Technology transfer from publicly funded research for improved water management : analysis and Australian examples

Considerable public funding is provided for research and development intended to improve the management and use of shared natural resources, such as water. In Australia the Land and Water Research and Development Corporation (LWRRDC) and Environment Australia are significant providers of such funds. These providers tend to judge the value of R & D projects supported by them on the basis of whether or not significant technology transfer and adoption takes place. Researchers involved in these projects and expected to be the prime movers of such transfer. However, it seems that research funders have been guided by over simplified models of processes of technology transfer and by false analogies with the transfer of industrial technology. There has been a failure to recognise that much of the new technology developed to improve the management of shared resources, such as water, affects the supply of social or collective commodities, a factor which materially alters the technology transfer process. Here processes of transferring publicly-funded intellectual knowledge are discussed and modelled, dynamic patterns of adoption of new technology are considered along with factors influencing adoption rates and barriers to adoption, particularly when the supply of social or collective commodities such as water, are involved. Some points from the analysis are illustrated by observations from a sample of LWRRDC-supported research projects

Australian environmental issues : an overview.

Australia is experiencing significant environmental problems both on land and in its marine areas and several of these problems are interconnected. Clearing of trees and woodland is still substantial and apart from adding to CO2 emissions, has a number of other unfavourable environmental consequences e.g. on water systems. Australia’s river systems, estuary areas, coastal lakes and lagoons are suffering from serious environmental problems of which eutrophication is one of the more serious. Marine environments are also under stress. For example, seagrass beds have declined substantially, toxic phytoplankton blooms are of growing concern, adverse environmental impacts are experienced by some species of marine reptiles and mammals and some fisheries are adversely affected by environmental changes and excessive harvesting. Wastes from human settlements add to these environmental problems; partly because settlement occurs in dense pockets in Australia. Per capita, Australians use a high level of natural resources. Neither markets nor political mechanisms have been able to solve Australia’s environmental problems in as effective manner as many would hope for

Brunei's quest for sustainable development : diversification and other strategies.

Like many Middle East economies, Brunei is an oil-rich rentier economy with a high degree of dependence on guest workers, concentration of employment of Bruneians in the public sector and with a high degree of specialisation in extractive production. Because its hydrocarbon reserves are diminishing, it faces the problem of how to sustain its income. The potential for it to do this by investing its rental income abroad and by diversifying its economy are discussed, and comparisons are made with oil-rich Middle East countries and MIRAB economies. Doubts are raised about industrial diversification as a suitable sustainable development strategy for Brunei. Expansion of service industries may offer better prospects. Brunei’s entry into APEC could limit its scope for adopting strategic policies to restructure its economy. Keywords: Brunei, development strategies, economic diversification, Malay Muslim Monarchy, oil-rich economies, rentier economies

Sustainable development and environmental conservation : major regional issues with Asian illustrations.

This paper emphasizes (in the Asian context) the fact that sustainable development and environmental conservation require simultaneous consideration to be given to the economic, social, political and environmental aspects of policy formulation. Governance, centralization and decentralization of economic decision-making and property rights must be taken into account in considering such issues. There is at present a strong focus (parttly on environmental grounds) on decentralization of economic decision-making and the empowerment of local communities. There is much evidence of such decentralization in Asia, especially China. However, we have to evaluate this trend against the adage "think globally, act locally". Because of global international and interregional ramifications of local or regional decisions, mechanisms have to be sought to reconcile local and regional interests with the interests of the wider community, especially in environmental matters. Major environmental externalities from local and regional economic activities to wider communities exist. These are illustrated in the Asian context concentrating on China. Environmental concerns raised by China's energy sector are given particular consideration because coal use in China has many serious consequences for air pollution, often over wide geographical areas. In conclusion, some environmental policy initiatives for Asia, many of which require international and interregional co-operation, are canvassed

Ecotourism : aspects of its sustainability and compatibility.

The ecotourism market appears to be expanding at a faster rate than that for tourism generally which itself is experiencing rapid growth. Factors have been identified which stimulate the growth of ecotourism. Even though ecotourism expands rapidly, there are many threats to its sustainability and expansion. Ecotourism depends on natural environments (both living and non-living) and any cultures closely connected with these. However, there are many different definitions of ecotourism so one has to be careful in dealing with the subject to determine which definition to use, especially if one is measuring the size of the ecotourism market. The sustainability of an ecotourism development or project can be expected to depend on its economics, the extent to which it is compatible with the conservation of its resource-base, its social acceptability and its political feasibility. Sustainability and compatibility aspects of ecotourism are closely linked. Ecotourism development may not be compatible in some areas with profitability, for example, or with appropriate levels of conservation and therefore may prove to be unsustainable. Or other economic developments may be incompatible with the sustainability of ecotourism in an area. Consequently, government intervention in the management and development of ecotourism is often required. Much hope has been placed in the possibility of using the concept of carrying capacity to manage ecotourism. However, it is not a straightforward operational concept. Its application usually requires some valuations to be made and often these are unavoidably subjective. Nevertheless, carrying capacity constraints are sometimes imposed. Once a carrying capacity is determined, it is necessary to adopt measures such as the imposition of entry fees or allocation of permits to ensure that it is not exceeded. A combination of these measures have been adopted to manage ecotourism in the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha in Brazil in order to achieve social compatibility goals and foster sustainable ecotourism. In conclusion, this paper identifies many factors that must be taken into account in managing ecotourism so that it will be sustainable and highlights difficulties likely to encountered in this management

Weak and strong conditions for sustainable development : clarification of concepts and their policy application.

As is well known there are a variety of concepts of sustainable development. This paper concentrates on the main economic concept of sustainable development and discusses weak and strong conditions for it, taking into account the scope for substituting different types of capital - man-made capital (physical and human) and natural resource or environmental capital. A simple diagrammatic approach is adopted which should help to clarify controversies in this area, and allow also for the views of ecocentric persons. The possibility is explored that the conditions for sustainable development may differ between countries - some are able to adopt weaker conditions than others. In addition, some of the implications of weak and strong sustainability for project evaluation are explored and a dilemma is raised about offset policies as a means for satisfying strong sustainability conditions

Coevolution, agricultural practices and sustainability: some major social and ecological issues.

Outlines major social and ecological issues involved in the coevolution of social and ecological systems by initially reviewing relevant aspects of the recent literature relating to economic development and their implications for agricultural development. Coevolutionary qualitative- type models are presented. There has been a failure amongst advocates of structural adjustment policies (involving the extension of markets and economic globalisation) to take account of coevolutionary principles and allow for historical differences in the evolution of communities and their varied circumstances. This lack of sensitivity has had unfortunate social and ecological consequences for some communities eg The Russian Federation and subsistence agriculturalists in some less developed countries. The evolution of globalized market systems involving industrial/commercial agriculture (largely dependent on inputs external to the farm) under the 'patronage' of oligopolistic suppliers is seen to increasingly threaten the balance between social and ecological systems and as undermining the sustainabiltiy of both. Capitalistic processes of technological change eg advances in biotechnology, play a major role in this evolution