Producing a GIS based multiple criteria analysis tool for regional sustainability assessment: the problem of weighting

Decision support tools will be useful in guiding regions to sustainability. These need to be simple but effective at identifying, for regional managers, areas most in need of initiatives to progress sustainability. Multiple criteria analysis (MCA) is often used as a decision support tool for a wide range of applications. This method allows many criteria to be considered at one time. It does this by giving a ranking of possible options based on how closely each option meets the criteria. Thus, it is suited to the assessment of regional sustainability as it can consider a number of indicators simultaneously and demonstrates how sustainability can vary at small scales across the region. Coupling MCA with GIS to produce maps, allows this analysis to become visual giving the manager a picture of sustainability across the region. To do this each indicator is standardised to a common scale so that it can be compared to other indicators. A weighting is then applied to each indicator to calculate weighted summation for each area in the region. This paper argues that this is the critical step in developing a useful decision support tool. A study being conducted in south west Victoria demonstrates that the weights chosen can have a dramatic impact on the results of the sustainability assessment. It is therefore imperative that careful consideration be given to determining indicator weights in a way that is objective and fully considers the impact of that indicator on regional sustainability.<br /

Sustainability reporting: An approach to get the right mix of theory and practicality for local actors

Many local government or regional plans have “a sustainable future for our community” as a goal. However, few local or regional governments have a sustainability reporting tool in place that enables them to understand how far along the pathway to sustainability their community is. There are a range of reasons for this, including current sustainability indicators and indices not matching the needs or capacity of local actors. This paper argues that a collaborative approach to developing sustainability reporting tools, that involves sustainability experts and local actors working together, will be more successful at developing a tool that has a theoretical basis with locally relevant indicators, which is practical for informed decision making. This process will also build the sustainability reporting capacity of local actors. This collaborative approach was tested in South West Victoria, Australia, resulting in a locally relevant, practical and theoretically sound sustainability reporting tool that met the needs of local actors. This outcome shows that a collaborative approach can overcome some of the barriers to sustainability reporting for local actors; however, further testing is required.C

Water savings or water efficiency? Water-use attitudes and behaviour in rural and regional areas

Drought conditions in southwest Victoria, as in other regions of Australia and around the world, have caused the need to reduce water consumption to ensure security of supply into the future. To develop effective water-saving behaviour change strategies, an understanding of people\u27s attitudes to the behaviour, including barriers stopping them from adopting the behaviour, is required. Thus, this paper explores the water-use behaviours and attitudes of rural and regional urban water users in southwest Victoria. A conceptual model of the factors impacting on water use of these users, including drivers and barriers to water saving, is developed. The factors that appear to impact on water-use behaviour not previously identified included the source of water supply (groundwater versus surface water), previous experience with water shortages and trust in the water authority and government. Also, a difference in the drivers for water saving was found, with farmers wanting to be \u27water efficient\u27 to keep their business viable and productive, while hobby farmers and residential users were \u27saving water\u27 for more altruistic reasons. These findings have implications for development of demand management strategies in this, and other, rural and regional areas. However, the conceptual model has to be tested to determine if it truly reflects factors influencing water-saving behaviour in rural and regional areas.<br /

Tapping the turn: The social dimensions of water management

Guest editorialC

A visualisation tool for experiential learning in environmental science : using football fields, agricultural fields and waterways to illustrate the implication of different water allocation decisions

Environmental education challenges educators to provide students with activities that cover complex societal issues, enhance critical thinking and to promote interdisciplinary and holistic learning. A further challenge is to convey this information so that it provides a solid foundation for participatory decision making. For example, effective management of water resources requires consideration of the social, economic and environmental consequences of various water allocation decisions together with an understanding of the possible conflicts that arise from these decisions, particular under scenarios of limited water supply. Well designed visualisation tools can enhance teaching and understanding of difficult concepts. For example, they can be designed to allow students to participate in hypothetical decision making and to visualise the potential implications of their decisions under a range of scenarios. A review of the published literature revealed that several visualisation tools have been developed for use in science education, but few provide the option for students to participate in integrated environmental decision making. This paper presents a visualisation tool, called WINDSCREEN, that has been introduced into environmental science classes to enhance student learning. The tool focuses on water resources and requires students to think about how they would allocate available water supplies for social, economic and environmental uses. An overview of the challenges associated with water allocation decisions, together with the role that visualisation tools can play in environmental education are also discussed

Water use diaries: A tool for household water management

In many countries, like Australia, where rainfall is highly variable and drought is commonplace, effective water demand management strategies are required to ensure water supply can meet demand into the future. However, demand management strategies often neglect to take into account the community’s behaviours and attitudes. Thus, they have mixed success in reducing household water use. New demand management strategies are needed. Strategies that enhance individual’s capacity to understand their own water use and the opportunities they have to reduce their use so they can become their own household water managers. This paper introduces the use of water use diaries as a tool for household water management by describing two case studies, one in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and one in southwest Victoria (SW VIC), where water use diaries proved to be a useful tool for demand manageme

Socio-ecological value of wetlands: The dilemma of balancing human and ecological water needs

Humans' need for water has changed flow regimes, degraded ecosystems and depleted water resources. In the Wimmera Mallee in Victoria, the dilemma between human and ecological water requirements began in the colonial era when a channel and dam system was built to transport water. Prolonged drought prompted government to replace this with the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline. This pipeline produced a closed system, reducing water available for the environment, including on-farm wetlands. This study identifies the socio-ecological values of on-farm wetlands and the impact the changed water regime had on these. An interpretative landscape approach was used to integrate geophysical, ecological and social information on nine on-farm wetlands. This identified a range of socio-ecological values on-farm wetlands provide, including aesthetic, amenity, production and biodiversity, that are impacted by the pipeline system. A range of implications for on-farm wetland management were also identified. © 2013 Copyright Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand Inc.C

Assessing sustainability : a technical fix or a means of social learning?

The contextual nature of sustainability makes it extremely difficult to measure. Across the world each region has a specific environment and history that has shaped values and perceptions of the local community. In response, a wide range of tools has been developed that employ differing techniques to measure sustainability. These have a range of applications from global to site-specific scales. However, it is yet to be resolved whether assessments made using these tools reflect a technical focus with no close links to the knowledge and perceptions of stakeholders, community and management decisions, or whether the assessments reflect the knowledge and perceptions of local stakeholders and the community. In the southwest region of Victoria, Australia, a sustainability index called AIRS (An Index of Regional Sustainability) has recently been developed. This tool is based on indicators selected by stakeholders and considers relationships between the indicators. The aim of this paper is to report an ex-post evaluation of the AIRS sustainability assessment conducted at a subcatchment scale. The evaluation assesses AIRS\u27s ability to assess regional sustainability and compares and contrasts the subcatchment assessments with the knowledge and perceptions of stakeholders and the community. A participatory approach that acknowledges key stakeholders was used for the evaluation process. Representatives from four stakeholder groups were interviewed to elicit their views of the AIRS assessment, its relevance, quality, applicability and priorities for future development. Strengths and weaknesses of AIRS are revealed and its contribution to social learning is highlighted. <br /