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SUSTAINABLE NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT


Photos: G.Tonkin

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A Client Writes:

To: Judy Lambert, Jane Elix and Heather Pearce

It seems a very long time (and it probably is, with out looking up dates), since Judy and Jane met with the Mangoplan Landcare Group, at the Mangoplan Hotel, at the begin of this project.

If only some of the projects that were funded through you were as successful as our "Birdlip Reserve" project has been, then you can be very proud of what has been achieved.

If it had not been for your funding of this project, I doubt if it would have been saved. I believed it has a better than even chance now, just by the publicity it has received.

So, A VERY BIG THANK YOU from The Mangoplan Landcare Group. I am enclosing a brochure of our Eastern Riverina Landcare network ECO-TOUR, of which Birdlip Reserve is a part. You may even have a chance to visit some day.

Thank you again and best wishes

Bruce Jaeger

Landholder & Chair,
Mangoplan Landcare Group

DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Since the early 1990s, local communities and governments have each placed growing emphasis on the need to plan for development in ways that are sustainable. With training in environment and resource management and in group processes Community Solutions has considerable experience in bringing together decision-makers and those with an interest in the decisions being made, and in establishing dialogue which leads to a common vision and planning for the future. They have also developed and used integrated planning processes on a regional scale. Furthermore, Judy has a network of other consultants with whom she can build teams appropriate to Catchment Management, Local Government, community or other planning needs.

What does integrated planning involve?

Integrated planning requires the bringing together of social and economic needs with environmental concerns, in ways that provide for optimal outcomes both now and for the future.

Who should be involved in integrated planning?

Integrated planning relies for its success on involving a broad range of interested groups and individuals in collaborative processes. Decision-makers working with 'ideas' people, practical achievers and others in the community, each respecting the skills and knowledge of others, produces the best results.

But, aren't planners responsible for planning?

Of course, land use planners have a role to play. But so too do the users and providers of public utilities and services, experts on transport and access, economists, those concerned with social and cultural needs in a community and the people who live and work in the community. Local, State and Commonwealth Governments, local communities and the corporate sector all need to be involved in aspects of integrated planning.

Over what area should collaborative planning for sustainability be done?

The area involved will vary with the project being considered, the number of people likely to be affected and a host of other factors. Increasingly, there is a view that one of the most important factors in determining what area should be involved is the 'community'. Often referred to as a 'community of common interest', it is the people who develop a sense of shared 'ownership' of and responsibility towards a place who are most likely to care for its future and to strive for common outcomes.

Will we know if collaborative planning for a sustainable future is succeeding?

It is important to the whole process of collaborative planning, that a vision for the future is agreed at the beginning of the process and that 'performance indicators' are developed to enable the measurement of progress towards achieving that vision. Such indicators have a role to play in maintaining a sense of progress within the community and in ensuring that public funds are spent wisely.

While awareness of economic goals is strong throughout the community and there is a growing awareness of the need for environmental protection, consideration of the social needs of those who live and work in an area are often overlooked in planning processes. Yet social issues are influenced by tradition and culture. They are deeply ingrained in individual and community behaviour and impact on people's way of life. Social issues are an essential aspect of development planning.

Community Solutions will work with landholders and managers, and other interested groups and individuals, to asssist in developing and implementing sustainable approaches to managing vegetation, land, and water.

Projects undertaken include:

‘Our Living Coast’ Environmental Routemap
Funded by the New South Wales Environmental Trust’s Urban Sustainability program, the ‘Our Living Coast’ project is a partnership between Coffs Harbour City Council and the Bellingen and Nambucca Shire Councils. During 2010 Community Solutions, working in collaboration with Jane Elix and Emeritus Professor Valerie Brown, designed and facilitated a process that developed with the three Councils and their key stakeholders, a ‘routemap’ to guide the future development of collaborative sustainability projects across the mid-North Coast region of NSW.

Land and Water Australia: Restoring Landscapes with Confidence
A Land and Water Australia project led by Dr Siwan Lovett of Lovett Clark Consulting and working with Dr Jann Williams and Dr Phil Price (December 2007 – May 2008) This project sought to assess how well the research, tools and information currently available, are being used by local groups involved in regional natural resource management as part of achieving on-ground outcomes. It examined how well the science that has been undertaken is embedded in day-to-day practical approaches, and investigated what makes some research able to be used so that it is relevant, meaningful and able to be easily integrated. In cases where the available research is not being used, it identified the impediments.

Nature Conservation Council of NSW: Hotspots Fire Management Project
Through research, survey and advocacy work, Community Solutions assisted NCC in gaining financial support for the continuation of the Hotspots Fire Project beyond its pilot phase HOTSPOTS. Hotspots works with landholders, members of the community, scientists, volunteer Bushfire Brigades, the Rural Fire Service, Catchment Management Authorities and public land managers, assisting them in managing fire both for the protection of life and property and to ensure healthy, productive landscapes in which biodiversity is protected and maintained. Since Community Solutions managed the Hawkesbury-Nepean Hotspots pilot project in 2007, the Hotspots project has been run with a diversity of other key stakeholders.

Humane Society International Australia
Judy has worked closely with staff at HSI (Australia) to prepare map-based proposals seeking improved national recognition of extensive areas of outstanding biodiversity and natural heritage significance, using National Heritage listing. More recently Judy has prepared for HIS a series of nominations for national listing of Threatened Ecological Communities.

Land and Water Australia
Between May 2006 and October 2009 Judy Lambert was the national R&D Coordinator for the 'Defeating the Weed Menace' program. In 2008 and 2009 the program had considerable emphasis on disseminating the knowledge generated through the 25 research projects funded through this national program. For more information on the program go to: Defeating The Weed Menace

Sustainable management planning for nationally important wetlands
In both the Robbins Passage/Boullanger Bay area of far north-west Tasmania and at Roebuck Bay near Broome, Community Solutions has worked with other organisations and local interests to build a community-based commitment to management plans that guide sustainable use and management of these important areas. In each of these projects a Values Mapping approach has enabled consensus-building among otherwise widely divergent interests.

Bush for Wildlife National Coordination
In partnership with the Humane Society International's Australian body, Judy and her then business partner Jane Elix developed and gained Natural Heritage Trust funding for a national Bush for Wildlife project designed to provide support for and encourage landholders protecting areas as wildlife habitat. The project enabled the employment of a National Bush for Wildlife Coordinator, whose work also includes national facilitation of the various well-established state-based Land for Wildlife programs, so that all may learn from the best aspects of others' work.

Salinity in the Liverpool Plains scoping study
In 1999, the WorldWide Fund for Nature contracted Community Solutions (in association with Lateral Concepts) to undertake a project scoping opportunities for WWF work linking salinity and protection of biodiversity in the Murray Darling Basin. In focusing on the Liverpool Plains, extensive consultation was undertaken with a wide range of stakeholders - both groups and individuals in various catchments. This occurred through individual meetings, a series of workshops and internet and phone communication. A project proposal for future collaborative work was developed with the agreement of the local stakeholders and WWF.

Meat & Livestock Australia North Australia Program resource management
Between 1996 and 2001, Judy Lambert had an ongoing consultancy role with Meat & Livestock Australia's North Australia Program, assisting that organisation in incorporating ecologically sustainable development principles and practice into projects funded within Phase 3 of that program. Emphasis was placed on the integration of biodiversity conservation and landscape management into sustainable beef production and on the development of whole property management practices. Participation in, and convening of meetings and workshops involving rangelands scientists, beef producers and government agency research, extension and administrative staff was an ongoing part of this work.

Incentives for the conservation of biodiversity
Completed for the Commonwealth Department of the Environment during 1995, this national project evaluated the broad range of possible incentives for increasing the conservation of Australia's biodiversity. The partners in Community Solutions brought together the team, led by CSIRO resource economist Mike Young, which produced the report 'Reimbursing the Future'. Community Solutions ran a series of 13 regional workshops conducted in metropolitan, regional and smaller rural centres across the country. The early stages of this project also involved extensive contact with staff from government agencies responsible for the administration of policies and programs involving the conservation of biodiversity.

Additional Projects include:

Native Vegetation Incentives Forum workshop facilitation (‘Working together’ and ‘Ongoing stewardship’ sessions) - DEH July 2005 national forum, LaTrobe University
Grassy White Box Woodlands - Taking Action Now! and its successor Integrated Model project
Social Issues and Values in Native Vegetation Management
LWRRDC Remnant Vegetation R&D

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