Communication and its Role in Bringing About Changes in Land Management


Achievements

Managing change

Business models

Personality types

Conclusions

References


Communication and its Role in Bringing About Changes in Land Management1

Louise Duxbury
Green Skills Inc., Western Australia
Published in Environmental Health The Journal of the Australian Institute of Environmental Health
Vol 3 Number 2 Special Issue B 2003

To bring about social change in land management behaviour requires careful thought about how best to manage the process of change. While there has been a concerted effort to bring about changes in land management practices across Australia, particularly in the Decade of Landcare, a federal initiative between 1988 and 1998, recent evaluations indicate that awareness has been raised but land degradation continues unabated. Communicators are key players in the process of change and can make a significant contribution through effective analysis of needs in the process, management during change, and the provision of quality communication. It is suggested that four areas of communication that require more attention for application to land management change are: managing the process of change and personality types, the role of constructive dialogue between stakeholders and their level of power in decision making, the role of community in research programs to inform decision making, and the use of social marketing. Managing the change process and personality types are discussed in this paper. The other three areas of communication will be the subject of future papers. It is suggested that fresh and analytic approaches are needed, and that communicators can benefit by using ideas from a range of disciplines. This is necessary if the challenge of creating a sustainable agricultural system in Australia is to be realised.

Key words: Change Process; Innovation; Implementation; Land Management; Sustainability.

Endnote

1. The research presented here is part of a Master of Philosophy thesis focusing on managing the process of change in land management toward sustainability, and is incomplete. The project Watershed Torbay is being used as a focus for this action research thesis. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Indopacific Ecosystem Health Conference in Perth, Western Australia in November 2002.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the Watershed Torbay Steering Committee, Torbay Catchment Group, Watershed Torbay support group and Watershed Torbay Technical Advisory Committee for the stimulating discussions to this point. The views expressed in this article represent those of the author alone.

Correspondence to:
Louise Duxbury
Projects Manager
Green Skills Inc
PO Box 577
Denmark, Western Australia, 6333
AUSTRALIA
Email: louiseduxbury@greenskills .green.net.au