Learning from Indigenous knowledge for improved natural resource management in the Barmah-Millewa in a changing and variable climate

The integration of different forms of knowledge of the relationships between climate, people and natural resources is an important issue in adapting to climate change. With some of the longest continuing cultures on earth, the indigenous communities of Australia hold valuable knowledge that has not generally been used effectively or equitably in environmental decision making. Indigenous people have not been empowered to participate in decision making processes due, in part, to lack of mutual understanding of western science and indigenous knowledge systems and lack of capacity to capture, manage and present traditional knowledge in indigenous communities. This project explored how the deep knowledge of country of the Yorta Yorta people on the Murray River could be used to strengthen their participation and influence in regional natural resource management processes affecting the Barmah-Millewa Forest. We undertook a community mapping process to collect Yorta Yorta knowledge and combine it in a GIS framework with conventional environmental and other data. This framework is the basis for producing integrated maps and analyses to support decision making in the region. In addition, we undertook an appraisal of institutional barriers and bridges to sustainable management of the Barmah-Millewa. The project arose as a community-led initiative following several years of conversation between the Yorta Yorta community and university academics on the threats climate change poses for the community and possible community responses. As a unique partnership, a key principle of this project was ethical and respectful relations among Western researchers and Indigenous partners, and hence authentic engagement with traditional knowledge keepers both within and beyond the research team was embedded in all stages of this project

What would a climate-adapted settlement look like in 2030? A Case Study of Inverloch and Sandy Point

The issue considered by this research report revolves around the broad themes or questions such as: what are we adapting to?; who or what adapts?; and, how does adaptation occur? The challenge that these questions create is that the concept of an adapted settlement encompasses both ‘visual’ and ‘process’ dimensions. Therefore, there is a need to understand how the settlement will decide what it wants to look like in a climate adapted world, and how the settlement is going to achieve this successful adaptation response by (and beyond) 2030. Essentially, adaptation is not something that achieves an endpoint, but is ongoing and responsive to the various impacts that must be adapted to. Thus, there is a need for flexibility, and for adaptive capacity to be initiated and able to continue to change and evolve as required now and into the future

Advancing bushfire arson prevention in Australia

Bushfire arson is an intractable and costly problem for Australia. This is a report from The symposium Advancing Bushfire Arson Prevention in Australia, held on 25–26 March 2010 which brought together a wide range of stakeholders to identify the gaps in current knowledge and responses to bushfire arson, and determine priorities for addressing them. Bushfire arson is a complex and multi-faceted issue. While many valuable details can be found in the papers in this report, there are several clear and overarching conclusions that can be drawn from them on how to improve bushfire arson prevention in Australia: Bushfire arson differs from structural (building) arson in important ways, including having more varied motives and less knowable consequences. It is important to understand and appreciate these differences for bushfire arson prevention and the management of bushfire arson offenders. The priority and resources given to bushfire arson in Australia need to reflect the high costs of dealing with the consequences of this crime and the much lower costs of preventing it from occurring in the first place. This is particularly urgent given the increasing risk of even higher damages in the future as a result of demographic and climate trends. There is a lot that can be done to reduce the incidence of bushfire arson in Australia, including addressing the underlying causes, implementing situational and behavioural crime prevention, increasing capture and conviction rates, and treating offenders to prevent recidivism. The earlier the intervention in the life-cycle of the crime, the lower the cost will be; however multiple approaches targeted at each of these intervention points are needed to reduce the incidence of arson. Some prevention approaches work better than others or are more effective for particular situations (such as an offender with a particular motivation). An effective – and cost effective – prevention strategy will be based on a combination approaches that are (1) tailored to the local circumstances and the specific situations or types of people that are problematic, and (2) have been shown to work. Our current knowledge and understanding of bushfire arson and the effectiveness of existing prevention approaches is insufficient for developing effective bushfire arson prevention strategies. We need to develop this knowledge by improving understanding of the risk factors for bushfire arson and its spatial and temporal patterns, and by evaluating prevention approaches. Research programs to study bushfire arson must therefore form an important part of Australia’s response to bushfire arson. Better and more accessible data is essential for the development of effective bushfire arson prevention strategies. High quality data is the basis for the development of risk assessment tools and prevention programs, and a means of understanding the cost effectiveness and outcomes of prevention and treatment programs. Data needs to be captured on all relevant fires and arson offenders through resources for more extensive investigation and referral services. Work needs to be done on understanding what data is needed, and how best to standardise, gather and present this information for both operational and knowledge development purposes. Bushfire arson requires a multi-agency and inter-disciplinary response. The responsibility for dealing with aspects of bushfire arson falls within the jurisdiction of a variety of national, state, and local agencies. In most cases, no one agency has the responsibility for coordinating bushfire arson prevention, leaving the response fragmented and inefficient. There is goodwill and recognition among people at these agencies of the need to work together on this problem. Forming state-level coordination bodies or committees, with an appropriate mandate and representatives from all relevant stakeholders, was recommended by some symposium participants. The Australian Bushfire Arson Prevention Initiative, which initiated and co-hosted the symposium, will use these conclusions as the basis for setting the Initiative goals and structuring planning over the next five years. Image: Xhanatos / Flickr     &nbsp

Are the sustainable development goals transforming universities? – An analysis of steering effects and depth of change

Universities are increasingly engaging with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Appeal for the SDGs is partly based on their double transformation framing: they are seen as enablers of societal transformations and transformations within universities. This article aims to understand how the SDGs influence university transformations. We analyse how four universities have integrated the SDGs through a comparative case study. We propose a framework to determine the impact of the SDGs in universities by identifying their scope of change (i.e. discursive, institutional, relational, and resource effects) and depth of change (i.e. accommodative, reformative or transformative). This study shows that discursive effects are the most prominent hinting toward transformative change. To lesser extents, primarily accommodative, the SDGs have influenced institutional, relational, and resource changes. Overall, findings show that for the SDGs to fulfil their transformative potential in universities, they should be used as more than communications and legitimizing tools

A Special Report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)/ TEAP, 2005

This Special Report on Safeguarding the Ozone and the Global Climate System has been developed in response to invitations from Parties to the UNFCCC and the Montreal Protocol. It provides information relevant to decision-making in regard to safeguarding the ozone layer and the global climate system: two global environmental issues involving complex scientific and technical considerations