Establishing components of community satisfaction with recycled water use through a structural equation model

The use of recycled water is being promoted through policy in many parts of the world with the aim of achieving sustainable water management. However there are some major barriers to the success of recycled water use policies and their instruments, in particular for potable reuse schemes. One of these barriers can be a lack of community support. Despite the critical nature of community attitudes to recycled water to the success of projects, they are often little understood. Further information is required to ensure the successful implementation of recycled water policy and to ensure sustainable management of water resources is achieved. The aim of this paper is to establish the key components of community satisfaction with recycled water. This was investigated through a case study of the Mawson Lakes population in South Australia, where recycled water is used for non-potable purposes through a dual water supply system (the 'recycled water system'). This paper reports results from a survey of 162 Mawson Lakes residents. A structural equation model (SEM) was developed and tested to explain and predict components of community satisfaction with recycled water use (for non-potable use) through the dual water supply system. Results indicate the components of satisfaction with recycled water use were an individual's positive perception of: the Water Authority's communication, trust in the Water Authority, fairness in the recycled water system's implementation, quality of the recycled water, financial value of the recycled water system, and risk associated with recycled water use (negative relationship). The results of this study have positive implications for the future management and implementation of recycled water projects in particular through dual water supply systems. The results indicate to water authorities and water policy developers guiding principles for community consultation with regards to the management of recycled water projects.     

Percutaneous Exposure Incidents Among Australian Hospital Staff

We investigated all reported percutaneous exposure incidents (PEI) among staff from a large Australian hospital in the 3-year period, 2001-2003. There were a total of 373 PEI, of which 38.9% were needlestick injuries, 32.7% were cutaneous exposures and 28.4% sharps-related injuries. Nurses were the most commonly affected staff members, accounting for 63.5% of the total, followed by doctors (18.8%) and other staff ( 17.7%). Needlestick injuries were responsible for the majority of nurses’ PEI (44.7%). Sharps injuries constituted the major category for doctors (44.3%). Most needlestick injuries (67.6%) were caused by hollow-bore needles, while the majority of cutaneous exposures involved blood or serum (55.8%). Most sharps injures were caused by unknown devices (35.9%) or suture needles (34.9%). Overall, our investigation suggests that PEI is a considerable burden for health care workers in Australia. Further research is now required to determine the relationships, if any, between workers who suffer PEI and those who do not.     

Social licences to operate: for better not for worse; for richer not for poorer? The impacts of unplanned mining closure for “fence line” residential communities

Establishing “social licences to operate” with communities has become a significant corporate social responsibility agenda. The complex dynamics of these relationships can compound the impacts for communities when these contracts are not upheld. This article documents reflections from a rapid rural appraisal conducted in the Shire of Ravensthorpe in remote Western Australia after the Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation was “mothballed” 9 months into a projected 25-year lifespan. It captures how communication about the project and its time frames created a sense of consistency, predictability, certainty and trust – enabling social licence. The raising of hope and the emergence of mistrust underpin social, environmental and financial impacts of this event for the local community. Embedded in the theoretical dimensions of social licences, this case study highlights the problematic of social licences that engage with non-contractual stakeholders as partners in “booms” but have no legal responsibility towards them in times of “bust”.     

Seeking knowledge of traditional Indigenous burning practices to inform regional bushfire management

ABSTRACT

A transdisciplinary review of the current academic knowledge of Indigenous traditional fire management is presented for the Mt Lofty Ranges in South Australia. For a long time, the roles of Indigenous management of the landscape have either been overlooked or discounted within environmental studies. That situation is beginning to change in many parts of Australia. However, this review of knowledge of traditional Indigenous burning practices specifically for the Mt Lofty Ranges suggests that there is very little formalised, academic knowledge available that could be utilised to inform prescribed burning practices in the region. Perhaps Indigenous peoples’ use of fire was strongly governed by individual choices, or perhaps established regimes demarcated roles across groups; perhaps some areas were burnt regularly and others were left unaltered – there is still no clear evidence from the academic literature to provide even limited understandings of such elements of pre-colonial fire regimes. That gap in knowledge will become increasingly problematic as the need for appropriate, sophisticated burning practices to respond to risk in peri-urban Adelaide increases with a changing climate. To learn from traditional Indigenous land management: (a) formal knowledge needs to be generated on past regional burning practices; and (b) understanding needs to be developed as to whether past burning practices could lead to effective hazard management and biodiversity outcomes within contemporary landscapes. Such an integration of Indigenous knowledge for effective environmental management will only be possible if the injustices of past exclusions of the importance of Indigenous biocultural practices are recognised.     

Impacts of recreation and tourism on plant biodiversity and vegetation in protected areas in Australia

This paper reviews recent research into the impact of recreation and tourism in protected areas on plant biodiversity and vegetation communities in Australia. Despite the international significance of the Australian flora and increasing visitation to protected areas there has been limited research on recreational and tourism impacts in Australia. As overseas, there are obvious direct impacts of recreation and tourism such as clearing of vegetation for infrastructure or damage from trampling, horse riding, mountain biking and off road vehicles. As well, there are less obvious but potentially more severe indirect impacts. This includes self-propagating impacts associated with the spread of some weeds from trails and roads. It also includes the severe impact on native vegetation, including many rare and threatened plants, from spread of the root rot fungus Phytopthora cinnamomi. This review highlights the need for more recreational ecology research in Australia.     

Perceptions and attitudes of land managers in multi-tenure reserve networks and the implications for conservation

Multi-tenure reserve networks aim to connect areas managed for biodiversity conservation across public and private land and address the impacts of fragmentation on both biotic and social systems. The operation and function of Australian multi-tenure reserve networks as perceived by their land managers was investigated. Overall, the conservation of natural assets was the most frequently reported primary reason for involvement in a network. The perceived aims of the respective networks largely reflected the response identified for involvement and management. Over 88% of managers considered their involvement in multi-tenure reserve networks to be a positive or very positive experience. A lack of resources and time for management were considered major limitations of these networks. The majority (80%) of private land managers within networks were willing to be included in a national reserve system of conservation lands. As the Australian National Reserve System currently incorporates mostly public land, these findings have important and potentially positive implications for a greater role for protected private land.     

Protecting cultural assets from bushfires: a question of comprehensive planning

Cultural heritage sites form an unrenewable asset that is threatened by natural disasters. Given the high bushfire risk, mandatory Bush Fire Risk Management Plans have been drawn up throughout New South Wales, Australia. We compared their mandatory provisions for the protection of heritage assets with an 'Ideal Heritage Disaster Plan', containing a series of non-negotiable elements. The examined plans fell well short of the ideal. Preparedness Plans generally lacked a discussion of suppression techniques (for historic heritage), prevention, prescribed drills and communication procedures. None of the Response Plans or Recovery Plans contained any of the required core elements, such as rapid suppression techniques and stabilisation procedures. Where aspects were covered, they were addressed in an inadequate level of detail. The overall quality of the cultural heritage components of the plans is judged to be poor. Suggestions are made on how to improve the situation if heritage assets are to have a future following bushfire events.     

Integrated treatment and recycling of stormwater: a review of Australian practice

With the use of water approaching, and in some cases exceeding, the limits of sustainability in many locations, there is an increasing recognition of the need to utilise stormwater for non-potable requirements, thus reducing the demand on potable sources. This paper presents a review of Australian stormwater treatment and recycling practices as well as a discussion of key lessons and identified knowledge gaps. Where possible, recommendations for overcoming these knowledge gaps are given. The review of existing stormwater recycling systems focussed primarily on the recycling of general urban runoff (runoff generated from all urban surfaces) for non-potable purposes. Regulations and guidelines specific to stormwater recycling need to be developed to facilitate effective design of such systems, and to minimise risks of failure. There is a clear need for the development of innovative techniques for the collection, treatment and storage of stormwater. Existing stormwater recycling practice is far ahead of research, in that there are no technologies designed specifically for stormwater recycling. Instead, technologies designed for general stormwater pollution control are frequently utilised, which do not guarantee the necessary reliability of treatment. Performance modelling for evaluation purposes also needs further research, so that industry can objectively assess alternative approaches. Just as many aspects of these issues may have impeded adoption of stormwater, another impediment to adoption has been the lack of a practical and widely accepted method for assessing the many financial, social and ecological costs and benefits of stormwater recycling projects against traditional alternatives. Such triple-bottom-line assessment methodologies need to be trialled on stormwater recycling projects. If the costs and benefits of recycling systems can be shown to compare favourably with the costs and benefits of conventional practices this will provide an incentive to overcome other obstacles to widespread adoption of stormwater recycling.     

Is the National Water Commission an appropriate institutional and governance structure to address the fundamental requirements of the water and irrigation industry in Australia?

The National Water Commission (NWC) and the $2 billion Australian Government Water Fund (the fund) has drawn attention to the need for innovative and adaptive practices for water use. The NWC and the fund, whilst a critical and catalytic step in the recognition of the current water situation in Australia, has thus far neglected to consider the systemic failures of the water, irrigation and related industries that led to this point. The underlying issue of the efficient allocation of water resources can be resolved by the harmonisation of competing demands (economic, social and environmental) and the establishment of governance structures to reduce institutional impediments. The linking of the fund to National Competition Council (NCC) payments is an important consideration in this process. This paper will argue that governance reform and institutional (re)alignment to remedy the impediments to the efficient allocation of water resources needs to be embedded in and linked to national competition policy principles. This paper will consider the NWC in this context with the aim of informing future policy to consider the systemic failures of the water industry and to forge institutional change for the more effective allocation of water.