Participatory scenario planning in place-based social-ecological research: insights and experiences from 23 case studies

Participatory scenario planning (PSP) is an increasingly popular tool in place-based environmental research for evaluating alternative futures of social-ecological systems. Although a range of guidelines on PSP methods are available in the scientific and grey literature, there is a need to reflect on existing practices and their appropriate application for different objectives and contexts at the local scale, as well as on their potential perceived outcomes. We contribute to scenarios theoretical and empirical frameworks by analyzing how and why researchers assess social-ecological systems using place-based PSP, hence facilitating the appropriate uptake of such scenario tools in the future. We analyzed 23 PSP case studies conducted by the authors in a wide range of social-ecological settings by exploring seven aspects: (1) the context; (2) the original motivations and objectives; (3) the methodological approach; (4) the process; (5) the content of the scenarios; (6) the outputs of the research; and (7) the monitoring and evaluation of the PSP process. This was complemented by a reflection on strengths and weaknesses of using PSP for the place-based social-ecological research. We conclude that the application of PSP, particularly when tailored to shared objectives between local people and researchers, has enriched environmental management and scientific research through building common understanding and fostering learning about future planning of social-ecological systems. However, PSP still requires greater systematic monitoring and evaluation to assess its impact on the promotion of collective action for transitions to sustainability and the adaptation to global environmental change and its challenges

Water quality degradation of coastal waterways in the Wet Tropics, Australia

The Wet Tropics region of north Queensland has outstanding environmental values, contains the highest biological diversity in Australia, and borders the Great Barrier Reef. Comparable to other tropical areas worldwide, increasing urban and agricultural development in the Wet Tropics has caused concerns with respect to ecosystem degradation due to poor water quality in freshwater reaches and marine environments. Key issues currently identified in the Wet Tropics include erosion and subsequent stream turbidity and sedimentation, nutrients from erosion and fertiliser use and pesticide residue contamination. Issues such as reduced dissolved oxygen, acid sulfate soil runoff, and biological factors such as weed infestation, reduced and degraded riparian vegetation condition, and flow modification have also been identified. These issues mainly arise from agricultural activities with lesser effects from urban development. Management of pollution to improve in-stream water quality requires a long-term monitoring program to characterize water quality conditions over different flows and seasons. This type of monitoring program is underway; however, the focus is on the Great Barrier Reef and does not fully consider freshwater ecosystem health. Another major issue is the lack of a fully developed conceptual framework that links changed land use to water quality and subsequently to aquatic ecosystem health. In this paper, we establish the current level of water quality knowledge in the Wet Tropics while outlining a conceptual framework connecting changing land management practices and their effects to water quality and to ecosystem health