Livelihoods in desert Australia
Livelihoods in desert Australia Journal Article
The Rangeland Journal
- Author(s): McGregor, M, James, C
- Published: 2011
- Volume: 33
- Edition: 17 November
Abstract: This special issue builds on the significant body of work that the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre (DKCRC) generated during its life between September 2003 and June 2010 (see for instance, Stafford Smith 2008a; Davies and Holcombe 2009; McGregor and Edwards 2010; Seemann 2010; and the significant number of outputs on the legacy website DKCRC (2011). The research presented in this special issue builds on that reported in a previous special issue of this Journal (Stafford Smith 2008a) which focused on the building of a ‘science of desert living’.A key paper in that issue (Stafford Smith 2008b) outlined the ‘desert syndrome’ which identified a set of causally-linked factors that characterise remote Australia. The papers in this special issue use the concept of a ‘desert syndrome’ developed in that paper (Fig. 1) to show how research can identify livelihood opportunities that come from recognising these drivers. This Special Issue brings together a snapshot of the work on market-based and non-market based enterprises in desert Australia. The examples presented here are tourism, bush food harvesting and sale, and livelihoods based on public sector funding such as land management. Supporting these topics are contextual studies that seek to understand the social cultural and employment settings that are so different in desert Australia across all sectors. Obvious by omission is the compilation of the work by the DKCRC on pastoralism and small business characteristics which has been published elsewhere (e.g. Rola- Rubzen et al. 2011a, 2011b; Walsh 2009a, Walsh 2009b, Walsh 2009c, Walsh 2009d, Walsh 2009e, Walsh 2009f, Walsh 2009g, Walsh 2009h, Walsh 2009i, Walsh 2009j, Walsh 2009k, Walsh 2009l, Walsh 2009m)
- Urls: http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/RJv33n4_ED.htm, https://www.publish.csiro.au/rj/pdf/RJv33n4_ED
- Keywords: livelihoods, desert Australia, closing the gap, desert, natural resource management, social determinants