Murray McGregor

Micro and macro-level approaches to modelling decision making

Abstract Farm households form a significant unit of study for the rural policy analyst as it is at this level of aggregation that the decisions to participate in government policy initiatives and to adopt new technologies are taken, although the true micro-level impacts of such decisions might be felt more acutely at the intra-household level. This paper describes a range of modelling approaches that have been used to represent micro-level decision making related to sustainable agricultural development. While none of the examples was undertaken in a pluralistic framework, they illustrate that two or more methodologies can be integrated so that the complementarity and/or conflict between the results would enhance the quality of the outcomes. The paper argues that because of the integrated nature of the relationship between the farm household (or the decision-making unit), the farming system, and the environment, more progress can be made by using more than one methodology even though their assumptions may be incompatible and their results imply different solutions to the problem. The dialogue created by this diversity will provide better solutions than a reliance on one paradigm and its associated methodologies. One methodological approach will not be sufficient to capture the decision-making process and its subsequent impacts and a pluralist approach is advocated.

A GIS-based decision-making structure for managing the impacts of feral camels in Australia

Feral camels have severe negative impacts on key environmental economic and social/cultural assets across a wide area in Australia and their population is increasing. In this paper we utilised Multicriteria Evaluation (MCE) within a Geographic Information System (GIS) to create a decision tool for their management. Six management methods which are currently used for managing feral camels and their impacts: aerial culling, ground culling, exclusion fencing, and commercial extraction for live export, pet meat, or human consumption, were considered in the development of the tool. The decision tool used GIS-based MCE to determine the suitability of each of the management methods across the range of feral camels in Australia. A range of method-dependent criteria and factors served as inputs to the GIS-based MCE, which produced a suitability map or surface for each of the management methods. The broad-scale nature, Australia wide, of the work resulted in the suitability maps generated being of limited value in identifying fine-scale priority locations for management. The suitability maps did serve to identify broad-scale, cross-jurisdictional management zones where one or more of the management methods may be applicable. Geographic Information System-based MCE was concluded to have the potential to identify the appropriate areas for the application of specific feral camel management methods. Four management zones were then defined within the area of Australia in which feral camels are present.

The science of desert living: building livelihoods and protecting landscapes

Credit: Ninti One Deserts are special: not only for the rich life they contain and the intricacy of their functioning, but also for the unique ways in which humans adapt to desert living. Living in deserts is challenging enough in itself, but is made harder still by: marked cultural differences 1. distinctive local knowledge 2. social uncertainty 3. isolation from centres of political and economic decision. 4.