to promote socially, economically and ecologically sustainable rural communities. The national and international policy arena is punctuated by various strategies designed to encourage desirable land-holder actions (e.g., environmental stewardship payments), but it is unclear how widely applicable or effective these strategies are likely to be. At the end of the chapter, we list ten key areas where we believe future attention should be focussed to ensure we have the most crucial information needed to guide the development of healthy, vibrant and sustainable rural communities.