Shared responsibility: the who,what and how

As natural disasters increase around the world and stretch the capacities of emergency services, national governments and international institutions have stressed the importance of shared responsibility; the idea that all actors within a society have some obligations in disaster management and must work collectively to reduce disaster risk. However, the exact balance between individual and government responsibility is not yet established and continually contested, especially after major events. In Australia, the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience (NSDR) is the overarching policy framework for disaster risk management and aims to create resilient communities through an emphasis on shared responsibility and empowerment. Through a literature review and document analysis of the NSDR and associated policy documents, we clarify, organise and operationalise the necessarily general policy goal of shared responsibility. We first analyse how the NSDR conceptualises communities to discover which community actors are mentioned. We then identify the responsibilities it prescribes or implies for these different actors and consider the types of policy instruments that are relevant to disaster risk management. Our analysis reveals a tension between the NSDR’s placement of government at the centre of disaster risk management, and its other, less well-explained emphasis on community empowerment.     

“The Lucky country”? A critical exploration of community gardens and city–community relations in Australian cities

Urban agriculture (UA) has the potential to expand beyond the grassroots level to meet the social, cultural, economic and food needs of urban dwellers. At its core, UA represents an alternative use of urban space that occurs with or without government support or approval. The experiences of community gardeners and their views of, and engagement in, community gardens as a form of UA, or local “alternative food networks”, is a focal point of this paper. Relying on Australian city case studies, this paper explores community gardens, using critical urban approaches concerning “rights to the city” and diverse economies. Findings from this study reveal how community gardeners understand and participate in diverse economies and extended local food networks. They also identify respondents’ views of local councils as barriers to the emergence of community gardens, and other forms of UA, as a local response to growing concerns over impacts of the global food chain on food security. In contrast to other Western cities, effective city–community relations for community garden growth have yet to emerge in Australian cities, as key policy areas for urban sustainability and social cohesion.     

Are Irrigators Different from Dryland Operators? Insights from a Comparative Study in Australia

Social researchers tasked with advising practitioners on effective stakeholder engagement often develop typologies that distinguish operators on key attributes. We build on emerging research exploring the efficacy of occupational identity by investigating a potentially important difference among rural landholders that, to our knowledge, remains untested: irrigated operations and dryland operations. Using primary data collected from a large sample of operators in the North Central region of Victoria, Australia, we compared irrigators with dryland operators across a range of characteristics, controlling for the influence of occupational identity. We find evidence that irrigators tend to hold a stronger business orientation toward their properties and that dryland operators tend to hold stronger environmental concerns. But, it is important not to overdraw contrasts on business‐environment tradeoffs. Both place value on financial aspects of their properties and both hold environmental concerns. But, the especially close coupling of life and work among irrigators encourage a stronger orientation toward farming, and the natural resource base, as a means of sustaining livelihoods. We discuss the implications of the findings for future research and for stakeholder engagement efforts.     

Mapping radioactivity in groundwater to identify elevated exposure in remote and rural communities

A survey of radioactivity in groundwater (110 sites) was conducted as a precursor to providing a baseline of radiation exposure in rural and remote communities in Queensland, Australia, that may be impacted upon by exposure pathways associated with the supply, treatment, use and wastewater treatment of the resource. Radionuclides in groundwater, including ²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, ²²²Rn, ²²⁸Ra, ²²⁴Ra and ⁴⁰K were measured and found to contain activity concentration levels of up to 0.71 BqL⁻¹, 0.96 BqL⁻¹, 108 BqL⁻¹, 2.8 BqL⁻¹, 0.11 BqL⁻¹ and 0.19 BqL⁻¹ respectively. Activity concentration results were classified by aquifer lithology, showing correlation between increased radium isotope concentration and basic volcanic host rock. The groundwater survey and mapping results were further assessed using an investigation assessment tool to identify seven remote or rural communities that may require additional radiation dose assessment beyond that attributed to ingestion of potable water.     

Environmental fate of pesticides used in Australian viticulture V. Behaviour of atrazine in the soils of the south Australian Riverland

The transport of the s‐triazine herbicide, atrazine, through the red, calcareous earth soils of the South Australian Riverland was investigated. Small, undisturbed soil cores were extracted from the inter‐row topsoil of a vineyard adjacent to the River Murray, approximately 10 km south‐west of Overland Corner, South Australia. The vines were grown in a deep (1–4 m) reddish brown, strongly alkaline, sandy loam with a low organic carbon content (<2%). Atrazine concentrations in the leachate were dependent on application rate and soil type. High application rates on subsoil gave high rates of leaching for a longer time compared to the same application rate on topsoil and/or lower application rates on either topsoil or subsoil. Overall, 37–65% of the applied atrazine was detected in the leachate from subsoil cores, 14–25% in topsoil core leachates. Small amounts of atrazine (< 10% of applied dose) were found only in the top 2 cm of the core profiles. The results suggest that this herbicide is somewhat mobile in such strongly alkaline, sandy loam soils and that the irrigated soils of this region are likely to be prone to leaching of atrazine, and therefore that groundwater supplies in this area may be at risk of contamination through use of triazine herbicides.     

The effect of land clearing on rainfall and fresh water resources in Western Australia: a multi-functional sustainability analysis

It is widely recognised that southwest Western Australia has experienced a decline in rainfall over the last 40 years. It is generally thought that this decline is due to natural periodic variations and changes induced by global warming, but recently evidence has emerged suggesting that a substantial part of the decline may be due to extensive logging close to the coast to make way for housing developments and the clearing of native vegetation for wheat planting on the higher ground. We compare coastal and inland rainfall to show empirically that 55% to 62% of the observed rainfall decline is the result of land clearing alone. Using the index of sustainable functionality, we show that the economic consequences associated with this change of land use on fresh water resource availability have been underestimated to date and disproportionately affect the environment and poorest members of the population.     

Disaster risk management: Pro-active financing to reduce vulnerability

This study explores the preparedness of residents livingin a rural community in Victoria, Australia, for wildfires, and the factors influencing their preparedness. Overall, participants were well aware of wildfire risks and appeared well prepared for the event of a fire. However, residents involved in agriculture and with a long-standing association with the area appeared better prepared than were those on small properties and newcomers. Their social networks, previous experiences with wildfires and grassfires, and involvement with the local fire brigade influenced preparedness of long-term residents. Characteristics of agricultural communities, including a culture of self-reliance, experience with fires as part of farming, and social cohesion, appeared to contribute to wildfire preparedness within this community. Included are recommendations encouraging preparedness for wildfires.     

Making Progress? Reproducing Hegemony Through Discourses of “Sustainable Development” in the Australian News Media

While numerous studies have investigated discourses of “sustainable development” in a variety of institutional and academic contexts, media discourses on this issue have remained largely unexamined. But considering the intertwined nature of media and society, the construction of sustainable development in the news may be an important factor shaping future ecological and social outcomes. Proceeding from the thesis that the news is a site in which hegemony may be reproduced, this paper critically analyses discourses used to construct sustainable development in news texts published over the 10-year period 2004–2013 across the eight most widely circulated newspapers in Australia. The findings show that sustainable development news is confined to a narrow range of discourses that largely serve to perpetuate the status quo, which is broadly consistent with the media hegemony thesis. Finally, I discuss the implications of these findings, propose possible explanations, and explore avenues for future research.     

Palaeoecology: A tool to improve the management of Australian estuaries

Addressing environmental problems in estuaries is a worldwide problem. Establishing benchmarks and targets for management is critical, whether the aim is conservation, restoration or sustainable use. Palaeoecological techniques have rapidly improved during the past decade, particularly with advances in methods that allow high resolution quantitative assessments of environmental change. Palaeoecology is a useful tool in environmental management as it allows pre-impact conditions, the rate, extent, direction and cause of change, and range of natural variability to be determined. Australian estuarine ecosystems are qualitatively different from the often more well-studied estuaries in North America and Europe, which means site-specific studies of Australian estuaries are needed to inform management. While a potentially useful and valuable tool, palaeoecological techniques have not yet been widely adopted and practically implemented as part of estuarine management strategies and policy frameworks in Australia.     

The dispersal and storage of sediment-associated metals in an arid river system: the Leichhardt River, Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia

This paper details the distribution of Cu, Pb and Zn in aquatic systems draining Mount Isa Ag-Cu-Pb-Zn Mine in arid northern Queensland, Australia. Sediment-metal concentrations in the <2mm grain-size fraction adjacent to and downstream of the mine significantly exceed background concentrations (Cu, 159; Pb, 36; Zn, 86 ppm) as well as Australian government sediment quality low trigger guidelines (Cu, 65; Pb, 50; Zn, 200 ppm). Overbank sediments are more contaminated than channel sediments with mean values of Cu, 480; Pb, 540; Zn, 750 ppm. Mean concentrations in cut riverbank samples from the <2mm fraction were Cu, 195; Pb, 724; Zn, 807 ppm. Corresponding <180 microm samples returned concentrations of Cu, 321; Pb, 995; Zn, 1110 ppm. Delivery of contaminants during wet seasons from Mount Isa Mine and historically contaminated riverbanks remains an ongoing issue. The ease of dust entrainment in arid zones means that sediments enriched in toxic concentrations of metals may be widely dispersed and ultimately ingested and absorbed by biota.