Science and Policy in Natural Resource Management: Understanding System ComplexityThis book was first published in 2006. Despite many well-intentioned policies and changes to management practices, the world's natural resources continue to decline. The roles and interplay between science and policy in the regional broadacre agriculture landscape are examined here, offering readers a thorough understanding of the complex interactions that occur across spatial scales to produce the regional-scale impacts. The fundamental causes of resource degradation, social decline and environmental pollution are addressed, examining the cross-scale drivers from the individual farm level to the global level of commodity systems. Broadacre agriculture is a common land use throughout all continents of the world and is driven by the same type of dynamics, and this case study of the Western Australia agricultural region can be used to clearly demonstrate the principles for other agricultural systems. Aimed at academics, ranging from researchers through to policy analysts, this book will inspire innovation and action in sustainable natural resource management. |
Contents
What are the effects of Chapter 2 Historical and policy context | 39 |
What is the problem? Chapter 4 Epistemology of natural resource | 53 |
What are the appropriate | 119 |
Resilience analysis | 149 |
Synthesis | 177 |
Common terms and phrases
adaptive cycle adaptive management agricultural region approach areas assumptions Catchment causal loop diagrams cause Chapter characteristics commodity system complex systems concepts context decision described ecological capacity ecological systems economic ecosystem services effect environment epistemology example factors farm farmers feedback loops Figure framework global goals Growth Loop Gunderson and Holling human hydrological identified impacts increasing integrated natural resource interactions issues Kondratiev Cycles Land and Water land degradation land management practices Landcare Meadows and Robinson mental constructs mental models metaphor method methodology million hectares Murray-Darling Basin National Land native vegetation natural resource degradation natural resource management natural resource problems normal science panarchy phases post-normal science potential problem situation production proposed reorganisation resilience analysis resilience theory resource depletion scale social capacity social systems social-ecological systems Soil Conservation soil salinity Sterman structure system dynamics tion uncertainty understanding values variables Water Resources Audit Western Australia wheat