Welcome to Community catch-up 3
This issue of Communities Project e-newsletter describes recent,
current, and future research activities being undertaken by the
research team. Designed for our busy audience, the e-newsletter
provides a brief introduction into current research activities,
with a link to more information available for those people whom are
interested.
The CRC for Forestry Communities Project examines the social
aspects of commercial forestry within Australia. Research projects
being undertaken include quantifying the socio-economic costs and
benefits of commercial forestry, determining and understanding
current community attitudes towards commercial forestry, reviewing
and improving current community engagement processes undertaken by
the commercial forest industry, and examining
the applicability of more collaborative forms of
community engagement such as participatory modelling. [read more]
Communities Project Update
Some communties students are finalising their research projects
and others are starting their field work, making for an exciting
time in the Communities Project. With Dr Jacki Schirmer currently
on maternity leave, the Communities Project is under the leadership
of Dr Kath
Williams (University of Melbourne). Kath is a sub-project
leader within the Communities Project and thus has a
considerable understanding of the Communities research and the
research team.
What has been happening?
Communities Project researchers retreat
 In February
2010 the Communities researchers travelled to Ballina,
northern NSW for the Communities Project Research
Retreat. The retreat was designed to provide an opportunity
for the communities team to come together and share ideas and
experiences. The retreat included a field trip to the
Upper Clarence which provided much needed context and clarity
regarding the social aspects of commercial forest management.
[see
more]
Communities Project publications and seminars
Research within the Communities Project has reached a
consolidation phase. Initial projects that commenced in 2006 are
wrapping up, with the majority of technical reports completed,
and public and industry seminars conducted. As the more
recent projects commence field work and produce findings it is
expected that further technical reports will be produced and public
seminars conducted. [read more]
Communities Project representation at conferences
National conferences
- Melbourne University School of Land & Environment 7th
Annual Postgraduate Conference "Environment - It's Easy Being
Green" 5th & 6th November 2009, Dookie,
Victoria. 'The social acceptability of
timber plantations: a case of contested rural ideals?',
presented by Nerida Anderson.
- University of
Tasmania Cradle Coast Post Graduate Conference 2009, 6 August,
Burnie Tasmania. 'Adding theory to the practice of community
engagement: Are forest managers ready for it?' presented by
Lain Dare.
International conferences
-
Institute for
Sustainable Development and International Relations International
Symposium Change In Governance as
Collective Learning Process: Management, Politics and Ethics in
Forestry, 21-24 June 2009 Nancy,
France. “Can forest certification effect positive social
change within Australian plantation forestry?” presented
by Lain Dare
-
15th
International Symposium on Society and Resource Management,
Meet old and new worlds in research, planning and
management, July 5-8 2009, Vienna,
Austria.
-
-
'Evaluating the
effectiveness of participatory modelling for addressing natural
resource management issues in Australian forested
communities' presented by Andrea Leys
-
'Adding
theory to the practice of community engagement: are forest managers
ready for it?' presented by Lain
Dare
- 1st International Conference on Environmental and Rural
Development, Strategies for Sustainable Rural
Development, 4 - 5 March 2010, Phnom Penh.
'Participatory Modelling to inform Rural Development: Case
studies from Zimbabwe and Australia' presented by Jerry
Vanclay.
Socio-economic costs and benefits of commercial forestry (Project
4.3.1)
Forest Industry Surveys
 In mid 2009, two new reports were
released on socioeconomic impacts of plantations on rural
communities in Western Australia and Tasmania were released. This
was the culmination of three years of work in the Communities
project on this topic. The studies explored questions commonly
asked about the impacts plantation expansion has on rural
communities. [read more]
Living with plantations
 A new research project being undertaken as
part of CRC for Forestry Communities Project 4.3.1 is looking at
the characteristics of communities within close proximity to
plantations (residing within plantation properties and adjacent to
plantation properties). [read
more]
Community attitudes towards plantation forestry (Project
4.3.2)
Engaging with social research
Researching the researchers can be a daunting task at times,
just ask Caroline (Caj) Dunn who has just submitted her PhD thesis
- congratulations Caj! Looking at how the forest industry
engages with the social research being undertaken by the
Communities Project, Caj has been a vital addition to the
Communties research team, providing a different perspective on
the both the research outcomes and inter-relationships between
the researchers and industry partners. [read
more]
Loving the landscape
 Kick starting her field work in the coming
months PhD student Nerida Anderson hopes to discover what people
love about rural landscapes and how this influences their
perceptions of plantation forests within these
landscapes. With field work being conducted in the idyllic
landscapes of Tasmania's North West coast, and some
exciting visually based methodology, this is a project to
watch out for in the coming months. [read
more]
Community engagement in Australian forestry (Project 4.3.3)
Making the most of community engagement opportunities
Effective community engagement (CE) requires considerable
resources from all parties involved, especially time. In the
fast-paced world that many of us live in, time is a precious
resource and therefore it is important to use it wisely. There are
a few simple ways to use the limited time available more
efficiently [read
more]
Communities, culture and cooperation
Community engagement is increasingly being incorporated
into the corporate culture of forest plantation companies.Without
community engagement, it would not be possible to be pro-active
about addressing community needs and promoting two way
communications to help achieve sustainable forest management. The
new Communities Project 4.3.3 research project aims to enhance the
adoption of community engagement in the corporate culture of
plantation companies. [read
more]
Participatory modelling of forested landscapes (Project
4.3.4)
Learnings from a participatory modelling exercise
 A participatory study exploring sub-tropical
plantation forestry expansion in north-eastern NSW by Andrea Leys
is near completion and has presented some interesting findings,
some of which have been contrary to previous community perception,
highlighting the importance of our social-ecological research to
help inform debate. [read
more]
Employment and environmental benefits of bioenergy
generation
Following on from Andrea Leys project Marie-Chantale Pelletier
is developing a project to investigate the employment and
environmental benefits of utilising low value wood for bioenergy.
Looking to utilise a study of travel to work habits,
Marie-Chantale hopes to identify impacts of various timber
processing options, including central processing
facilities and distribution networks. In addition the research
aims to complete an energy balance life cycle analysis of
bioenergy generation from low value timber. [read
more]
Affiliated research
Social outcomes of the Regional Forest Agreement in Northern
NSW
 There is mixed opinion on the process and outcome
of the Social Impact Assessment and the success of the Forestry
Industry Structural Adjustment Package associated with the
implementation of Regional Forest Agreements across Australia.
Edwina Loxton is conducting a research project focussing on the
individuals’ experience of the RFA, including their initial
concerns, their decision making process and responses, the utility
of support measures, and both short and long term impacts.
[read
more]
Social acceptance of fuel modification strategies
 Understanding perceptions of fuel
management can help land managers develop strategies and policies
that address the needs and priorities of the community. It can help
them recognise when existing or proposed policies might be
supported or rejected by the public, and assist the development of
information campaigns designed to gain public support for
strategies. [read
more]
Communities Project students
The Communities Project currently has 9 students working on
social aspects of commercial forestry:
Subproject 4.3.1 Socio-economic costs and benefits of
commercial forestry
Peter
Lezaich (Masters student) Landscape
modelling of social and economic change in rural communities
experiencing plantation expansion. Peter is currently working
on his masters part time.
Subproject 4.3.2 Community attitudes towards plantation
forestry
Caroline
(Caj) Dunn (PhD Student) Making sense of social research in
forestry. Caj is final stages of her PhD, busy writing up an
informative reflection on how forest managers use and learn
from social research. [read
more]
Nerida
Anderson (PhD Student) Understanding the connection between
the visual aesthetics of rural landscapes and the social
acceptability of timber plantations. Having recently completed
her confirmation at the University of Melbourne, Nerida is
commencing her field work taking advantage of the lovely autumn in
Tasmania. [read
more]
Subproject 4.3.3 Community engagement in Australian
forestry
Melanie
(Lain) Dare (PhD student) Community engagement processes in
Australian forestry. Lain is in the final stages of her
PhD, writing papers and producing the 'Handbook for
Operational Community Engagement within Australian Plantation
Forest Management' which will be available in the coming months.
[read
more]
Melissa
Gordon (PhD student) Adoption of community engagement in
Australian plantation forest companies. Melissa is commencing
her field work, working closely with selected forest management
companies to determine the real influences on community engagement
adoption. [read
more]
Subproject 4.3.4 Participatory modelling of forested
landscapes
Andrea
Leys (PhD student) The effectiveness of using participatory
modelling techniques to address and resolve natural resource issues
in rural communites with a developing plantation forestry
industry. In the final stages of field work, Andrea is working
hard to distribute a report to the community in which her research
has been conducted, after which the final evaluative survey can be
distributed. [read
more]
Marie-Chantale
Pelletier (PhD student) Community benefits of using
plantation hardwood for biofuel production on the NSW North
coast. Marie-Chantale is currently on maternity leave until
later in the year.
Affiliated Students
Edwina
Loxton (PhD student) The socio-economic impacts of closing
native forestry. Edwina has completed a significant portion of
her field work and is currently analysing the data. Preliminary
results have identified several interesting outcomes that help us
better understand the range of personal outcomes resulting from the
closure of forest resources.
Melinda
Mylek (PhD student) Community perceptions about fuel
modification strategies used to reduce bushfire risk to life and
property. A part time PhD student, Melinda is juggling field
work with her role as a consultant at GHD.
Whats coming up?
Community engagement handbook
The 'Handbook for Operational Community Engagement within
Australian Plantation Forest Management' is undergoing final
PSC review. With the final reviews underway, the much
anticipated handbook should hit the website in the
very near future.
Contact
Lain Dare
Newsletter Editor
Email madare@utas.edu.au
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