Funding and Facilitation: implications of changing government policy for the future of voluntary Landcare groups in Western Australia

Landcare groups in Australia work to increase biodiversity, eliminate invasive species and promote sustainable land-use practices. With the implementation of the Rudd government's ‘Caring for our Country’ policy during 2008–09, financial and organisational resources available to these groups diminished. This paper examines whether the National Landcare Program's initial intentions—that agency support could be provided to ‘kick-start’ the community groups into action with the Landcare groups quickly becoming independent bodies—are ultimately realistic. The results show that the majority of Landcare groups continue to be reliant on government-sourced funding and Landcare facilitators, and that those groups which do not have access to support have reduced their activity levels accordingly. Landcare groups were suffering from a reduced volunteer base, with static or decreasing numbers of participants, an inability to set regular meetings and a lack of volunteers to take up leadership positions. The reliance of Landcare groups on government support suggests that Landcare was an unsuccessful form of state-sponsored community participation, making Landcare groups similar to other volunteer organisations in terms of their functional characteristics and reliance on externally sourced funds.     

Revisiting the Origins of and Distinctions Between Natural Resource Sociology and Environmental Sociology

A forum focusing on similarities and differences in environmental sociology and the sociology of natural resources is healthy. Attempts to more adequately understand the relationships between social organization and the natural world need to be informed by reviews and critiques of past and current work by resource/environmental social scientists and the array of theoretical frameworks, research designs, and problem-solving capabilities that are represented in the literature. In this article, we provide a perspective on the paths that natural resource sociology and environmental sociology have taken. We draw distinctions based on their origins, conceptual orientations, theoretical perspectives, and problem-solving focuses. Clarifying the differences between natural resource sociology and environmental sociology will not only help in tracing the intellectual foundations for these subfields of inquiry and bring to light lost literature, but also point to areas where synthesis and convergence in these subfields are possible.

This article originally published in Society & Natural Resources, Vol. 15, Issue 3, pages 213–227, 2002. DOI: 10.1080/089419202753445052     

Getting a Handle on Social-ecological Systems in Catchments: the nature and importance of environmental perception

Several bodies of literature inform understanding of environmental perception but incorporation of the key aspects of perception has been limited in environmental management to date. Using a social-ecological systems approach, a case study of communities in the Collie catchment in Western Australia reveals strong place relatedness in both perception of environment condition and the interrelationship of social systems and the environment. Furthermore, it identifies the variation in perceptions by subgroups within communities. Finally, the implications of this research for environmental management are considered and learning and organisation development are identified as key management tools.     

Big Data Resource Planning for Food Safety: a Preliminary Exploration of the “Environment,Food and Health” Information Chain

Environmental pollution, food safety and health are closely linked. A key challenge in addressing the problem of food safety and protecting public health is building an integrated knowledge base to inform policy and strengthen governance. This requires breaking down the trans-departmental information barrier across the environment, food and health domains to ensure the effective flow of data and the efficient utilization of resources, and facilitate the collaborative governance of food safety. Achieving this will be crucial for the development of health and medical care in China in the era of big data. Currently, the information resources commanded by various departments are incomplete and fragmented. Data resources are also organized in vertical silos and there is a lack of data sharing within and across policy streams. To provide the basis for more effective integrated collection and analysis of data in future, this study summarizes the information resources of various departments whose work relates to interactions between environment, food and health, and presents measures to strengthen top-down design, and establish unified data standards and a big data sharing platform. It also points to the need for increased training of data analysts with interdisciplinary expertise.     

Understanding grower demographics,motivations and management practices to improve engagement,extension and industry resilience: a case study of the macadamia industry in the Northern Rivers,Australia

Research and development programs for improved productivity and profitability in horticulture have focused largely on understanding biophysical factors and production and harvest technologies. By contrast, relatively few studies focus upon the existing status of a rural community in terms of demographics, rationales and motivations underlying current farm management practices. Understanding such factors is increasingly important as pressures from climate change, globalised market forces, land-use competition and ageing workforces intersect on farms and for farmers. This paper explores experiences among macadamia growers in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, with the aim to better understand and improve the targeting of development programs to meet grower needs and aspirations, for improved industry resilience. Results suggest that growers are a diverse, ageing demographic who came into the industry with a variety of skill sets. Noting a lack of previous farming experience for many growers, we highlight the need to consider information transfer and succession planning, along with aspirations to consolidate properties and skills. New engagement approaches are recommended, with tailored extension to different grower groups. To aid with this process, a classification tree was developed for the purposes of separating growers into groups with different support needs.