Making Research Count

Louise Duxbury Green Skills Communication Consultant to the Watershed Torbay Project

Phone 08 9848 1019 Fax 08 9848 2061 PO Box 577 Denmark WA 6333
louiseduxbury@greenskills.green.net.au

Abstract

Will the river restoration project, Watershed Torbay, result in changes in land manager behaviour to arrest catchment degradation? Community landcare groups and key state agencies have been active in the catchment. This effort has attracted funding from the National Rivers Consortium and Department of Environment for four years. A steering committee has been established with key stakeholders represented, in particular with strong community representation.

The steering committee is in the process of setting project targets. Achieving these targets is where the hard work starts. If current land and water degradation trends are to be turned around and community economic and social wishes met, significant changes in current land use management behaviour and agricultural systems are likely to be required.

This paper outlines the approach to research being taken by Watershed Torbay within the participatory model of decision making adopted by the project. This is used as an example of one strategy to assist with bringing about significant behavioural change.

Research can provide information to help stakeholders decide between management options and to set realistic best bet targets. It is suggested that as researchers we cannot hope to find integrated solutions if we conduct disintegrated science. Although researchers may have particular expertise in one aspect of a project, there is a need for meaningful involvement in the bigger picture. Only when working as a team can researchers hope to effectively address the needs of the project clients. Secondly, it is asserted that research effort in projects aiming to change behaviour is wasted if it does not lead to wide scale adoption by the stakeholders. Finally researchers are urged to prepare a communication strategy in the development phase of every applied research project to involve local stakeholders during the project and to successfully communicate the findings of research.

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