CERMES MarGov Project Document 28 : final technical report, 1 March 2007 – 29 February 2012

The research focuses on understanding governance related to small-scale fisheries and coastal management in the eastern Caribbean. Scholarly work on marine resource governance and social networks is increasing, but MarGov went further and used empirical evidence to test conceptual frameworks, as shown in numerous outputs (Annex 3). National decision-making processes for policy advice and for determining trade-offs among policy and management options remain rudimentary. MarGov tackled capacity building in this area, but found that much more work is required, including case studies to draw upon to provide a future basis for training the wide range of stakeholders involved

Accessibility of family services in Queensland mining towns: case study of Middlemount, Qld

The delivery of family services for regional communities which are situated in resource intensive locations in Australia however presents a number of distinctive challenges. This paper explores the applicability of the trend in service delivery models that emphasise integration by geographical scale and by type of service and clientele base. A case study was conducted in the Queensland mining township of Middlemount which is located in the resource intensive Bowen Basin region. In order to evaluate the performance of family services, this study used a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods. Along with using secondary data, the study involved stakeholder’s discussion and a survey of mining employees in Middlemount. Support for cross jurisdictional family service delivery at the local scale in combination with strong regional centre based services is evident. Central however to the successful delivery of family services is the social and human capital capacity inherent within the township. Increasing funding and integration for family services is, not by itself, going to deliver satisfactory outcomes

Identification of an appropriate alternative waste technology for energy recovery from waste through multi-criteria analysis

Waste management is now a global concern due to its high environmental impact on climate change. Because of generating huge amount of waste through our daily activities, managing waste in an efficient way has become more important than ever. Alternative Waste Technology (AWT), a new category of waste treatment technology has been developed for energy recovery in recent years to address this issue. AWT describes a technology that redirects waste away from landfill, recovers more useable resources from the waste flow and reduces the impact on the surroundings. Australia is one of the largest producers of waste per-capita. A number of AWTs are using in Australia to produce energy from waste. Presently, it is vital to identify an appropriate AWT to establish a sustainable waste management system in Australia. Identification of an appropriate AWT through Multi-criteria analysis (MCA) of four AWTs by using five key decision making criteria is presented and discussed in this paper

A sedentary population of Brown Songlarks Cincloramphus cruralis in the marine plain grasslands of the Central Queensland coast

Regular bird surveys at one site in the marine plain grasslands in the Rockhampton district of the Central Queensland coast, between 2005 and 2011, have recorded the presence of Brown Songlarks Cincloramphus cruralis throughout the year, indicating a sedentary population in this region. This sedentary pattern is at variance with the seasonally dispersive pattern typical for eastern Australia in which Brown Songlarks undergo a regular anticlockwise cycle from south-eastern Australia in summer, up the eastern coast and then spreading across central temperate and subtropical Australia in the winter, before returning to the south-eastern corner. The discovery of a nest with eggs in December 2010 confirmed local breeding by this subpopulation. The relative isolation, local breeding and sedentary nature of this subpopulation raises the possibility that it may be genetically separated from southern and inland Songlarks

Water governance for informal urban settlements in Bangladesh - a model of two pillars with six dimensions

An adequate supply of potable water to the urban poor living in informal settlements in developing countries is a serious problem, with important health and socio-social implications. Based on literature review and extensive field work, this paper evaluates the two pillars and six dimensions that limit the accessibility of potable water supply to the informal settlements in developing countries. The pillars are constituted of central actors and complementary actors; and the six dimensions are factors stratified as technical, biophysical, political, institutional, economic and social. The study identified the principles, criteria, indicators and verifiers of each factor within informal settlements in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Aggregated values of the indicators from Weighted Average (WA) and Average Ordered Weighted Average (Av-OWA) operators were used in an overall performance evaluation. It is proposed that planners and managers could make more informed decisions as a result of the model of ‘Two pillars with Six Dimensions’ to improve the present water supply situation in informal urban settlements in Bangladesh. This model can be replicated to many other informal urban settlements in developing countries, where accessibility to the formal water supply system is limited or restricted

Divorce and separation in the Australian mining sector

The recent rapid growth in resource intensive regions of Australia has been associated with a flurry of government activity at the local and state level with the intention of responding to the significant challenges that the rapid growth has introduced. The government activity has resulted in a number of positive developments in many cases as a result of community consultation and engagement. A common characterisation at community forums and other public sphere debates about resource developments has been a characterisation of mining workers as a homogenous group of mainly males who are ‘barely civilised’ residing in poorly constructed work camps and creating general community anomie. Miners are subsequently equated with various social ills. This paper questions one of the assumptions expressed within public forums. It takes a closer look at divorce and separation in the mining sector in response to the often heard statement that fly in – fly out block shift arrangements for the employment of mining workers increases divorce and separation rates

Effect of a major flood on breeding and habitat of the Crimson Finch (Neochmia phaeton)

Riparian specialists, such as the Crimson Finch (Estrildidae: Neochmia phaeton), are vulnerable to declines in habitat quality, including alterations of flow regime associated with dam construction. Crimson Finches persisted and bred in substantial numbers following two large floods in the Isaac–Connors catchment in early 2008. Major flooding was not detrimental to nesting and breeding success, although the immediate post-flood period was identified as a bottleneck in the availability of riparian grass seed. Crimson Finches nested at 16m or more above the normal river level (compared with an average of 2–3m elsewhere in Northern Australia); indicating that they have adapted to the extreme flood peaks in the Fitzroy River basin. The tall river-associated grass Chionachne cyathopoda was a key habitat plant, retaining seed well into the dry season when most other grasses are expended. It also provided abundant seeds following floods, coinciding with peaks in abundance of dependent young finches. The adaptations of both Crimson Finches and Chionachne suggest that increased flooding, predicted by climate change, is unlikely to be a problem. In contrast, a proposed dam on the Connors River may be a threat. River regulation that reduces peaks of major floods may favour introduced riparian grasses over flood adapted native grasses such as Chionachne. Any change in the quantity of this species could be detrimental to persistence of Crimson Finches. Environmental managers should carefully consider the ecology of Chionachne when making decisions about river flows

Designing a choice modelling survey to assess community values for better NRM outcomes in Queensland

This report outlines the different design stages of an evaluation survey conducted as part of the AG13 project. The aim of the valuation exercise is to understand the public costs and benefits of particular changes in land management practices, to achieve improved NRM outcomes. The results from the evaluation survey, i.e. community values for improvements in resource condition will then be assessed in a cost-benefit framework against the potential costs and production losses to landholders that are estimated in another component of the AG13 project. The valuation survey will assess community values and preferences for improvements in resource condition. The valuation will also determine how these values may change from region to region according to the environmental issues and impacts involved, and how values may vary across different population groups, inside and outside of catchments. These values will be assessed at both the regional and state level and will require a number of case studies to include: (a) a general study of values held by Queenslanders across the six NAP catchment areas; (b) a specific study within a catchment that assessed values held by the local population compared to the state population; and (c) a specific study between two catchments that assessed how community values changed when very different resources and improvements were involved. For example, community values may differ between a Murray-Darling catchment and one draining into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. Assessing the values associated with improvements in resource condition requires specialist non-market valuation techniques because there is no market for environment goods and services in which their value might be revealed. In this project the Choice Modelling valuation technique was applied. This method was selected because of its ability to assess different attributes of a particular good. In thiscase the good being valued (improvements in resource condition) were described in terms of soil, water and vegetation condition. In this report, the different components in the process of designing a Choice Modelling valuation survey are outlined and discussed. The results from the survey and how they will be applied will be discussed in another research report