ABSTRACT As natural disasters increase around the world and stretch the capacities of emergency s... more ABSTRACT As natural disasters increase around the world and stretch the capacities of emergency services, national governments and international institutions have stressed the importance of shared responsibility; the idea that all actors within a society have some obligations in disaster management and must work collectively to reduce disaster risk. However, the exact balance between individual and government responsibility is not yet established and continually contested, especially after major events. In Australia, the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience (NSDR) is the overarching policy framework for disaster risk management and aims to create resilient communities through an emphasis on shared responsibility and empowerment. Through a literature review and document analysis of the NSDR and associated policy documents, we clarify, organise and operationalise the necessarily general policy goal of shared responsibility. We first analyse how the NSDR conceptualises communities to discover which community actors are mentioned. We then identify the responsibilities it prescribes or implies for these different actors and consider the types of policy instruments that are relevant to disaster risk management. Our analysis reveals a tension between the NSDR’s placement of government at the centre of disaster risk management, and its other, less well-explained emphasis on community empowerment.
This chapter reviews the themes arising from chapter authors, to identify just principles, polici... more This chapter reviews the themes arising from chapter authors, to identify just principles, policies and procedures to assist Australian government agencies and communities to prepare for climate related disasters.
Self-interest and ignorance is often identified as the motivation for climate change scepticism b... more Self-interest and ignorance is often identified as the motivation for climate change scepticism by those concerned with developing policy to adapt to it. However, a study of social justice in rural water reform has found that competing types of knowledge ('local' and 'scientific') are at the core of opposing views on the impacts of climate change. This means that scepticism can only be addressed by integrating local knowledge into scientific advice, through three way communications of scientists, policy makers and landholders.
Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes are now increasingly being adopted as a solution to... more Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes are now increasingly being adopted as a solution to environmental conservation problems in many countries throughout the world. Examples of these market based instruments are tradable pollution permits or certificates for ecosystem services. However, equity outcomes have rarely been considered in the implementation of such instruments. Neo-classical economic analysis does not explicitly take such equity considerations into account with efficiency concerns being the overriding goal. Increasingly this is being seen as inadequate to meet sustainability objectives and there is evidence to suggest that the adherence to an equitable framework for such schemes may determine whether or not stakeholders will participate in these markets. In this paper we develop a framework for consideration of equity in PES schemes. First the background and historical beginnings of these instruments are provided. A review of some existing schemes, particularly t...
Inherent in every adaptation measure are risks, costs and benefits. A challenge for decision make... more Inherent in every adaptation measure are risks, costs and benefits. A challenge for decision makers is how to choose adaptations that reduce risks from climate change impacts and provide overwhelmingly beneficial outcomes. This project focussed on three catchments in the Murray-Darling Basin for testing a method for more integrative climate change adaptation that increased resilience and avoided maladaptation. Water management under the highly variable Murray-Darling Basin climate has lessons and broad implications for climate policies, especially as some of the proposed climate change adaptation measures for ecosystems and water resources are overly narrow or maladaptive, and have a high risk of institutional failure. We brought together a range of experts and Catchment Management Authority (CMA) representatives from the Goulburn-Broken, Lachlan and NSW Murray catchments to synthesise and integrate the risks, costs and benefits of climate change adaptation measures and assess the e...
Water governance is an important, yet complex and contested field. A central challenge for resear... more Water governance is an important, yet complex and contested field. A central challenge for researchers is to engage with multiple understandings and perspectives that can shape water governance, and to move towards more transdisciplinary approaches. These challenges are magnified for early-career researchers (ECRs), and while the need for transdisciplinary approaches and better support for ECRs is increasingly recognised, there remains a lack of understanding of how to achieve this within the wider research community. Thus, this paper investigates through an auto-ethnographic inquiry the practical experiences and challenges faced by a diverse group of ECRs engaging in water governance research. Reflecting on our own endeavours and relevant literature, we identify a range of path-finding experiences and challenges, and explore strategies employed by ECRs to navigate the 'uncharted waters' of evolving career pathways in water governance research. 'Communities of Practice&#...
Disaster justice is relevant to all phases of the PPRR (Prevention—Preparedness—Response—Recovery... more Disaster justice is relevant to all phases of the PPRR (Prevention—Preparedness—Response—Recovery) spectrum and is concerned with the interplay of distributive and procedural dimensions of justice. In this chapter, I have outlined four attributes that, taken together, delineate disaster justice into a distinct concept. These attributes include the fact that disaster management is a moral obligation due to the Anthropocene, that the political nature of disaster governance is critical in understanding disaster management, that vulnerability to disasters is rooted in everyday inequality, and that this focus on governance emphasises the importance of recognition and empowerment of those affected by disasters.
Environmental flows are an integral component for the conservation and management of rivers, floo... more Environmental flows are an integral component for the conservation and management of rivers, flood plains and other wetlands in the Murray–Darling Basin. Under the Basin Plan, environmental water is managed by the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office (CEWO) and the states. We assessed CEWO environmental flows (2014–15 to 2018–19), compared our findings with expected outcomes for vegetation in the Basin-wide Environmental Watering Strategy (EWS) and interviewed water managers about the efficacy of environmental watering. Some 21% of CEWO water was delivered as flood events, to 9 of 19 river valleys, inundating 7% of wetland area in those valleys annually and 0.8% of major Basin wetlands. A consistent pattern was the watering of many small wetlands on the South Australian Murray with small volumes (median area 43ha, volume 125ML). Just 12% of the area of river red gum subject to EWS expected outcomes was flooded, and half these events were likely suboptimal to achieve ecological be...
A reduction in the legitimacy of top-down governance approaches has resulted in many government a... more A reduction in the legitimacy of top-down governance approaches has resulted in many government agencies using decentralised governance approaches, including localism. However, the effective implementation of localism is challenging. Localism aims to encourage innovative context-based solutions; however unanticipated implementation problems often constrain localism outcomes. There is a significant gap in our understanding of localism in practice, with a better understanding essential to improve localism design and implementation. This paper contributes to addressing this gap through an empirical examination of localism in action. Using the CLEAR framework, we evaluate the decentralised governance of environmental water in the Australian state of New South Wales, a contentious, uncertain and multi-level governance environment. Qualitative interviews with 58 Environmental Water Advisory Group members identified barriers to an effective localism approach, including issues of access and capacity development, transparency of decision-making outcomes and power inequities. This understanding enables the development of strategies for improved localism practice.
ABSTRACT As natural disasters increase around the world and stretch the capacities of emergency s... more ABSTRACT As natural disasters increase around the world and stretch the capacities of emergency services, national governments and international institutions have stressed the importance of shared responsibility; the idea that all actors within a society have some obligations in disaster management and must work collectively to reduce disaster risk. However, the exact balance between individual and government responsibility is not yet established and continually contested, especially after major events. In Australia, the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience (NSDR) is the overarching policy framework for disaster risk management and aims to create resilient communities through an emphasis on shared responsibility and empowerment. Through a literature review and document analysis of the NSDR and associated policy documents, we clarify, organise and operationalise the necessarily general policy goal of shared responsibility. We first analyse how the NSDR conceptualises communities to discover which community actors are mentioned. We then identify the responsibilities it prescribes or implies for these different actors and consider the types of policy instruments that are relevant to disaster risk management. Our analysis reveals a tension between the NSDR’s placement of government at the centre of disaster risk management, and its other, less well-explained emphasis on community empowerment.
This chapter reviews the themes arising from chapter authors, to identify just principles, polici... more This chapter reviews the themes arising from chapter authors, to identify just principles, policies and procedures to assist Australian government agencies and communities to prepare for climate related disasters.
Self-interest and ignorance is often identified as the motivation for climate change scepticism b... more Self-interest and ignorance is often identified as the motivation for climate change scepticism by those concerned with developing policy to adapt to it. However, a study of social justice in rural water reform has found that competing types of knowledge ('local' and 'scientific') are at the core of opposing views on the impacts of climate change. This means that scepticism can only be addressed by integrating local knowledge into scientific advice, through three way communications of scientists, policy makers and landholders.
Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes are now increasingly being adopted as a solution to... more Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes are now increasingly being adopted as a solution to environmental conservation problems in many countries throughout the world. Examples of these market based instruments are tradable pollution permits or certificates for ecosystem services. However, equity outcomes have rarely been considered in the implementation of such instruments. Neo-classical economic analysis does not explicitly take such equity considerations into account with efficiency concerns being the overriding goal. Increasingly this is being seen as inadequate to meet sustainability objectives and there is evidence to suggest that the adherence to an equitable framework for such schemes may determine whether or not stakeholders will participate in these markets. In this paper we develop a framework for consideration of equity in PES schemes. First the background and historical beginnings of these instruments are provided. A review of some existing schemes, particularly t...
Inherent in every adaptation measure are risks, costs and benefits. A challenge for decision make... more Inherent in every adaptation measure are risks, costs and benefits. A challenge for decision makers is how to choose adaptations that reduce risks from climate change impacts and provide overwhelmingly beneficial outcomes. This project focussed on three catchments in the Murray-Darling Basin for testing a method for more integrative climate change adaptation that increased resilience and avoided maladaptation. Water management under the highly variable Murray-Darling Basin climate has lessons and broad implications for climate policies, especially as some of the proposed climate change adaptation measures for ecosystems and water resources are overly narrow or maladaptive, and have a high risk of institutional failure. We brought together a range of experts and Catchment Management Authority (CMA) representatives from the Goulburn-Broken, Lachlan and NSW Murray catchments to synthesise and integrate the risks, costs and benefits of climate change adaptation measures and assess the e...
Water governance is an important, yet complex and contested field. A central challenge for resear... more Water governance is an important, yet complex and contested field. A central challenge for researchers is to engage with multiple understandings and perspectives that can shape water governance, and to move towards more transdisciplinary approaches. These challenges are magnified for early-career researchers (ECRs), and while the need for transdisciplinary approaches and better support for ECRs is increasingly recognised, there remains a lack of understanding of how to achieve this within the wider research community. Thus, this paper investigates through an auto-ethnographic inquiry the practical experiences and challenges faced by a diverse group of ECRs engaging in water governance research. Reflecting on our own endeavours and relevant literature, we identify a range of path-finding experiences and challenges, and explore strategies employed by ECRs to navigate the 'uncharted waters' of evolving career pathways in water governance research. 'Communities of Practice&#...
Disaster justice is relevant to all phases of the PPRR (Prevention—Preparedness—Response—Recovery... more Disaster justice is relevant to all phases of the PPRR (Prevention—Preparedness—Response—Recovery) spectrum and is concerned with the interplay of distributive and procedural dimensions of justice. In this chapter, I have outlined four attributes that, taken together, delineate disaster justice into a distinct concept. These attributes include the fact that disaster management is a moral obligation due to the Anthropocene, that the political nature of disaster governance is critical in understanding disaster management, that vulnerability to disasters is rooted in everyday inequality, and that this focus on governance emphasises the importance of recognition and empowerment of those affected by disasters.
Environmental flows are an integral component for the conservation and management of rivers, floo... more Environmental flows are an integral component for the conservation and management of rivers, flood plains and other wetlands in the Murray–Darling Basin. Under the Basin Plan, environmental water is managed by the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office (CEWO) and the states. We assessed CEWO environmental flows (2014–15 to 2018–19), compared our findings with expected outcomes for vegetation in the Basin-wide Environmental Watering Strategy (EWS) and interviewed water managers about the efficacy of environmental watering. Some 21% of CEWO water was delivered as flood events, to 9 of 19 river valleys, inundating 7% of wetland area in those valleys annually and 0.8% of major Basin wetlands. A consistent pattern was the watering of many small wetlands on the South Australian Murray with small volumes (median area 43ha, volume 125ML). Just 12% of the area of river red gum subject to EWS expected outcomes was flooded, and half these events were likely suboptimal to achieve ecological be...
A reduction in the legitimacy of top-down governance approaches has resulted in many government a... more A reduction in the legitimacy of top-down governance approaches has resulted in many government agencies using decentralised governance approaches, including localism. However, the effective implementation of localism is challenging. Localism aims to encourage innovative context-based solutions; however unanticipated implementation problems often constrain localism outcomes. There is a significant gap in our understanding of localism in practice, with a better understanding essential to improve localism design and implementation. This paper contributes to addressing this gap through an empirical examination of localism in action. Using the CLEAR framework, we evaluate the decentralised governance of environmental water in the Australian state of New South Wales, a contentious, uncertain and multi-level governance environment. Qualitative interviews with 58 Environmental Water Advisory Group members identified barriers to an effective localism approach, including issues of access and capacity development, transparency of decision-making outcomes and power inequities. This understanding enables the development of strategies for improved localism practice.
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