Scientists from the University of Adelaide and CSIRO have been involved in a study examining the regional engagement and spatial modelling for natural resource management in South Australia.
Professor Wayne Meyer from the University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute was one of seven researchers involved in an article published in Sustainability Science.
The study involved reviewing previous planning with regional staff to gain an understanding of the processes used and to identify possible improvement in plan development and operation for the Eyre Peninsula and Murray Darling Basin regions of South Australia.
An envisioning process was used to understand stakeholder engagement and inform the development of a land use management option assessment tool.
Through assessment of the effectiveness of the process through semi-structured stakeholder interviews, the researchers found that success in changing planning processes and implementing science based natural resource management requires institutional and governance arrangements that are accepting of the need for adaptive processes and option assessment tools in both planning and implementation.
Image source: abc.net.au
