Lisa Petheram

Assessing environment and development outcomes in conservation landscapes

An approach to assessing the environmental outcomes and changes in peoples’ livelihoods resulting from landscape-scale conservation interventions was developed for three locations in Africa. Simple sets of performance indicators were developed through participatory processes that included a variety of stakeholders. The selection of indicators was designed to reflect wider landscape processes, conservation objectives and as local peoples’ preferred scenarios. This framework, combined with the use of social learning techniques, helped stakeholders develop greater understandings of landscape system dynamics and the linkages between livelihood and conservation objectives. Large scale conservation and development interventions should use these approaches to explore linkages and improve shared understanding of tradeoffs and synergies between livelihood and conservation initiatives. Such approaches provide the basis for negotiating and measuring the outcomes of conservation initiatives and for adapting these to changing perspectives and circumstances.

Australian indigenous women's seafood harvesting practices and prospects for integrating aquaculture

Purpose - – The purpose of this study is to explore Australian Indigenous women’s customary use of marine resources and views on aquaculture as a development opportunity. The value participants placed on economic, social and cultural outcomes were explored, as were benefit sharing, governance and business considerations. Design/methodology/approach - – Using a form of action research, workshops were conducted with a focus group of Indigenous women and interviews with men and women living on a remote island off northern Australia. Multimedia materials and a game were used to elicit a deeper understanding and facilitate discussion. Findings - – Women preferred aquaculture options respectful of culture and accommodating cultural and family obligations, that engage young adults in meaningful work, improve access to sea country and provide local foods and support economic development. Participants placed significant dependence on their governance body to support businesses and expressed disparate views on profit sharing. Women continue to engage in customary harvesting and fishing but various limitations impact on this. Research limitations/implications - – Conclusions based on one case study need to be confirmed in other communities. Future research should include a broader representation of youth and strategies to improve people’s understanding of aquaculture operations and business management. Social implications - – This research improves our understanding of Indigenous women’s preferred economic development pathways and their advocacy role within the community. These findings are relevant for policy-makers, businesses, other Indigenous communities and researchers. Originality/value - – This paper seeks to recognise and integrate Indigenous women’s economic and cultural aspirations within development policy. Such a place-based, gender-based consultative process is generally lacking in the Australian Indigenous policy arena.

EXPLORING WOODCARVING MARKETS TO DETERMINE THE POTENTIAL OF FISCAL INSTRUMENTS FOR IMPROVING WOODLAND MANAGEMENT: THE CASE OF WOODCARVING IN SOUTHERN ZIMBABWE

ABSTRACT In many situations commercialization of forest products is based on common pool resources; often this leads to resource depletion. This paper investigates the potential of using fiscal instruments for institutional change to improve resource management where natural products are being marketed from common pool resources. Three markets along the Masvingo-Beitbridge Road in Southern Zimbabwe were studied. A simple model was produced to test the impact of fiscal instruments on the net revenue to carvers and the consequences for woodland management. The results suggest that there are few, if any options for the introduction of fiscal mechanisms to improve the management of the indigenous woodlands, and the creation of common-property institutions for the management of woodlands solely on the basis of financial incentives generated from woodcarving is highly unlikely.

Co-designing adaptation decision support: meeting common and differentiated needs

As exposure to climate change increases, there is a growing need for effective adaptation decision support products across public, private and community sectors and at all scales (local, regional, national, international). Numerous guidance products have been developed, but it is not clear to what extent they meet end-user needs, especially as development has been fragmented and many products lack continuing support, learning and improvement. It is timely to address the development of more intentional and coordinated support strategies that draw on the experience to date and what end-users themselves say they need. We have taken such an approach to co-design future support strategies for Australia at national and sub-national (sectoral, locational and/or jurisdictional) levels. Several supporting frameworks are introduced to assist in the clarification of common needs (e.g. incorporation of leading adaptation practices) versus differentiated needs across sectors (e.g. a ‘decision entry points’ framework) and individual organisations (e.g. a ‘decision domains’ framework). The collaborative process also identified key principles that should underpin national and sub-national support strategies and product development. A comparison with international experience indicates that the findings and principles should also be relevant to other nations, and to international and sub-national agencies developing adaptation support strategies and products.