Bridging the science-policy interface: the value of participatory action-research in planning for climate change in NRM — YRD
  1. Schedule
  2. Parallel Session 5 - Planning for adaptation in natural resource management
  3. Bridging the science-policy interface: the value of participatory action-research in planning for climate change in NRM

Bridging the science-policy interface: the value of participatory action-research in planning for climate change in NRM (917)

Karyn Bosomworth 1 , Chris Pitfield 2 , Philip Wallis 3 , Andrew Harwood 4 , Peat Leith 4 , Marty Gent 5 , Rex Candy 6 , Andrew Baldwin 7 , Luke Didams 8 , Paula Camenzuli 9 , Emmaline Froggett 10 , Shane Scanlon 10 , Liz Hamilton 11 , Sophie Turner 12
  1. RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  2. Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CMA), Victoria, Australia
  3. Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  4. University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
  5. Glenelg-Hopkins CMA, Victoria, Australia
  6. East Gippsland CMA, Victoria, Australia
  7. NRM North, Tasmania, Australia
  8. NRM South, Tasmania, Australia
  9. West Gippsland, Tasmania, Australia
  10. Port Philip and Westernport CMA, Tasmania, Australia
  11. Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries, Victoria , Australia
  12. Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Australia's NRM agencies have recently been developing plans for climate change mitigation (through carbon sequestration) and adaptation. Under a Federal (2012) Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Research Grants Program, project teams are working with nine clusters of regional NRM organisations across the country on using climate change science and information in NRM planning processes. This paper draws on the experience of the Southern Slopes cluster project.

Working with NRM agencies in Tasmania and southern Victoria, the Southern Slopes Climate Change Adaptation Research Partnership (SCARP) is a participatory action-research partnership that operates from a perspective that adaptation planning is best commenced from within the decision-context. This is because the social, institutional and political context of decision-making is viewed as having a greater influence on planning and practice than the supply of science alone.

Co-authored by the partnership's researchers and practitioners, this paper outlines the highlights and challenges of co-investigating how research can more effectively inform NRM planning for climate change, and of co-producing relevant materials and methods. Collectively we found important roles for institutions and social learning in spanning boundaries between research and planning for climate change in NRM. Moreover, our experiences highlight the value of participatory action-research in facilitating adaptation planning in the NRM sector.

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