Governing Community-Based Natural Resource Management in Australia: International Implications

Allan Dale, Karen Vella, Sarah Ryan, Kathleen Broderick, Rosemary Hill, Ruth Potts and Tom Brewer
Additional contact information
Allan Dale: The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Cairns, McGregor Rd, Smithfield, Queensland 4870, Australia
Karen Vella: School Built Environment, Science and Engineering Faculty, QUT, Gardens Point, Queensland 4000, Australia
Sarah Ryan: 41 Blair Place, Watson, Australian Capital Territory 2602, Australia
Kathleen Broderick: Fenner School, Australian National University, Acton ACT 2601, Australia
Rosemary Hill: CSIRO Land and Water and Division of Tropical Societies and Environments, James Cook University, Cairns, McGregor Road, Smithfield, Queensland 4870, Australia
Ruth Potts: School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
Tom Brewer: Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, and Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory 0909, Australia

Land, 2020, vol. 9, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) has grown in stature as a key component of many national natural resource and rural development governance systems. Despite their growth, the integrity of CBNRM governance systems has rarely been analysed in a national context. To enhance dialogue about how best to design and deploy such systems nationally, this paper analyses the Australian system in detail. The Australian system was selected because the nation has a globally recognised and strong history of CBNRM approaches. We first contextualise the international emergence of national CBRM governance systems before analysing the Australian system. We find that a theoretically informed approach recognising regions as the anchors in brokering multi-scale CBNRM was applied between 2000 and 2007. Subsequent policy, while strengthening indigenous roles, has tended to weaken regional brokering, Commonwealth–state cooperation and research collaboration. Our findings and consequent emerging lessons can inform Australian policy makers and other nations looking to establish (or to reform existing) CBNRM governance systems. Equally, the research approach taken represents the application of an emerging new theoretical framework for analysing complex governance systems.

Keywords: governance systems; natural resource management; governance reform (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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