Learning from episodes of degradation and recovery in variable Australian rangelands

Abstract

Land-change science emphasizes the intimate linkages between the human and environmental components of land management systems. Recent theoretical developments in drylands identify a small set of key principles that can guide the understanding of these linkages. Using these principles, a detailed study of seven major degradation episodes over the past century in Australian grazed rangelands was reanalyzed to show a common set of events: (i) good climatic and economic conditions for a period, leading to local and regional social responses of increasing stocking rates, setting the preconditions for rapid environmental collapse, followed by (ii) a major drought coupled with a fall in the market making destocking financially unattractive, further exacerbating the pressure on the environment; then (iii) permanent or temporary declines in grazing productivity, depending on follow-up seasons coupled again with market and social conditions. The analysis supports recent theoretical developments but shows that the establishment of environmental knowledge that is strictly local may be insufficient on its own for sustainable management. Learning systems based in a wider community are needed that combine local knowledge, formal research, and institutional support. It also illustrates how natural variability in the state of both ecological and social systems can interact to precipitate nonequilibrial change in each other, so that planning cannot be based only on average conditions. Indeed, it is this variability in both environment and social subsystems that hinders the local learning required to prevent collapse.climate variability ͉ desertification ͉ dryland development paradigm ͉ human-environment systems ͉ local knowledge

Cross-boundary and cross-level dynamics increase vulnerability to severe winter disasters (dzud) in Mongolia

“…However, a ''wait and see'' strategy, such as that represented by pathway 2 (rebuild herds), while economically rational in the short term, is more likely to lead to degradation in the longer term (Foran and Stafford Smith, 1991) and undesirable system transformation. Fortunately, the relatively short (and decreasing) return interval between dzud events in Mongolia makes it more likely that learning will occur, in contrast to parts of Australia, where the return interval between disasters is longer than the generation time of managers, limiting opportunities for learning from past disasters (Stafford-Smith et al, 2007).…”

Australia's landscapes in a changing climate—caution, hope, inspiration, and transformation

“…We must continue to build governance systems and institutions which have capacity for long-term, adaptive management on a sufficient scale to address the scale of the challenges, and to protect the significant social values at stake. Landscape-scale changes occur over generational spans (Stafford-Smith et al 2007). Governments need to accept that environmental outcomes cannot be achieved through 'quick fix', one-off schemes, but rather, that the natural resources sector requires ongoing commitment in the same way as health, defence, roads, infrastructure, and education portfolios.…”

“…(2) Addresses an established or priority NRM issue driven by climate variability, e.g. drought preparedness, and assists in building institutional and cultural knowledge about long-term episodic events and their role in resetting ecosystems (Stafford-Smith et al 2007). (3) Delivers quality-assured information (both long-and short-term predictions) so that individuals and businesses are able to make informed decisions ).…”

“…The challenge of designing institutional arrangements for sustainability is non-trivial and deserving of serious consideration (Dovers 2001). One of the pressing challenges of operating in a highly variable climate is how to build flexible institutions with capacity to genuinely learn from history so that the understanding of the full impacts of episodic climatic events, like droughts and fires, is fully embedded within the social memory (Stafford- Smith et al 2007).…”

Vulnerability and resilience: Coalescing or paralleling approaches for sustainability science?

“…A product of resilience and vulnerability practitioners, including a few individuals aligned with social-critical perspectives (Reynolds et al, 2007), DDP is a CHES approach applied to arid land management emphasizing the need to account for slowly evolving conditions, nonlinear processes, cross-scale interactions, and local knowledge. Such approaches have already been applied by integrated researchapplication teams in Australia (e.g., Stafford-Smith et al, 2007). Maintaining and improving such cooperation will be determined, in part, by the activities of formal research programs designed to tackle CHES sustainability, such as emerging PECS effort.…”