Science and Policy in Natural Resource Management
Understanding System Complexity

First published in 2006, this book identifies the need for changes to human-created institutions responsible for natural resource management.

Helen E. Allison (Author), Richard J. Hobbs (Author)

9780521858830, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 31 August 2006

266 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.565 kg

Review of the hardback: '… useful to policy makers dealing with similar intensive farming situations …' Biologist

This book was first published in 2006. Despite many well-intentioned policies and changes to management practices, the world's natural resources continue to decline. The roles and interplay between science and policy in the regional broadacre agriculture landscape are examined here, offering readers a thorough understanding of the complex interactions that occur across spatial scales to produce the regional-scale impacts. The fundamental causes of resource degradation, social decline and environmental pollution are addressed, examining the cross-scale drivers from the individual farm level to the global level of commodity systems. Broadacre agriculture is a common land use throughout all continents of the world and is driven by the same type of dynamics, and this case study of the Western Australia agricultural region can be used to clearly demonstrate the principles for other agricultural systems. Aimed at academics, ranging from researchers through to policy analysts, this book will inspire innovation and action in sustainable natural resource management.

List of illustrations
List of tables
Foreword C. S Holling
1. Introduction
2. Historical and policy context
3. Natural resource degradation: a resistant problem of the twentieth century
4. The epistemology of natural resource management of the twentieth century
5. A contemporary epistemology and framework for natural resource management of the twenty-first century
6. Model conceptualisation of the Western Australian agricultural region: Part 1. Resilience analysis
7. Model conceptualisation of the Western Australian agricultural region: Part 2. System dynamics analysis
8. Synthesis
Appendices
Glossary
Acronyms.

Subject Areas: Environmental science, engineering & technology [TQ], Conservation of the environment [RNK], Environmental management [RNF], Applied ecology [RNC], Ecological science, the Biosphere [PSAF]