Resource Management and Geography - Theses
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ItemThe impact of kangaroo grazing on sediment and nutrient mobilisation( 2000-05)The adverse impacts on vegetation and soils due to livestock grazing have been extensively studied for many years. The extent to which native wildlife may also be causing change to their environment, as a result of local increases in population density, has been the subject of debate in a number of countries. In Australia there has been a growing awareness in recent years that native herbivores, particularly kangaroos and wallabies, may also be causing changes to ecosystem dynamics. Environmmental changes, produced firstly by the aboriginal people and then by Europeans, have favoured the larger macropods, resulting in increased population levels. These impacts can also be seen in areas around cities, where pressure from urbanisation has restricted populations to smaller and smaller patches of remnant vegetation and reserves, increasing the pressure on diminishing food resources within these patches. This study focuses on one of the areas that supplies drinking water to Melbourne, the Yan Yean Reservoir catchment, which is situated 37 km north east of Melbourne. This study adds to our understanding of the impacts of native wildlife populations by investigating the extent of some of these possible changes to ecosystem dynamics.
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ItemInstitutionalizing regional environmental governance in Northeast Asia: roles of actors, knowledge and interests( 2002)This thesis analyzes the institutional process of environmental governance in Northeast Asia by focusing on the dynamics of two main governance factors (national interest and knowledge) and the roles of nonstate actors (international organizations and nongovernmental organizations) in the process. In exploring these governance determinants, this thesis examines the current state of regional governance in Northeast Asia and transboundary environmental governance in the Tumen River Area; the political and institutional implications of major governance mechanisms; links between the progress in understanding of environment problems and the political process of governance; and the potential and limitations of nonstate actors. Two forms of interdependence in Northeast Asia make up the basis of regional environmental governance: ecological interdependence, what links countries geographically and socio-economically in relation to regional marine and atmospheric environments, and complex interdependence, growing webs of political, social and economic interactions, which are the main driving force for institutionalizing collective actions on regional environmental problems. Although states are now politically motivated to create multilateral environmental mechanisms in the forms of meetings and regimes, different national interests, where foreign policy often overrides environmental policy, have delayed the institutionalization of these mechanisms. State actors and their national interests mainly shape the form and content of regional governance in Northeast Asia, but nonstate actors and scientific knowledge also have decisive roles. International organizations have functioned as the main catalysts of various governance mechanisms although their performance declines due to limited administrative capacities. New to the scene, NGOs have not traditionally acted as stakeholders of formal mechanisms, but they have started to expand the scope of environmental governance by executing their own domains of governance. Despite the existence of governance mechanisms, Northeast Asia has insufficient consensual knowledge of the state of their regional environmental problems as demonstrated by varying results of scientific assessments. Building epistemic communities of scientists and other nonstate actors (international organizations and NGOs) is vital to promote the objective role of knowledge in institutional processes, especially in light of the asymmetry between knowledge and each governance mechanism and the politicization of scientific knowledge to justify national interests. The Tumen River Area also exemplifies the pattern of regional environmental governance in Northeast Asia with few exceptions. Despite formal devices of governance addressing transboundary environmental issues such as biodiversity and the pollution of the Tumen River, the outcomes have been meager. Heterogeneities in national interest have essentially impeded governance implementation, while the participation and capacities of local actors have often been restricted despite their importance to the narrowly defined region. International organizations have successfully initiated multilateral mechanisms for environmental governance but face difficulties in implementing them due partly to their organizational nature. Although NGOs mostly remain outside the formal mechanisms of governance, they at least have been able to take concrete actions to protect the environment by acting independently in many instances. This thesis concludes with theoretical and empirical lessons for future discourse.
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ItemChallenging to ‘save’ the remaining native forests in Tasmania: assessing the strength of the Tasmanian environment movement and Japanese companies’ level of ‘greening’( 1999)For the past two to three decades, logging of native forests for woodchips to produce paper has been the icon of controversial environmental issues in Australia, particularly in Tasmania. This thesis argues that Tasmania's remaining native forests will not be saved from 'woodchipping' by either current and planned campaign strategies of Tasmanian environmentalists, or the 'greening' of the largest customers for Australia's woodchips, Japanese general trading companies and paper companies. This argument is based primarily on information gathered through literature searches and extensive interviews of parties with interests in shaping the future of Tasmania's native forests - personnel from the export woodchip industry and relevant Japanese companies as well as environmental activists. This exercise also highlighted the positions of the various interest groups within the dynamic global woodchip trade. One set of trade relationships, between the Tasmanian export woodchip company North Forest Products and its Japanese customers was closely examined. Studying these parties' business behaviour and trade practices within the context of Australian environmental politics between the early 1980s and late 1990s enabled the researcher to conclude that Tasmanian environmentalists are losing political influence. Some Tasmanian environmentalists are seeking new campaign strategies and they are hoping to directly contact with Japanese customers in order to convince them of the significance of halting native forest woodchip imports. However, despite their efforts in establishing environmental management systems and their eagerness to become 'green', these Japanese companies appear to be unsympathetic to the views of Tasmanian environmentalists on the need to reduce and stop the trade of native forest woodchips. This is not because these Japanese companies are 'green image' makers, as some scholars argue, but these companies are simply interested in 'greening' in their own ways. However, their efforts are considered 'insufficient' by environmentalists and their 'greening' will not contribute in 'saving' Tasmania's existing native forests. A small scale study such as this is unable to make detailed conclusions on the future patterns of Tasmanian forest exploitation. However, it foresees a disheartening future for Tasmanian environmentalists, if they try to realise their dream of 'saving' Tasmania's remaining native forests from 'woodchipping', especially by using stated strategies.
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Item'It's in your hands': an assessment of the Australian Landcare movement( 1995)Australia's 'Landcare' program is a community-based, participatory program, established by Government, to tackle the problem of land degradation. It has been hailed by some, as the most imaginative sustainable development policy anywhere in the world. There have been many studies which have sought to measure the success of Landcare, using quantitative indicators such as the number of Landcare groups. This thesis seeks to devise alternative ways for Landcare to be assessed and thought about. It focuses upon the practice of Landcare in one particular region of Victoria: a practice which is formed out of the complex interaction of state policy, community aspirations and capabilities and the broader political and economic context. At a theoretical level, this thesis is informed by several areas of the academic literature. In particular, the role of the state apparatus in environmental management, the environment and political economy, and theories of ideology. These theoretical arguments are elaborated in several ways: through a detailed review of the emergence of Landcare as policy, both in Victoria and at a Federal level; through consideration of the complex bureaucratic arrangements which have grown around Landcare; and through a case study. The case study draws upon the experience of Landcare by farmers on the Dundas Tablelands in Victoria's Western District. Through participant observation and in-depth interviewing across seven Landcare groups, some insight is offered into the practice of Landcare in a local setting, for example: the ways in which government rhetoric about Landcare is enacted at the local level; the way in which the Landcare bureaucracy works with, or against, the program; and the way in which funding arrangements contribute to Landcare's effect on-the-ground. The case study draws upon the experience of Landcare by farmers on the Dundas Tablelands in Victoria's Western District. Through participant observation and in-depth interviewing across seven Landcare groups, some insight is offered into the practice of Landcare in a local setting, for example: the ways in which government rhetoric about Landcare is enacted at the local level; the way in which the Landcare bureaucracy works with, or against, the program; and the way in which funding arrangements contribute to Landcare's effect on-the-ground. It is argued that without an improved understanding of its limitations, the Landcare program is unlikely to succeed in the long-term. In the meantime, there are indications that calls for the expansion of Landcare may be to the detriment of the program’s original objective, which was to ensure more sustainable use of agricultural land in Australia. Renewed consideration is urged, of the ways in which Landcare's 'success' is measured.