5th Global Conference

Conference Programme, Abstracts and Papers

Monday 3rd July - Thursday 6th July 2006
Mansfield College, Oxford

Session 7(b): Conservation, Targets and Community Based Management
Chair: Maie Kiisel

Utilisation of Voluntary Conservation Agreements in Australia: A Perspective on Queensland
Jo Kehoe
Department of Law, Central Queensland University, Australia.

Biodiversity continues its unrelenting demise on vast areas of privately held land within Australia, particularly Queensland. One means towards solving this problem is by voluntary conservation agreements between the agricultural community and government. To date such agreements are yet to be fully utilised, despite their potential to play an increasingly essential role in natural resource management. Varieties of voluntary agreements are currently being tested, for example, the vegetation incentives program in Queensland. The aim of this paper is to explore particular aspects of the utilisation of voluntary conservation agreements in Queensland. There are important lessons to learn from the initial implementation stages that may be usefully employed by interested stakeholders.

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Getting the Message: Audience Resonance with Australian Climate Change Campaigns
Nina Hall and Cassandra Star
Graduate School of the Environment, Macquarie University, Austraia, and Department of Economics and Resources Management, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia

To date, the Australian Government admits climate change is a concern that needs to be addressed, but has yet to implement policy domestically and internationally that non-government organisations (NGOs) consider to be adequate.
Through in-depth interviews, the effectiveness of climate change campaigns by seven environmental NGOs was contrast with the perceptions of these NGOs' campaigns held by 'external observers' of the climate change debate: community, media, politicians, industry and policy-makers.
The findings suggest the general community has received messages about climate change, but there is insignificant agitation or action at this level to be felt by politicians. The NGOs have formed new 'alliances' with other interest groups and professionals that have increased their credibility in the eyes of the media, industry and policy-makers. The media are wary of the NGOs' 'sensationalism' of the issue and, with policy-makers, are seeking a stronger scientific basis to give the campaign messages greater objectivity and legitimacy.
Politicians consider NGOs present policy demands 'unrealistic', and policy-makers feel that NGOs could gain more 'mileage' from their policy submissions.
This research suggests NGOs are effective at raising general awareness and 'agenda creation', but appear less politically effective at the 'policy creation' part of the policy cycle, and this is a campaign area requiring further consideration

In the Same Boat? Fisheries Privatization, Community-Based Management and First Nation/ non-First Nation Alliances in Nova Scotia
Martha Stiegman
Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

This presentation will discuss how the fight against the privatization of the Atlantic fisheries in Southwest Nova Scotia is building alliances between in-shore fishers organized around principles of Community-Based Management (CBM), and First Nations, recent entrants to the commercial fisheries since the Supreme Court’s 1999 Marshall Decision.
CBM emerged in the mid-90s as a result of communities taking political action. In-shore fishers fought for, and won the right to manage catch quotas for their areas, and set up democratic organizations to coordinate the management of these quotas at a local level. The Mi’kmaq view their access to the fisheries and the ability to manage their fishing activities as an inherent right protected by the Treaties. They have been frustrated with DFO’s response to the Marshall Decision, which has given little room for First Nations to develop a model of fishing informed by their political traditions, and their cultural and spiritual values.
Mi’kmaq presence on the water was initially greeted with tension and hostility; however civil society organizations established through CBM helped diffuse tensions and structure dialogue and coordinate joint projects between native and non-native groups. Through dialogue, they have established common ground. Both oppose DFO’s privatization agenda, and see CBM as a way both to ensure conservation and strengthen local governance – or in the case of First Nations, self-government.
While the immediate impacts of CBM are impressive, its power to realize wider political aims - in this case reversing the neo-liberal trend in fisheries policy and winning genuine recognition of Treaty rights - is restricted by the limited political power it has won. Nevertheless, the study should be helpful in considering the benefits and limitations of the devolution of governance in the context of neo-liberalism and Canadian post-colonialism.