: how well are they structured? J. Am. Soc. Inform. Sci. 42(7), 528-31. Stmnk, W. and White, E.B. (1972). 'The elements of style'. Macmillan, New York, and Collier Macmillan. London. Manuscript received 1 March 1993, accepted 22 March 1993 Rangel. J. 15(2) 1993,190-216 LAND DEGRADATION ASSESSMENT IN CENTRAL AUSTRALIA USING A GRAZING GRADIENT METHOD G.N. Bastin, G. Pickup, V.H. Chewings and G. Pearce CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology, Centre for Arid Zone Research, PO Box 21 11, Alice Springs, NT 0871 Abstract Rangeland monitoring using ground-based methods has been fraught with difficulty because of the lack of accurate and repeatable techniques capable of separating grazing impact from both seasonal variability and natural landscape heterogeneity. The results presented here show how these problems can be overcome by analysing the entire grazed landscape using remotely-sensed data and 'grazing gradient' methods which separate grazing effects from natural variation. Land degradation is defined as 'a reduction in the capacity of landscapes to produce vegetation cover from rainfall'. After a period of grazing, vegetation cover typically decreases as water is approached producing a spatial pattern known as a grazing gradient. Vegetation increases across the whole landscape following rain and the extent of vegetation recovery in the vicinity of watering points . after significant rainfall is determined for each mapped land system. A 'percentage cover production loss' index is then derived allowing grazing management effects across land systems (and paddocks) to be compared. We report on the analysis of 38,000 krn2 of grazed country on all or parts of 16 pastoral leases. Land systems containing a high proportion of palatable forage have high index values and are most adversely affected by grazing. These land systems are frequently the most intensively stocked due to their original productivity. In some cases, parts of these land systems have also had a relatively long history of grazing. Some land systems of lower pastoral value show no gradient after rainfall but a pattern of decreasing cover with distance from water after a period of grazing. This is associated with an increase in cover of unpalatable shrubs. We advocate the use of grazing gradient methods which utilise remotely-sensed satellite data as an operational means of determining grazing impact in the arid rangelands. Our methods compare favourably with conventional ground-based monitoring in terms of cost and labour requirements. The remote sensing-based method is capable of providing comprehensive, objective and repeatable analysis of grazed country after future significant rainfalls. It also offers the significant additional advantage of immediate information about landscape condition through the analysis of archived remotely-sensed data.

In the absence of regional government, New Labour has pursued a process of administrative decentralisation in the English regions outside London, including the appointment of Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), charged with stimulating economic modernisation and assisting in reducing regional economic disparities. They have acquired a key position as strategic power-brokers situated between the agendas of Whitehall and the demands of sub-national interests. RDAs operate, however, within complex, competing structures, tied to meeting nationally determined targets and too little attention has been given to capturing their overall effectiveness. Refl ecting New Labour's rejection of the need for a more even spread of economic activity between regions, RDAs also lack suffi cient resources to make a signifi cant impact on economic disparities. Treasury-led reforms could see the agencies taking responsibility for preparing single regional strategies, but there are contradictions between their remit to increase economic growth and deliver social and environmental objectives.

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PurposeThis paper aims to consider how climate change performance is measured and accounted for within the performance framework for local authority areas in England adopted in 2008. It critically evaluates the design of two mitigation and one adaptation indicators that are most relevant to climate change. Further, the potential for these performance indicators to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation is discussed.Design/methodology/approachThe authors begin by examining the importance of the performance framework and the related Local Area Agreements (LAAs), which were negotiated for all local areas in England between central government and Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs). This development is located within the broader literature relating to new public management. The potential for this framework to assist in delivering the UK's climate change policy objectives is researched in a two‐stage process. First, government publications and all 150 LAAs were analysed to identify the level of priority given to the climate change indicators. Second, interviews were conducted in spring 2009 with civil servants and local authority officials from the English West Midlands who were engaged in negotiating the climate change content of the LAAs.FindingsNationally, the authors find that 97 per cent of LAAs included at least one climate change indicator as a priority. The indicators themselves, however, are perceived to be problematic – in terms of appropriateness, accuracy and timeliness. In addition, concerns were identified about the level of local control over the drivers of climate change performance and, therefore, a question is raised as to how LSPs can be held accountable for this. On a more positive note, for those concerned about climate change, the authors do find evidence that the inclusion of these indicators within the performance framework has helped to move climate change up the agenda for local authorities and their partners. However, actions by the UK's new coalition government to abolish the national performance framework and substantially reduce public expenditure potentially threaten this advance.Originality/valueThis paper offers an insight into a new development for measuring climate change performance at a local level, which is relatively under‐researched. It also contributes to knowledge of accountability within a local government setting and provides a reference point for further research into the potential role of local actions to address the issue of climate change.