Geoff Wescott

The establishment of large private nature reserves by conservation NGOs: key factors for successful implementation

Private nature reserves created by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are increasing, and their growing number and extent means that they can potentially contribute to biodiversity goals at a global scale. However, the success of these reserves depends on the legal, economic and institutional conditions framing their creation and management. We explored these conditions, and the opportunities and challenges facing conservation organizations in managing private nature reserves, across several countries, with an emphasis on Australia. Results from 17 semi-structured interviews with representatives of private conservation organizations indicated that while private reserves may enhance the conservation estate, challenges remain. Legal frameworks, especially tenure and economic laws, vary across and within countries, presenting conservation organizations with significant opportunities or constraints to owning and/or managing private nature reserves. Many acquired land without strategic acquisition procedures and secured funding for property acquisition but not management, affecting the long-term maintenance of properties. Other typical problems were tied to the institutional capacity of the organizations. Greater planning within organizations, especially financial planning, is required and NGOs must understand opportunities and constraints present in legislative frameworks at the outset. Organizations must establish their expertise gaps and address them. To this end, partnerships between organizations and/or with government can prove critical.

Victoria's National Park System: Can the Transition from Quantity of Parks to Quality of Management be Successful?

Historically the Victorian national park system developed sporadically between 1898 and 1970. Since then the area of national parks has increased well over tenfold through a combination of strong community support and the operation of the Land Conservation Council. This article examines Victorias national park system in detail and describes the legislation, administration and resourcing of the Victorian park system over the period 1970–1993 in particular. The discussion centres on the question of Victorias ability to make the transition from the phase of acquisition of substantial areas to the national park estate to the phase of high quality management of those areas. Such a transition would have to be against the background of the parlous state of the Victorian economy, the pressures of increased tourism and the need to rejuvenate an administrative organisation which has been subject to almost constant change over the last decade. The article concludes by considering what lessons the Victorian experie...

Stimulating vertical integration in coastal management in a federated nation: the case of Australian coastal policy reform.

Four decades ago Australia was credited as being an early leader in implementing integrated coastal management (ICM). Nevertheless, as a federation of states and territories Australia has since struggled to fully implement vertical integration of its coastal governance arrangements. In particular the federal government has historically possessed only a minor role in coastal management despite the recommendations of several major inquires suggesting that this role needed to be enhanced. This article examines a series of circumstances and events over the past two years in Australia that has created the opportunity for the federal government to adopt a more significant and prominent role in coastal management and hence to substantially complete the vertical integration of ICM in Australia. These stimuli for coastal policy reform could also play a role in enhancing ICM in other federated nations.

Wildlife Gardening and Connectedness to Nature: Engaging the Unengaged

An often overlooked impact of urbanisation is a reduction in our ability to connect with nature in our daily lives. If people lose the ability to connect with nature we run the risk of creating a nature-disconnect, which is hypothesised to have an impact on our empathy for other species and our desire to help conservation efforts. Understanding how a sense of connection with nature can impact upon peoples decisions to seek out nature in their daily lives is important if we wish to encourage the practice of wildlife gardening as a tool to enhance both urban biodiversity and connectedness to nature. This study targeted members of wildlife gardening programmes (n=261) and members of the general public (n=417) and provides empirical evidence that connectedness to nature is a primitive belief, but also shows that a strong sense of connection with nature is not a prerequisite for engaging in wildlife gardening.

Evolving governance arrangements in multi-tenure reserve networks

Multi-tenure reserve networks (MTRNs) aim to connect areas managed for biodiversity conservation across public and private land (for example biosphere reserves (BRs) and conservation management networks (CMNs)). A key function of MTRNs is facilitating communication, information exchange and management activities between land managers of differing tenures not usually in contact with each other; governance arrangements are therefore crucial. Australian MTRNs vary greatly in their goals and measures of success, criteria for entry, ecosystems targeted, geographic extent and financial arrangements. The successful operation of a MTRN is likely to be influenced by a managers confidence in the governance model/coordination arrangements (Belcher & Wellman 1991). We analysed the organizational structure of three Australian MTRNs (Fig. 1) including the objectives and role of the coordinating body, entry requirements, goals and measures of success, restrictions placed on the geographic or ecological extent of the network and financial arrangements. We highlight how substantial changes in governance arrangements have occurred for two of three networks studied, suggesting a fluid evolution of MTRN structures is likely.

New directions in biodiversity policy and governance? : a critique of Victoria's land and biodiversity white paper

The overall condition of biodiversity in many parts of Australia is poor and declining, despite the establishment of national parks and other reserves, and the adoption of conservation activities on private land. The impacts of climate change add further challenges to sustaining biodiversity. In response to these issues, in December 2009, the State Government of Victoria released a major policy statement that aimed to provide the framework and directions to secure the health of Victorias biodiversity and associated land and water resources over the next 50 years. Given Victorias reputation for environmental policy reform and innovation, the question arises as to whether the Victorian approach will provide a model for other Australian jurisdictions to adopt or adapt. Drawing on insights from environmental policy, discourse theory, and ecological theory, this article provides a critique of Victorias approach, focusing on the way in which biodiversity is conceptualised and governed.

“The Answer My Friend is Blowin' in the Wind”…Or is It? Successful Local Opposition to a Proposed Windfarm Development in Regional Victoria

Around the world, but particularly in Western Europe and North America, wind energy is being promoted strongly by turbine manufacturers, ‘green’ consumers, and some governments, as a significant potential alternative to electricity production from traditional, coal-fired, hydro or nuclear generating sources. As a consequence, many countries and states have embraced this technology with enthusiasm. At the same time, opposition to large-scale wind farms, especially in areas of high scenic amenity, is also growing in some countries. This article places this debate in the Australian context by focusing on renewable energy policy and successful local opposition to a proposed wind farm development near Portland, in Western Victoria. It is argued that this particular conflict has important lessons for future windfarm proposals in coastal settings elsewhere in Australia.

Reshaping the Worldview: Case Studies of Faith Groups’ Approaches to a New Australian Land Ethic

This study highlights the praxis of various mainstream and alternative faith traditions in Australia with relation to environmental sustainability issues. A mixed methods approach (surveys, interviews, site visits) was used to investigate the levels of awareness and involvement of faith communities on issues including biodiversity protection, water conservation, energy efficiency, waste management and cultural property heritage. The aim is to highlight a theme of integration (or lack thereof) that arose out of the interviews which formed a critical part of the participants’ worldview. A brief overview of the relationships of attitudes and behaviors to environmental issues and the importance placed on values and worldviews is provided. Individuals from 40 faith groups participated in the study; individuals and case studies from 10 different groups are highlighted, from the conventional, mainstream Christian traditions to alternative Christian and Eastern traditions and the New Age movement. We found that mainstream traditions were making important attempts to integrate their worldview into appropriate environmental management strategies; but the impact was marginal overall. The lesser known and alternative traditions were at a significant leading edge of integrating praxis; yet, because these traditions are viewed with some suspicion, their efforts were marginalized by members of other faiths and the public. There are several points of convergence and divergence that faith traditions have with regard to environmental sustainability.

‘Bright spots’ for estuary management in temperate Southern Australia

Estuaries are a transition zone for fresh and saline water and sediments, providing a range of ecosystem services for the local population, infrastructure and industries located in their environs. They are also governance transition zones where jurisdictions often overlap and focused attention is often lacking. As Australias population continues to expand, particularly in the south, estuaries are increasingly becoming popular locations for settlement due to their picturesque surrounds and accessibility for water-based activities. This results in expanding human and industry activities and pressures along estuaries and adjacent coastal settings impacting ecosystem service delivery. The absence of dedicated national and state estuary legislation in addition to decades of poor land and waterway management decisions paints a ‘doom and gloom’ picture for temperate southern Australian estuaries. Against this backdrop, there are number of estuary ‘bright spots’ where natural resource management bodies in strong partnership with local actors are moving forward in overcoming challenges to estuary conservation. Using case studies, this paper describes the key elements for effective estuary management that can lead to improved estuary health.

Implementing Integrated Coastal Zone Management Through the Use of Coastal Action Plans: Lessons from Victoria

There are currently no performance indicators in place for assessing the successful implementation of Victorias strategic plans (Coasted Action Plans, CAPs) in achieving Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) at a regional level. This article explores the findings of a study which assessed the success of the approach adopted in Victoria under the State Coastal Management Act 1995 to implement ICZM through CAPs. The study developed a set of criteria for measuring this success. We conclude with a discussion of how appropriate such an approach may be in other jurisdictions.