Australian Government - Land & Water Australia
Identifying and Characterising the Social Assets of the Natural Resource Management System
This project was managed by the Social and Institutional Research Program area within Land and Water Australia. The project was funded by the Australian Government’s Natural Heritage Trust (NHT)
Background
Achieving natural resource management (NRM) outcomes, such as for example reducing salinity, improving water quality and protecting native vegetation; requires the involvement of individuals, groups and organisations. However, while NRM funding, policies and programs are often directed at individuals, groups and organisations within the NRM system their roles and interrelationships are not always clearly identifiable or understood.
Establishing a framework which identifies and improves our understanding of the social attributes of the NRM system has important implications in better targeting NRM funding and NRM policy and program development and implementation.
Those social attributes which influence the achievement of NRM outcomes are referred to as social assets and include those social and economic attributes of the NRM system which ‘enable’ or ‘inhibit’ the achievement of NRM outcomes.
Project objectives
The primary objective of this project was to identify, assess and characterise the social assets in the natural resource management (NRM) system. The project was expected to inform the development of NRM initiatives, policies and programs by:
- Improving our understanding of the role different social assets play in achieving or inhibiting NRM outcomes;
- Providing foundation information on social assets; including their role, capacity, area of influence, inter-relationships and potential for change;
- Identifying which social assets could be targeted to achieve specific NRM outcomes; and
- Identifying opportunities to improve the achievement of NRM outcomes through strengthening relationships between social assets.
Methodology
The methodology was based on three phases which included:
- Phase 1: Issues identification. This phase included implementing a project webpage to allow broad participant input, a project workshop and the development of an issues paper.
- Phase 2: Data collection and analysis. This phase included a literature review, stakeholder consultation and the use of a demonstration project to help understand and identify key social assets.
- Phase 3: Project reporting. This phase included the development of a project communications strategy and project presentations to key stakeholders.
As this was the first time a project of this type has been undertaken it had national focus. If successful and considered appropriate the project could assist local and regional level analysis to be undertaken in the future.
Project Reports