Integrating knowledge systems in local coastal management; the case of an estuary entrance management support system (EEMSS) in Australia

The management of social, economic, and ecological assets in coastal zones is fundamental to the maintenance and sustainability of coastal resources. A significant issue in this discussion is the role of governance structures. In Australia the governance of the coastal zone includes a range of institutional authorities, processes, and procedures that set the context for decision making about coastal management. As well as the formal institutional arrangements there is also a maze of other interests such as development commissions, NGOs, Indigenous Native Title holders and other stakeholders including recreational interests. A major issue for governance arrangements is the considerable gap that often exists between how those interests interpret and develop their positions especially when the knowledge is derived from different systems – scientific, managerial, lay and indigenous. This paper will explore the development of an Estuary Entrance Management Support System (EEMSS) in south west Victoria Australia. The EEMSS is a decision support tool to assist estuary managers in determining whether to artificially open a river mouth. A significant part of the process adopted was community participation which involved a ‘steps’ approach to engage local community groups and landholders. It is the process of engaging different knowledge systems in a meaningful conversation that has led to a system that now gains support from all of the stakeholders in the management of different estuaries. The paper will discuss the processes that surround the EEMSS and outline some lessons that arise in context of the ‘project state’.

Towards an improved understanding of knowledge dynamics in integrated coastal zone management: a knowledge systems framework

Integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) is a complex undertaking that draws on a range of biophysical and social science disciplines, and involves a wide range of stakeholders operating through multiple processes, and crossing various levels  Conceptually, this means that ICZM represents a significant challenge in terms of improving the way in which different disciplinary ‘knowledges’ and different forms of knowledge (scientific, managerial, lay, and indigenous) inform decision making. Depending upon the circumstances, ICZM may be constrained by different knowledge deficits, including: uncertainty; science - policy gaps; and the ‘filtering’ of particular forms of knowledge relative to others. As a means for making sense of these knowledge dynamics, this paper considers the concept of knowledge systems and its potential for improving understanding of coastal management processes. The potential insights that can be gained from four analytical approaches (stakeholder, institutional, network, and discourse analysis) are then discussed, and used to develop an analytical framework for investigating coastal knowledge dynamics, which is based upon a generic coastal knowledge system and associated research questions. Finally, the utility of this framework is illustrated using a case study that examines the knowledge dynamics associated with debates about the establishment of marine protected areas in Victoria, Australia.

Adaptation planning for coastal inundation and erosion at the local level : a knowledge systems perspective

Scientific projections for climate change induced sea level rise highlight the potential for serious consequences in low lying coastal areas, through impacts upon: built infrastructure; beneficial uses; and ecological values. An area of particular concern relates to the ways in which issues associated with land may be subject to future inundation and, or, erosion. Responding to such issues is complex and challenging, requiring consideration of multiple sources of evidence (with varying levels of certainty), diverse organisational settings and priorities, and multiple perspectives on what the evidence means. Further, limited attention has been directed towards exploring the knowledge dynamics associated with coastal adaption planning. In this paper we explore the knowledge dynamics associated with coastal adaption planning, in order to highlight the inter-organisational and inter-personal challenges involved. We do so by drawing on the views expressed in semi structured interviews by stakeholders with an interest in coastal climate change. The particular focus is on exploring how different actors perceive coastal adaption planning process, and the tensions, challenges, and implications associated with, and arising from, the way in which coastal adaptation knowledge is exchanged.

Planning education and indigenous knowledge systems in Australia: where are we?

In 2008 Sarah Oberklaid reviewed the state of Indigenous knowledge systems in the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA)-accredited University planning programs and found a fragmented unfocused suite of agendas and attempts at addressing this increasingly important moral, cultural and land use management issue. While Oberklaid statistically validated what several authors have observed, and continue to observe, there appears to have been little action by programs, and specifically the PIA (Planning Institute of Australia), to address this issue and reposition their education accreditation policies; with the latter increasingly reluctant to engage with their professional responsibilities. This paper appraises this situation and foreshadows continuing research that may better inform and support a change of perspective by the PIA andthese programs.

Positioning research and new knowledge systems

Debates into the positioning of research and aligning them with new knowledge systems has received mixed reactions. Many argue that research needs to follow discrete silos of disciplinary knowledge where knowledge needs to remain within a particular and defined construct. However, in the global world that we now embrace, there is a burgeoning of new knowledge systems that have disrupted ‘traditional’ processes of carrying out research and foregrounded the encompassing of new knowledge systems that follow research pathways and methodologies that are all encompassing of the multifaceted educational and social systems that embrace specific postcolonial and indigenous societies. Much of this corollary has stemmed from historical and political factors that have seen the rise of some disciplines of knowledge and the non-awareness’s and non-recognition of others. This paper articulates from an auto-ethnographic perspective the discussion surrounding the positioning of research, new knowledge systems and interdisciplinary learning in the areas of International and Aboriginal students. Focusing on postcolonial theory and Aboriginal approaches to research, the author foregrounds the tensions of historiography, hybridity, subjectivities, collaborative sharing and voice through what she terms a ‘strands of knowledge’ approach in these two areas. In the process, the author conceptualises two definitions. These are: intra-paradigm shifts and the irreducibility of the ethics of research and discusses how they are integral concepts when researching in or around particular cultural communities and groups.