Remote Australia Online

This paper, which builds on Working Paper 1 – Value in and of Desert Australia, is an empirically focused contribution to the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre (DK-CRC) analysis of desert settlement viability. It examines the interface between population mobility and land transport systems, a relationship that is fundamental to economic activity in desert settlements. To this end, the paper draws on analyses of population mobility amongst Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in central Australia. It also incorporates data on vehicles and road maintenance, and studies of remote transport schemes. Together these different resources show (i) that Indigenous mobility and vehicle use in central Australia are distinct from non-Indigenous patterns; and (ii) that while access to motorised transport has facilitated the elaboration and extended reach of certain Indigenous activities, it may not have facilitated enhanced wellbeing. Recent data suggests that there is an exceptionally high quantity of unregistered cars, and people per vehicle, in the Alice Springs hinterland. Extensive automobility that relies on unsafe vehicles, and unsafe use patterns, results in high rates of traffic-related infringements and fatalities throughout central Australia. These conditions directly affect the capacity of Indigenous people to continue living in dispersed desert settlements. It seems clear that desert settlement viability is unlikely to be sustained without interventions which improve Indigenous access to transport, and which generate opportunities to be involved as employees and producers in transport services.

This paper is framed as a conceptual contribution to the Desert Knowledge CRC analysis of settlement viability. Within this brief, it addresses systematic dimensions of discrete settlements, and the dynamic social and spatial systems that connect them at local and wider regional scales. It makes particular reference to central Australia, and observes that in this context, a systems model of remote settlement needs to examine processes at a scale above the individual settlement. With a particular view to understanding the circumstance of desert Indigenous settlements, two key lines of discussion follow. First, viability analysis is discussed as the study of minimum conditions under which a settlement economy is self-reproducing, or retains functionality given certain resource inflows. In government and non-government investment decisions, cost-benefit analysis links valuation procedures with settlement viability as assessed by investors. For this reason, decision-makers often demand uniform quantifications of value in desert settlements. This situation leads discussion to a second concern, namely the conceptual issues involved in measuring and recognising the value of desert activities, desert resource flows, or ‘capital’ stocks, social and financial. Together, these two themes suggest the case for a substantive approach to settlement economy. Such an approach would draw the focus away from allocation decisions that assume static conditions, towards a closer view of the dynamic processes and practices of settlement livelihood activity. Static models lend support to a misguided view that, largely irrespective of types and levels of settlement activity, viability is driven by the efficient governance of settlement resources.

One of the key performance indicators for the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre (DK-CRC) was ‘to enhance collaboration among researchers, [and] between researchers and industry or other users, and to improve efficiency in the use of intellectual and other resources’. The DK-CRC Board instigated this network analysis study to develop a longitudinal view of the DK-CRC’s impact in developing new networks, and enhancing those already in existence, across desert areas and between the coast and desert areas. In addition, the study was established to describe and explain the complex nature of the interaction between the various players within the structure of the DK-CRC (e.g. Management Team, Board, project leaders and users of the CRC’s research outputs). This first report provides the baseline analysis of the effectiveness of collaboration and communication activities among the DK-CRC stakeholders during the pre-approval and initial start-up phases. The research highlights how the roles played by individuals and groups (Board, Management Team, project leaders etc.) have changed through the period of study. The results show the rise of the Management Team in terms of its perceived relative influence during the establishment phase of the CRC. These perceptions are largely mirrored in the collaboration and communication networks that have been established where the Management Team has been particularly active. The Management Team plays a crucial role in building bridges between itself and the various research activities within the four DK-CRC themes. All in all, many collaborative activities have taken place, but with marked differences between the four research themes. Members of Theme III and IV appear to be the most active in reaching out to other research themes. It is also interesting to note that although the Northern Territory stakeholders dominate the reputation networks, regional representation in the various collaboration structures appears to be much more balanced. A clear delineation has been found between the Board members, who are shown not to play any significant role in collaborative research activities, and the Management Team, which is responsible for implementing research.

1. The focus of this study was: to conduct an economic appraisal of the water costs to householders to identify appropriate strategies aimed at reducing water costs to householders while simultaneously promoting water conservation, greater water use efficiency, and the sustainability of water resources to engage the community in discussions around the levels of water service delivery that they would be willing to pay for. 2. The study was motivated by the National Water Initiative (NWI) directive which requires more efficient use of water with consideration of the economic and environmental sustainability of water supplies. The NWI stipulates consumption based pricing and a to move to ‘full cost recovery for all rural surface and groundwater based systems’, while recognising that, ‘some small community services will never be economically viable but need to be maintained to meet social and public health obligations’. 3. While the NWI recognises that some settlements will never be economically viable, nonetheless it states that in such cases states agree to achieve ‘lower bound pricing’ in line with commitments to the National Competition Policy (NCP). 4. The NWI directive to move to ‘full cost recovery for all rural surface and groundwater based systems’ is motivated by the crisis in water availability in Australia and the realisation of the need to develop and extend existing water conservation and sustainability measures. 5. This project sought to provide a response from four Aboriginal settlements to the NWI directives to move to full cost recovery and to enhance conservation and sustainability measures. The impact on Aboriginal settlements of a move to user pays was examined through analysing the cost of living of in all four settlements with the aim of ascertaining capacity to pay for water or for water efficient infrastructure. 6. Considerable research has already been conducted in Australia that demonstrates that low socio-economic families are increasingly experiencing utility stress. Utility stress is defined as pressure on householders who experience difficulty paying their water, gas, electricity or telephone accounts in any one year.

This paper will be of interest to those wanting an introduction to the main themes of Warlpiri culture, whether or not they are working directly with Warlpiri people. It will also be of interest to practitioners working with the Warlpiri. For example, environmental managers will be interested in how ngurra-kurlu is a template for Warlpiri approaches to sustaining country, while educators will be interested in the ways that ngurra-kurlu can link literacy and numeracy to Warlpiri culture and therefore provide a more appealing curriculum for Warlpiri youth.

This paper reports on the outcomes of The Lifecycles Project, a scoping project investigating housing and infrastructure lifecycles in remote desert communities for the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre (DK-CRC). The project aims to extend the life of community housing and infrastructure through research and development of innovative intervention strategies, with particular focus on indigenous settlements, using a total capital approach. Thus the research identifies and models housing systems, technology choices, materials performance and cost-critical events, incorporating knowledge gaps, technacy education patterns, organisational systems, economic capacities, and local user experiences in community living. The research combines desktop research using state of the art lifecycle computer modelling techniques with communitybased research. To date, desktop research in the scoping stage has identified and analysed indigenous housing and infrastructure data from funding agencies, government stakeholders and housing management organizations and tested and analysed existing models using such data. Preliminary conclusions are that this data is incomplete and does not incorporate local experiences. Pilot participatory methodologies have been identified and validated at the community level to assist in identifying local knowledge gaps in the funding, design, delivery, operation and maintenance of housing and infrastructure. The paper concludes by outlining necessary work for the next stage of research.

The South Australian rangelands are characterised by dominant chenopod shrubs with over-story of long-lived tree species. Because of longevity of many plants, population models are widely recognised as basic tools for analysing demographic data (Caswell 2001). They can be used to identify important processes like population growth rate, longevity and extinction. We used the matrix model developed by Tiver el. al. (this volume) to evaluate the demography of an arid zone plant species Acacia aneura (mulga) F.Muell. ex Benth. at various herbivory intensities.

After European settlement, Australian rangelands especially in South Australia underwent significant changes because of the main land use of pastoralism. Many studies have revealed that the plant communities are negatively effected by herbivory mainly by sheep. The main aim of this study is to separate the different effects of sheep, rabbits and kangaroos. This was examined by survey supported by experimental and modelling research. A 32,000 km² area previously surveyed by Tiver and Andrew (1997) in eastern South Australia was re-surveyed to monitor populations of perennial plant species at sites of various intensity of grazing by sheep, rabbits and kangaroos (goats populations are low in the study area), the most important vertebrate herbivores. Plant population data were collected in both sheep paddocks and historically ungrazed by sheep (road reserves) by using the Random Walk method and analyzed using Generalized Linear Modelling (GLM) to separate the effects of sheep and rabbits on plant regeneration and their regeneration in response to grazing. These data were also compared to similar data collected by Tiver and Andrew in 1992 (1997) to ascertain if the reduction in rabbit numbers through introduction of RCV had allowed increased regeneration. Regeneration of many species inside paddocks were negatively affected and species in roadside reserves neither did not significantly increase from 1992 to 2004. However, some species showed increase of populations in spite of sheep grazing, with some species being less susceptible than others. This research also indicates kangaroo grazing impact on some plant species. Reduction in rabbit numbers following the 1995 release of calicivirus has not been effective in restoring regeneration. Another experiment was conducted at Middleback Field Station near Whyalla to identify herbivore grazing pressure on the arid zone plant species Acacia aneura using unfenced, sheep fenced and rabbit fenced grazing exclosures. This experiment was set up with seedlings in exclosures, ten replicates of each treatment, at plots four different distances from the watering point to identify the survivorship of seedlings. Data were collected by recording canopy volumes of seedling over an 18 month period and analyzed by Residual Maximal Likelihood (REML). Seedlings both near and far from the watering point were severely effected by large herbivores, either sheep, kangaroos or both, and in a separate experiment kangaroo grazing effects on the seedling were also identified. Seedlings browsed by the rabbits were recovered better than the seedlings grazed by the large herbivores. Decreasing kangaroo activities has been noticed when the rabbit movements increased. Computer modelling was conducted to predict the future plant population structure over 500 years using a matrix population model developed by Tiver et al. (2006) and using data collected in the survey as a starting point. Extinction probabilities of populations of Acacia aneura near watering points, far from watering points and under pulse grazing scenarios were compared. Sheep grazing was found to cause eventual extinction of populations in all parts of sheep paddocks. Together, the results indicate that sheep are the major herbivore suppressing regeneration of perennial plant species. Kangaroo and rabbits have an identifiable but lesser effect. The results have implications for conservation and pastoral management. To achieve ecological sustainability of arid lands a land-use system including a network of reserves ungrazed by sheep and with control of both rabbit and kangaroo numbers will be required

Case study research was undertaken to gain insight into the challenges affecting the operation of businesses in desert Australia. In one desert region of the Northern Territory in Australia the owner-operators of three different discontinued businesses were interviewed with a focus on why they no longer operate in the region. The principal challenges identified by the interviewees were the lack of motivated, capable and reliable staff; poor business advice; criminal activity; inexperience; and misplaced trust.

Mulga (Acacia aneura) and spinifex (Triodia spp.) are common throughout arid Australia, often dominating the landscape as discrete, abruptly alternating dominants of vegetation. The floristic, soil and fire frequency characteristics of the Mulga and spinifex dominated vegetation in the flat sandplain country at the southern limit of the Tanami Desert were explored to identify factors that are contributing to the distribution and possible dynamics of these vegetation types. A floristic survey revealed that most woody species occurred on both sides of the Mulga-spinifex boundaries. The mulga to spinifex transition sat sharply across a diffuse soil surface textural gradient from loams through to sands. The woody species in both mulga and spinifex vegetation types shared functional life history and regeneration traits. Spinifex vegetation burnt on average three times more than Mulga vegetation. A positive correlation was found between Mulga structural diversity and time since fire. Summer fires are associated with stands dominated by younger Mulga trees. The species richness of woody plants was higher in spinifex than mulga vegetation at the local scale, but similar at the landscape scale. The landscape was overwhelmingly characterized by the dominant mulga and spinifex. I argue that the boundary between mulga and spinifex vegetation types is created and maintained by fire, with possible dynamics associated with a fire-driven soil gradient. The fire effect was deemed most important because of the high degree of shared soil and other floristic features across the Mulga-spinifex boundary. The soil features argued to be reinforced by fire across the Mulga-spinifex boundaries may be contributing to conditions that heighten Mulga’s capacity to regenerate after fire. The reduction of structural complexity in frequently or intensely burnt Mulga stands is of concern for the current mulga-spinifex vegetation matrix in the southern Tanami Desert. It is conceivable that it could indicate a reduced structural state that has future consequences for the current mechanisms that mostly allow Mulga to maintain its boundary position under present conditions.

The study of human settlements is diverse in the literature. Research often focuses on core issues or aspects of human settlements rather than on advancing a coherent integrated body of knowledge of their general characteristics, patterns of development or types. It has become far more practical to attend to specific concerns that emphasise human social organisation, community dynamics, economic flow and capital value, demographic and cultural characteristics, or physical structures and spatial designs. Few articles have attempted to address coherency of human settlements across space and time, or to examine the degree to which types of settlements may not only be products of their natural advantage shaped by their inhabitants, but also as linked up systems that in their totality provide feedback effects on the ecology, economy and livelihoods of those who access and transform them. Where a deal of research has occurred, much pertains to what we may refer to as large settlements such as urban localities, major towns and cities. Very few articles exist that focus on the forms of settlement that may be described as very small and usually remote. Fewer still address typologies of remote desert settlements globally, let alone specific to Australia’s desert regions. Sustainable Desert Settlements, Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre (DKCRC) commissioned this report to capture the diversity of literature published in the field and to explore a rational approach to the possibility of a typology of desert settlements. A typology can facilitate the research challenge of representation and yet can also, if not done carefully, funnel thinking towards ideals that have minimal value to policy and inhabitants alike. This report has made an important first step to fill the above voids in the literature.

Our paper positions four-wheel drive (4WD) travel into the Australian desert by veteran or dedicated travellers as a spiritual experience in three ways: by considering the desert itself as a sacred space; the experience of such a journey as a form of ‘nature religion’; and by viewing the actual journey itself as pilgrimage. Our argument is informed by interviews with expert 4WDers to the desert. Our study might be useful in designing sustainable strategies for 4WD desert tourism, as well as for scholars from a variety of disciplines such as sustainability and environment studies, religious studies and tourism studies, to name a few.

This report describes and discusses the results of a two-and-a-half-year bush resource development project which the author undertook for Central Land Council (CLC) from mid-1997 to late 1999, plus five years of independent involvement in a bushfood enterprise working with Aboriginal collectors across the region. The Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre (DK-CRC), through its Natural Resource Management Theme, has supported the writing-up phase of the project. A major impetus for the project was the recognition within CLC and other Aboriginal service agencies that the developing bushfood industry, despite being overwhelmingly reliant on Aboriginal traditional knowledge of native food species, was generating few direct benefits for Aboriginal people and limited opportunities for their involvement in the industry in any meaningful way. Some important developments notwithstanding, this situation largely still prevails today There are few, if any, avenues for Aboriginal people to claim benefits from the use of their knowledge. The only benefits available arise from their direct commercial involvement in bushfood trade. This situation exists because information that Aboriginal people have provided on resource use has been placed in the public domain, where it is freely available to all.

This report presents the findings of an action research project at the remote Aboriginal settlement of Engawala, central Australia (approximate population 135 people). The project was conducted over an 18-month period using a variety of participatory methods. The purpose was to understand resources flows in Engawala and the extent to which these resource flows influence the long-term viability of remote desert settlements. The theoretical basis to the analysis was the Sustainable Livelihoods (SL) Framework, which is a model of practice developed in international development settings. It has increasingly been adapted to Aboriginal settings in remote Australia. Rather than starting with externally derived interventions, the model draws practitioners to consider the range of settlement-based assets that settlements can draw on towards achieving livelihood outcomes. The model holds that even the most disadvantaged people have assets, and that these resources should be seen as the basis of recovery or development The study found merit in an asset-based approach, but otherwise found the SL Framework was limited to the specific contexts found in developing countries. In applying the SL Framework to Engawala, considerable modifications to the Framework were necessary. It was immediately apparent that the types of vulnerabilities experienced in villages in developing countries, as encapsulated by the SL Framework, had little relevance to Engawala (e.g. war, crop failure, commodity price fluctuations, etc). Rather, vulnerability was inseparably intertwined with government-backed funding and services. The basic needs of people in Engawala (housing, water supply, food, income, etc.) were met by the Australian state.

Governance in Aboriginal settlements in desert Australia is changing at an unprecedented rate. Aboriginal leaders and community managers describe the change as bewildering, with ever-revolving agents and agencies and increasing quantities of administration. Governments are preoccupied with finding linear ‘solutions’ to new conceptualisations of the ‘problem’ and packaging these for top-down implementation. However, governance in practice involves multi-dimensional interactions of a complex system, which are difficult to predict, let alone to control for outcomes. Through the lens of complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory, this paper argues that there is potential to improve governance as an adaptive system through three principles that enhance local feedback: (1) application of the subsidiarity principle to different levels in the governance system would realise a better match between decentralised functions and local capacity; (2) connectivity would improve information flows and relationships between agents in the system, as a necessary precursor for informed decision-making; and (3) accountability, when taken beyond simplistic notions of financial reporting, would identify power relationships across the system and indicate where agents may exercise greater influence in the system. Consideration of these principles will help promote a shift from the perspective that assumes the system to be linear and manageable from the top-down to a perspective that embraces the notion of adaptive governance as a means of recognising the capacity of agents to influence the system that they inhabit.

People working in the administration of Aboriginal affairs all over Australia tell a similar story: they are overwhelmed by the complexity of the system they work within and feel policy-makers don’t listen to them. At a time of unprecedented change in the policy environment it is becoming increasingly urgent to understand what is happening in the service system, ensure the capacity needed to manage the system is built and technological and governance solutions to improve the system are found. This project addresses the second of the outcomes proposed for the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre (DKCRC): ‘Remote desert communities that are more sustainable to support the presence of desert people, as a result of facilitating access to more attractive services that are delivered more efficiently’ (DKCRC 2008). The project is directed by a steering group that includes a range of people engaged in Aboriginal affairs: Aboriginal leaders and entrepreneurs and non-Aboriginal service providers. The steering group has revised and endorsed the following five research questions to guide the project: 1. What are the characteristics of the interplay between demand and supply of services according to the perceptions of consumers and service providers engaged at the local interface? 2. What conditions permit successful practice to develop between consumers and service-providers? 3. At what scales of governance should different service delivery functions be assigned in order to optimise both demand and supply based criteria? 4. What are the service type and delivery style priorities of consumers within a specified budget framework, and what is their capacity to participate and willingness to contribute to those services? 5. What are the critical issues and strategies required to improve the service system, including the strengths and weaknesses of different technology and governance options?

Demand responsiveness is an established principle in the efficient operation of markets. The principle has been applied to government services in international development overseas, and mainstream government service delivery in Australia, but only recently to Indigenous settlements. Shifting the balance in services from supply to demand is seen to have the potential to improve access, outcomes, and sustainability of services. In Indigenous settlements, an important relationship between demand and supply of services does exist, but a deeper analysis is necessary beyond the economic model to account for the complex sociopolitical geographies involved. Further research is required to develop a framework to explain the interactions that occur in practice, to determine the conditions which permit productive relationships to develop between consumers and service providers. The article presents an analytical framework through which to proceed, structured around five proposed research questions.

Drawing on research undertaken at a remote Aboriginal settlement, the paper describes the interethnic practice of local governance as actors implement a policy of self-determination. A typology of seven actors is proposed, largely based on meeting attendances over a ten-year period: the silent majority, spectators, local employees, leaders, permanent resident outside employees (PROE), resident departmental officers (RDO), and external stakeholders. Employment proved to be an important predisposition to leadership. The local polity revealed a political pluralism and innovative confederation of organisations to tackle the complexity of the problems at hand. Significantly, all of the examples of successful innovation observed involved productive social relationships developing locally between leaders and trusted outside employees. The paper draws attention to the paucity of study into the interethnic practice of local governance and argues that this is due to the lack of attention to the critical role of outside employees practising in Aboriginal organisations, and the reticence of researchers to embrace the complexity and indeterminacies of the interethnic field. It concludes with a call for attention to the conditions for successful practice, including the training and professional development of practitioners.

Application of the economic model of demand responsiveness to government services has been successfully applied in international development overseas, and mainstream government service delivery in Australia, but not yet to Indigenous settlements. Shifting the balance in services from supply to demand has the potential to facilitate improved access, outcomes, and sustainability of services. In applying this model to Indigenous settlements, an important relationship between demand and supply of services does exist, but a deeper analysis is required beyond the economic model to account for the complex sociopolitical geographies involved. Further research is required to develop a framework to explain the interactions that occur in practice, to determine the conditions which permit productive relationships to develop between consumers and service providers. This paper presents an analytical framework through which to proceed, structured around five proposed research questions.

This book has been written for Indigenous communities in central Australia. It has been designed for use by Indigenous community rangers, educators working with schools and ranger groups, and land management agencies working with communities. Other landowners, users and managers in central Australia may also find the book useful. Some people think there are too many camels on country and they are causing a lot of damage. Others feel differently. This book attempts to present the range of views of people in central Australia and offer some ideas for managing camels in desert country. In preparing this book, Tangentyere Landcare staff met with land owners, camel industry advisors and scientists. We have tried to present cultural and scientific experiences of camels in central Australia. This book can be used as a resource to facilitate discussion and planning for camel management. It is one step in the process of different groups working together to better understand the effects of camels in desert country.

This report arises from a project that developed from an approach made by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) Alice Springs to the Centre for Remote Health (CRH) regarding regional planning using a participatory research approach. At the same time, the Desert Knowledge Collaborative Research Centre (DK-CRC) was developing its governance theme and held a workshop in October 2003 which was attended by the Central Land Council (CLC), Combined Aboriginal Nations of Central Australia (CANCA) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services (ATSIS), at which a possible research project was jointly discussed by these partners and the CRH. After a series of joint discussions, a final research proposal was put to the DK-CRC and was approved and funded in 2004. The project involves collaboration between ATSIS, the CRH, CLC, CANCA, the Australian National University (ANU) and the Northern Territory Government (NTG). The project involves three phases. Phase one is a data collection exercise to establish a baseline profile of the social and economic conditions of the region and map the levels of government funding for services to Indigenous communities in central Australia. The scope of the services and resources examined includes infrastructure (municipal, transport and communications), health, employment, education and training, law and justice, and community services for the geographic region of the Central Remote (CR) and Alice Springs (AS) ATSIC regions for a 3–5 year period where available. This report is the result of that data collection process.

The way we manage water in the rangelands affects the plants and animals that are largely dependent on water supply, quality and seasonal variability. Here, we identify five issues of national significance that are affecting water and biodiversity. They are climate change, modified natural flow regimes, leaky landscapes, artificial water points, and tourism and recreation. Sustainable management practices are crucial to preserving flora and fauna biodiversity. As yet, no rigorously tested best management practices have been developed for managing water to conserve biodiversity in the rangelands. Principles on which to base best practices are as follows: – Avoid adverse environmental effects of activities. – Fix any problems that have or are likely to occur. – Mitigate any effects that are either unavoidable or cannot be fixed. – Protect or restore threatened or significant ecosystems; this makes them more resilient and capable of dealing with changes in their environment. – Maintain natural flow regimes in rivers, wetlands and aquifers. – Allocate water to human use in proportion to natural flow. Undertake a whole-of-catchment analysis before implementing policies for protecting or extracting water. The single greatest knowledge gap is the lack of an integrated understanding of the ecology of Australia’s inland waters, and the effects on these inland waters of changes through water extraction and grazing, and climate change. Other issues of national significance are threatened species that depend on aquatic habitats for survival; threatened communities such as the mound springs of the Great Artesian Basin; ecological refuges, all of which need to be managed; and uncapped bores and drains. This paper is part of a series of related publications, Managing for Biodiversity in the Rangelands, intended to provide government agencies, land managers and others with relevant information on protecting biodiversity in the rangelands.

This case study is one of two case studies conducted as part of the ‘People, communities and economies of the Lake Eyre Basin’ project funded by the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre (DKCRC) and the Australian Government. The project addresses the role and functions of Natural Resource Management (NRM) organisations operating in the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) that act as the ‘interface’ between governments and communities involved in NRM. The purpose of the project is to identify the factors that underpin successful NRM organisations in the LEB and how the functioning of NRM organisations can be monitored in the future. Following discussions with the research team, the Project Steering Committee and the CEOs of Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ) and the South Australian Arid Lands NRM (SAAL NRM) Board, this case study focused on helping interface organisations understand and adapt to changes in the demographic and economic profiles of the LEB. With assistance and guidance from the project steering committee, the case study focused on two key NRM institutions in the LEB, namely DCQ and the SAAL NRM Board. The methods involved four stages. The first stage involved preparing and synthesising regional forecast materials for the industry and demographic characteristics of the two NRM regions explored in the study. The purpose of this stage was to provide prompts for discussion in the second stage of the methods. The second stage involved discussing these industry and demographic changes with the participating NRM regional organisations through workshops with staff and managers of these organisations. Following the main focus of the workshop, a third stage involved considering how to monitor the effectiveness of NRM engagement in remote regions. Finally, a series of follow-up in-depth interviews were conducted with staff from one of the NRM organisations to consider some of the workshop findings in greater detail and to consider detailed examples of how effective engagement occurs.

This chapter was developed as part of the ‘People, communities and economies of the Lake Eyre Basin’ project. It has been written for communities, government agencies and interface organisations involved in natural resource management (NRM) in the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB). Its purpose is to identify the key factors for successful community engagement processes relevant to the LEB and present tools and principles for successful engagement processes. The term ‘interface organisation’ is used here to refer to the diverse range of local and regional organisations (such as Catchment Committees or NRM Regional Bodies) that serve as linkages, or translators, between local communities and broader Australian and State Governments. The importance of fostering and harnessing effective processes of community engagement has been identified as crucial to building a prosperous future for rural and remote regions in Australia. The chapter presents an overview of the literature on successful community engagement processes for NRM, as well as an overview of the current NRM arrangements in the LEB. The main part of the chapter presents findings of the series of interviews conducted with the government liaison officers representing both state and federal organisations who are responsible for coordinating and facilitating regional NRM in the LEB, and with the members of communities of the LEB.

The purpose of this synthesis is to present an overview of the main findings of the ‘People, communities and economies of the Lake Eyre Basin’ project. This synthesis is designed as a stand-alone document and as the keynote chapter in the edited compilation of project reports. This three-year study has developed from the stance that successfully caring for the country and the communities of the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) depends on four principles. First, it is crucial to better understand the social and economic landscape of the LEB and its resources. Second, effective management of the LEB is underpinned by building effective engagement processes between residents, management agencies and policy makers Third, it is necessary to identify and explore the key human dimensions specific to remote regions that affect the management of the LEB now and into the future. Finally, the fourth is to develop a mechanism to underpin long-term social learning to support the effective governance of the LEB in the form of a monitoring process. In contrast to monitoring frameworks used for day-to-day compliance monitoring, we emphasise that the framework developed in this project focuses on supporting continual learning that needs to be built into ongoing management activities to facilitate long-term care of the LEB and its communities. For organisations that are faced with the unique management challenges of remote regions, and are already stretched in terms of available resources, additional funding may be required The synthesis begins with an introduction and background to the project presented in section 1, followed by a description of the project methods in section 2. This is followed by an overview of the four main components of the research project: a regional profile of the LEB, a toolkit of success factors of NRM organisations, case studies of successful natural resources management (NRM) engagement processes and a framework for monitoring successful engagement processes in the LEB.