CSIRO PUBLISHING

Contested Country

Local and Regional Natural Resources Management in Australia

Edited by:
Marcus B Lane		CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
Cathy Robinson		CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
Bruce Taylor		CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems

Maps
264 pages, 248 x 170 mm
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
October 2009

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In Contested Country, leading researchers in planning, geography, environmental studies and public policy critically review Australia's environmental management under the auspices of the Natural Heritage Trust over the past decade, and identify the challenges that must be met in the national quest for sustainability. It is the first comprehensive, critical examination of the local and regional natural resources management undertaken in Australia, using research sourced from all states as well as the Northern Territory.

It addresses questions such as:
How is accountability to be maintained?
Who is included and who is excluded in decentralised environmental governance?
Does the scale of bottom-up management efforts match the scale of environmental problems?
How is scientific and technical fidelity in environmental management to be maintained when significant activities are devolved to and controlled by local communities?

The book challenges some of the accepted benefits, assumptions and ideologies underpinning regional scaled environmental management, and is a must-read for anyone interested in this field.

The first comprehensive, critical examination of the local and regional natural resources management undertaken in Australia
Brings together in a purposive, integrated volume, the leading researchers and thinkers in the field
Geographic coverage: the research covered in the volume is sourced from all states and the Northern Territory
Links the Australian experience with local and regional natural resource management to deeper and more powerful theories and concepts

View the table of contents.

View a sample from Contested Country.

Marcus Lane is Research Program Leader in the Social and Economic Sciences program of CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems. He has published over 50 journal articles in peer-reviewed journals, and has authored or edited seven books and monographs.

Cathy Robinson is a Senior Research Scientist who is also in the Resource Futures program of CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems. She has an interest in collaborative and adaptive approaches to environmental governance with a particular interest in northern Australia.

Bruce Taylor is a Researcher at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems who has worked in regional NRM policy, developed plans for regional bodies and conducted extensive evaluation of NRM arrangements in northern Australia. He has a particular interest in the role of the agricultural sector in NRM governance and regions.

Contributors: Catherine Allan, R.J.S. Beeton, E. Compton, Toni Darbas, Julie Davidson, Megan Farrelly, Anna Haygreen, Brian W. Head, Rosemary Hill, Emma Jakku, Geoffrey Lawrence, Michael Lockwood, Rob de Loe, Richard Margerum, Graham R. Marshall, Tiffany Morrison, K. Prager, Lisa Robins, Timothy F. Smith, Tabatha Wallington, Liana Williams and Jill Woodlands.

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