Significance of environment in the assessment of sustainable development : the case for South West Victoria

The assessment of sustainable development is often based on the three pillars of sustainability model or triple bottom line using a set of indicators that evaluate the social, economic and environmental systems. It is thought that by measuring the performance of each system information can be gained about the sustainability of the whole system. However, this represents a disconnect between sustainability theory and the practice of sustainability evaluation as there is no attempt to evaluate if this assumption is true. During the development of a sustainability assessment framework for south west Victoria, Australia, it has become evident that this approach to sustainability assessment does not provide an accurate evaluation of system sustainability. Throughout this project, from stakeholder prioritisation of indicators to final multiple criteria analysis of sustainability, the environmental indicators were found to be the most important for the region’s sustainability. As a consequence, the assessment produced shows that in south west Victoria, sustainability is largely determined by the condition of the environment. This finding highlights the current disconnection between theory and the reality of sustainability. Thus, we discuss a framework for sustainability assessment that attempts to re-connect theory to practice.

The role of community activism in the sustainable development of coastal communities : the Nepean Conservation Group Inc, a case study

The Nepean Conservation Group Inc (NCG) was formed in 1973. The jurisdiction of the NCG covers the whole the Nepean Peninsula, the tiny sliver of land between Port Phillip Bay and Bass Strait, at the end of the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia. Much of the Nepean Peninsula is moonah woodland. The NCG Constitution states that their primary object is “To make every effort to ensure that the land and waters of the Sorrento Portsea Blairgowrie Area are used with wisdom and foresight and that the competing demands upon them are resolved in the best long terms interests thereof …” The NCG deals with issues as diverse as vegetation and development overlays; heritage; townscapes; public access; neighbourhood character; hooded plovers; historic towns and fire protection. The NCG coordinates Friends Groups that care for bushland parks and coastal reserves, for flora and fauna, on the Nepean Peninsula. The NCG is an advocate for a dynamic fragile coast. Implicit is an expectation that such a local community group is the guardian of their coastal environment. After thirty-eight years of dedicated voluntary work it is timely to reconsider the role of community activism in the sustainable development of coastal regions and towns. This paper examines a number of significant recent issues: public rights to access; subdivision; historic coastal town development and fire protection. The author acknowledges the NCG Committee for their support and access to the NCG papers and archives. This case study is situated in a larger ongoing research investigation.

Exploring Financial Inclusion for Smallholders: Promoting the Sustainable Development of Smallholder Aquaculture in Developing Countries

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-08

An integrated information management model for ecologically sustainable development

Ecologically sustainable development has become a major feature of legal systems at the international, national and local levels throughout the world. In Australia, governments have responded to environmental crises by enacting legislation imposing obligations and restrictions over privately-owned land. Whilst these obligations and restrictions may well be necessary to achieve sustainability, the approach to management of information concerning these instruments is problematic. For example, management of information concerning obligations and restrictions in Queensland is fragmented, with some instruments registered or recorded on the land title register, some on external registers, and some information only available in the legislation itself. This approach is used in most Australian jurisdictions. This fragmented approach has led to two separate but interconnected problems. First, the Torrens system is no longer meeting its goal of providing a complete and accurate picture of title. Second, this uncoordinated approach to the management of land titles, and obligations and restrictions on land use, has created a barrier to sustainable management of natural resources. This is because compliance with environmental laws is impaired in the absence of easily accessible and accurate information. These problems demonstrate a clear need for reform in this area. To determine how information concerning these obligations and restrictions may be most effectively managed, this thesis will apply a comparative methodology and consider three case studies, which each utilise different models for management of this information. These jurisdictions will be assessed according to a set of guidelines for comparison to identify which features of their systems provide for effective management of information concerning obligations and restrictions on title and use. Based on this comparison, this thesis will devise a series of recommendations for an effective system for the management of information concerning obligations and restrictions on land title and use, taking into account any potential legal issues and barriers to implementation. This series of recommendations for reform will be supplemented by suggested draft legislative provisions.

Changing pedagogic codes in a class of landscape architects learning 'ecologically sustainable development'

Professional discourse in education has been the focus of research conducted mostly with teachers and professional practitioners but the work of students in the built environment has largely been ignored. This article presents an analysis of students’ visual discourse in the final professional year of a landscape architecture course in Brisbane, Australia. The study has a multi-method design and includes drawings, interviews and documentary materials, but focuses on the drawings in this paper. Using the theory of Bernstein, the analysis considers student representations as interrelations between professional identity and discretionary space for legitimate knowledge formation in landscape planning. It shows a shift in how students persuade the teacher of their expanding views of this field. The discussion of this shift centres on the professional knowledge that students choose rather than need to learn. It points to the differences within a class that a teacher must address in curriculum design in a contemporary professional course.

Urban growth monitoring techniques for sustainable development

This paper discusses the role of advance techniques for monitoring urban growth and change for sustainable development of urban environment. It also presents results of a case study involving satellite data for land use/land cover classification of Lucknow city using IRS-1C multi-spectral features. Two classification algorithms have been used in the study. Experiments were conducted to see the level of improvement in digital classification of urban environment using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) technique.

Impacts and opportunities : resident's view on sustainable development of tourism in regional Queensland, Australia

Tourism development is a priority for rural and regional areas of Australia. The challenge is how to develop the tourism industry in a sustainable manner. As part of a larger project investigating community perceptions of opportunities, strategies and challenges in regional sustainable development, this article explores participant's views and opinions of tourism development. Through purposive sampling, 28 local community leaders and residents in the Darling Downs region in Queensland, Australia, participated in four semi-structured focus groups. This paper focuses on two of these focus groups, where tourism was a critical issue. Participants were generally positive about the tourism industry and its impacts on their community, although they expressed several triple bottom line concerns about economic, environmental and scoial issues. Four key themes emerged: appropriate land use management, limited resources and ageing/insufficient infrastructure, preservaation of community heritage and lifestyle, and regional conflict. Residents supported sustainable tourism development and wanted to be more actively involved in decision-making, demanding greater transparency - and true engagement - from local government.