Claudia F. Benham

The cost of collaboration: how Caring for Our Country has shaped regional Natural Resource Management in an Australian river catchment

Funding arrangements for Natural Resource Management (NRM) in Australia have undergone a number of changes in the last decade, including the transition from the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) to the Caring for Our Country (CfoC) program (recently merged with Landcare to become the National Landcare Programme). It has been suggested that CfoC eroded some of the gains in regional autonomy, community engagement and goodwill made under the NHT. This article presents the results of research conducted with regional NRM bodies and community-based stakeholders in the Upper Murrumbidgee catchment, south-eastern Australia. It explores the impacts of the CfoC grants structure on NRM bodies and communities, and examines the practical responses of resource managers to funding constraints. The research demonstrates that the structure of NRM funding delivery under CfoC played a key role in shaping the strategic and operational activities of regional NRM bodies and community groups. In particular, the short-term, single-issue focus of the program placed pressure on collaborations between regional NRM bodies and other groups, and could inhibit strategic and integrated approaches to NRM. At the same time, however, NRM planners and community stakeholders have actively managed the limitations of the CfoC structure to optimise catchment outcomes for communities and the environment.

Planning for success in a climate change future: Collaborative water governance in the Upper Murrumbidgee Catchment, southeastern Australia*

Abstract Collaboration between stakeholders plays an important role in natural resource management (NRM). It is particularly key to managing water resources, which often cross jurisdictional boundaries and are typically managed by multiple stakeholders. The role of social capital in making NRM collaborations successful has also been recognised. In this paper, we explore the development of social capital in NRM governance networks through an analysis of the Actions for Clean Water (ACWA) project, a collaborative NRM planning process in the Upper Murrumbidgee Catchment, southeastern Australia. We argue that the success of collaborative processes like ACWA is related to the strength of linkages between stakeholders, and the stocks of social capital that these linkages contribute to. We further suggest that collaborative processes can stimulate linkages between participating organisations, paving the way for further collaboration and facilitating the integrated management of water resources. However, their ability to do so is strongly influenced by the geographical, historical, institutional, political and economic contexts in which they are embedded. These contextual factors must be taken into account if natural resource managers are to design collaborative processes that can strengthen governance networks and improve water resource management outcomes in a climate change future.

Growth effects of shading and sedimentation in two tropical seagrass species: Implications for port management and impact assessment

Seagrass meadows in many parts of the globe are threatened by a range of processes including port development, dredging and land clearing in coastal catchments, which can reduce water clarity and increase sedimentation pressure. As rates of seagrass loss increase, there is an urgent need to understand the potential impacts of development on these critical species. This research compares the effects of shading and burial by fine sand on two seagrass species Zostera muelleri and Halophila ovalis in Port Curtis Bay, an industrial harbour located on the continental margin adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef Heritage Area, Australia. The research finds that shading in combination with burial causes a significant decline in growth rates in both species, but that burial ≥10mm reduces growth rates to a greater extent than shading. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for port management and impact assessment.

Social capital plays a central role in transitions to sportfishing tourism in small-scale fishing communities in Papua New Guinea

Abstract Growing concerns about pressures of global change on small-scale fishing communities have resulted in a proliferation of livelihood diversification initiatives linked to tourism. Where the focus is often on the role of financial, physical, and human capital in influencing the uptake of new opportunities, we argue for more consideration of the role of social capital. We implemented 157 household-level surveys in small-scale fishing communities in Papua New Guinea and modelled the influence of social and other capital assets on people’s perceptions of how easy it would be to become involved in sportfishing tourism. Social capital had a stronger influence relative to other forms of capital, with perceptions of reciprocity and satisfaction with leadership being the most influential aspects. Based on these results, we stress the importance of developing strategies aimed at understanding, building, and maintaining social capital and related social dynamics when implementing livelihood diversification initiatives.