Visualising the value of water
- Authors: Block, Jessica , Graymore, Michelle , Wallis, Anne , Vamplew, Peter , Mitchell, Bradley , O'Toole, Kevin , McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Pipes, Ponds and People: Adaptive water management p. 195-225
- Full Text: false
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A reasoning framework for decision making in water allocation: a tree for water
- Authors: Graymore, Michelle , Mays, Heather , Stranieri, Andrew , Lehmann, La Vergne , McRae-Williams, Pamela , Thoms, Gavin , Yearwood, John
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at International Conference on Integrated Water Management 2011
- Full Text: false
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Regional sustainability: How useful are current tools of sustainability assessment at the regional scale?
- Authors: Sipe, Neil , Rickson, Roy , Graymore, Michelle
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ecological Economics Vol. 67, no. 3 (2008), p. 362-372
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Sustainability assessment methods are primarily aimed at global, national or state scales. However, modelling sustainability at finer spatial scales, such as the region, is essential for understanding and achieving sustainability. Regions are emerging as an essential focus for sustainability researchers, natural resource managers and strategic planners working to develop and implement sustainability goals. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of current sustainability assessment methods - ecological footprint, wellbeing assessment, ecosystem health assessment, quality of life and natural resource availability - at the regional scale. Each of these assessment methods are tested using South East Queensland (SEQ) as a case study. It was selected because of its ecological and demographic diversity, its combination of coastal and land management issues, and its urban metropolitan and rural farm and non-farm communities. The applicability of each of these methods to regional assessment was examined using an evaluation criteria matrix, which describes the attributes of an effective method and the characteristics that make these methods useful for regional management and building community capacity to progress sustainability. We found that the methods tested failed to effectively measure progress toward sustainability at the regional scale, demonstrating the need for a new method for assessing regional sustainability.
Sustainability reporting: An approach to get the right mix of theory and practicality for local actors
- Authors: Graymore, Michelle
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 6, no. 6 (2014), p. 3145-3170
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- Description: Many local government or regional plans have “a sustainable future for our community” as a goal. However, few local or regional governments have a sustainability reporting tool in place that enables them to understand how far along the pathway to sustainability their community is. There are a range of reasons for this, including current sustainability indicators and indices not matching the needs or capacity of local actors. This paper argues that a collaborative approach to developing sustainability reporting tools, that involves sustainability experts and local actors working together, will be more successful at developing a tool that has a theoretical basis with locally relevant indicators, which is practical for informed decision making. This process will also build the sustainability reporting capacity of local actors. This collaborative approach was tested in South West Victoria, Australia, resulting in a locally relevant, practical and theoretically sound sustainability reporting tool that met the needs of local actors. This outcome shows that a collaborative approach can overcome some of the barriers to sustainability reporting for local actors; however, further testing is required.
- Description: C1
Assessing sustainability: a technical fix or a means of social learning?
- Authors: Wallis, Michael , Kelly, Alecia , Graymore, Michelle
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology Vol. , no. (2010), p.
- Full Text: false
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- Description: 2003008514
Tapping the turn: The social dimensions of water management
- Authors: Harriden, Kate , Graymore, Michelle
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Journal of Environmental Management Vol. 20, no. 3 (2013), p. 175-178
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- Description: Guest editorial
- Description: C4
A method for building community resilience to climate change in emerging coastal cities
- Authors: Smith, Timothy , Daffara, Phillip , O'Toole, Kevin , Matthews, Julie , Thomsen, Dana , Inayatullah, Sohail , Fien, John , Graymore, Michelle
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Futures Vol. 43, no. 7 (2011), p. 673-679
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Rapidly urbanising coastal locations represent prototypes of future cities. While these "sea change" locations will face a range of issues associated with rapid growth such as infrastructure provision and enhancement of social capital, anticipated environmental impacts are likely to add significant challenges. Climate change is likely to have dramatic impacts on sea change communities through diminished potable water supplies, rising sea levels, storm surges, and increased intensity of flood events - with indirect impacts on health, financial sectors, and biodiversity. Given the inherent diversity within sea change communities with regard to age, culture, and socio-economic status there are likely to be differences in ways of adapting, the ability to adapt, and the desired direction of any changes. Cognizant of the potential enormity of climate change impacts, the need for rapid responses, and the diversity within communities, this paper proposes a participatory and transformative method to work with communities in responding to climate change and variability within rapidly urbanising coastal locations. The method focuses on determining probable futures for various communities of place and interest within sea change areas and aims to build the capacity for dynamic on-going learning to achieve those futures, both within and between the communities. Through this process community members may be empowered with dynamic and future-orientated learning skills that build upon community knowledge, innovation, and resilience. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.
Sustaining human carrying capacity: A tool for regional sustainability assessment
- Authors: Graymore, Michelle , Sipe, Neil , Rickson, Roy
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ecological Economics Vol. 69, no. 3 (2010), p. 459-468
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Regional sustainability is an important focus for natural resource management. Measuring how social and economic systems are progressing to sustainability is therefore a critical need. But it is dependent upon the development of analytical and methodological tools to measure progress, particularly, we argue, at the regional level. Achieving sustainability at the regional scale is important since it's at this scale where social institutions and ecological functioning are most closely linked. However, our recent study that evaluated the effectiveness of current sustainability assessment methods at the regional scale found methods developed for the global, national and state scales are not entirely effective at assessing sustainability at this spatial scale. Following on from this critique, we developed and tested a new method for assessing sustainability, which we believe is applicable at the regional scale. The framework, Sustaining Human Carrying Capacity (SHCC), evaluates the sustainability of regional human activities by considering the pressures these activities have on regional ecosystems. SHCC was tested and evaluated at the regional scale, demonstrating its potential to be an effective method for monitoring sustainability. It also has potential to be used to inform the community and decision makers about the sustainability of their region, and help guide strategic planning to progress sustainability. © 2009 Elsevier B.V.
Water allocation argument tree (WAAT): A tool for facilitating public participation in water allocation decisions
- Authors: Graymore, Michelle , Stranieri, Andrew , McRae-Williams, Pamela , Mays, Heather , Lehmann, La Vergne , Thoms, Gavin , Yearwood, John
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Book
- Full Text: false
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Introduction
- Authors: Graymore, Michelle
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Pipes, Ponds and People: Adaptive water management in drylands p.
- Full Text: false
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Household water use behavior: An integrated model
- Authors: Jorgensen, Bradley , Graymore, Michelle , O'Toole, Kevin
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Environmental Management Vol. 91, no. 1 (2009), p. 227-236
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Water authorities are dealing with the challenge of ensuring that there is enough water to meet demand in the face of drought, population growth and predictions of reduced supply due to climate change. In order to develop effective household demand management programs, water managers need to understand the factors that influence household water use. Following an examination and re-analysis of current water consumption behavioral models we propose a new model for understanding household water consumption. We argue that trust plays a role in household water consumption, since people will not save water if they feel others are not minimizing their water use (inter-personal trust). Furthermore, people are less likely to save water if they do not trust the water authority (institutional trust). This paper proposes that to fully understand the factors involved in determining household water use the impact of trust on water consumption needs investigation.
Pipes, Ponds and people: Adaptive water management in drylands
- Authors: Graymore, Michelle , McRae-Williams, Pamela , Barton, Andrew , Lehmann, La Vergne
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Book
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Water is a scarce resource around the world, but particularly in dryland regions of Australia where droughts and the impact of climate change have dramatically reduced water availability. For communities living in dryland areas, and for global food security, this is a critical issue. This book contains case studies of innovative applied research for adaptive water management in the dryland regions of Australia. Each of these studies tells a story of an approach to adaptive water management that not only provides solutions to the water scarcity challenges in dryland areas, but also helps sustainability of regional communities around this issue.
Socio-ecological value of wetlands: The dilemma of balancing human and ecological water needs
- Authors: Graymore, Michelle , McBride, Dawn
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Journal of Environmental Management Vol. 20, no. 3 (2013), p. 225-241
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- Description: Humans' need for water has changed flow regimes, degraded ecosystems and depleted water resources. In the Wimmera Mallee in Victoria, the dilemma between human and ecological water requirements began in the colonial era when a channel and dam system was built to transport water. Prolonged drought prompted government to replace this with the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline. This pipeline produced a closed system, reducing water available for the environment, including on-farm wetlands. This study identifies the socio-ecological values of on-farm wetlands and the impact the changed water regime had on these. An interpretative landscape approach was used to integrate geophysical, ecological and social information on nine on-farm wetlands. This identified a range of socio-ecological values on-farm wetlands provide, including aesthetic, amenity, production and biodiversity, that are impacted by the pipeline system. A range of implications for on-farm wetland management were also identified. © 2013 Copyright Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand Inc.
- Description: C1
Conclusion: Role of adaptive water management in the resilience of dryland communities
- Authors: Graymore, Michelle
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Pipes, ponds and people: Adaptive water management in drylands p. 255-264
- Full Text: false
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Climate change and the future of Australia's country towns
- Authors: Beer, Andrew , Tually, Selina , Kroehn, Michael , Martin, John , Gerritsen, Rolf , Taylor, Mike , Graymore, Michelle , Law, Julia
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Applied Studies in Climate Adaptation p. 332-341
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This chapter presents the future of Australia's country towns in the context of anticipated climate change, where it is assumed Australia faces moderate climate change as predicted by the CSIRO's MK3.5 model. It argues that the future of Australia's country towns is not simply a product of climate change and its manifestation in terms of altered rainfall patterns, increased average temperatures and more frequent extreme events. The chapter discusses Australia's country towns within the context of contemporary and anticipated social, economic and climatic trends, before moving on to discuss the estimation of vulnerability within these communities. It describes both the implications for rural communities and the paths potentially available to governments across Australia. The adaptation and future of Australia's country towns is not simply a story of a changing climate and its impacts. © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. All rights reserved.
Significance of environment in the assesssment of sustainable development: The case for south west Victoria
- Authors: Wallis, Anne , Graymore, Michelle , Richards, Anneke J
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ecological Economics Vol. 70, no. 4 (2011), p. 595-605
- Full Text: false
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- Description: The assessment of sustainable development is often based on the three pillars of sustainability model using social, economic and environmental indicators. It is thought that by measuring the performance of each system, information can be gained about the sustainability of the whole system. However it seems there has been no attempt to evaluate if such an 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 assessment of system sustainability. The project found that environmental indicators were considered the most important for assessing regional 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 the theory and reality of sustainability. Here, we describe a framework for sustainability assessment that attempts to re-connect theory to practice.
- Description: 2003008701
Beyond the call of duty : The integral role of rural local government in emergency management
- Authors: Ollerenshaw, Alison , Graymore, Michelle , McDonald, Kelsey
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Rural Society Vol. 25, no. 3 (2016), p. 185-203
- Full Text: false
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- Description: As Australian state and federal governments extol the importance of resilience-building in rural communities to mitigate the effects of natural disasters, understanding the contribution of local government in supporting communities during natural disaster is required. This research examines the role and responsibilities of rural local government following a natural disaster to identify how learnings have informed subsequent disaster response planning. Framed by the local government capability requirements for managing natural disasters [Kusumasari, B., Alam, Q., & Siddiqui, K. (2010). Resource capability for local government in managing disaster. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, 19(4), 438–451] this study uses survey data from affected community members, and interviews with representatives from emergency response and recovery organisations. This data provides insights from the 2011 floods and landslides in the Grampians, Victoria and demonstrates the integral role of local governments in supporting the community. Participants acknowledged the outreach provided by local government as intensive, far reaching, and ongoing while human resourcing and institutional capabilities were limited. Findings provide guidance on best practice for natural disaster planning and response. © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Are transition towns indicators of deinstitutionalisation of aspects of western culture?
- Authors: Wells, Philippa , Graymore, Michelle
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Society Systems Science Vol. 6, no. 3 (2014), p. 203-222
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Transition initiatives in Australia, as elsewhere, have been mooted as a means of increasing community resilience to the threats posed by peak oil, climate change and economic uncertainty. Their emergence has attracted researchers to ask questions around their purpose, effectiveness and attraction for those who participate, as well as their likely future prospects in changing attitudes and habits in their respective communities and in society as a whole. This paper contributes to the broader understanding of transition initiatives in Australia by analysing the findings from a survey conducted amongst those involved in such initiatives within a deinstitutional theory framework. It is concluded that although the emergence of these initiatives are somewhat indicative of deinstitutionalisation, this is limited. In addition, the concepts and concerns on which they are based flow only slowly into the broader community.
A Visualisation tool for experiential learning in Environmental Science: Using football fields, agricultural fields and waterways to illustrate the implication of different water allocation decisions
- Authors: Wallis, Anne , Graymore, Michelle , Matthews, Ty , Byrne, Susan
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Biology Education for Social and Sustainable Development Chapter 8 p. 73-86
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Environmental education challenges educators to provide students with activities that cover complex societal issues, enhance critical thinking and to promote interdisciplinary and holistic learning. A further challenge is to convey this information so that it provides a solid foundation for participatory decision making. For example, effective management of water resources requires consideration of the social, economic and environmental consequences of various water allocation decisions together with an understanding of the possible conflicts that arise from these decisions, particular under scenarios of limited water supply. Well designed visualisation tools can enhance teaching and understanding of difficult concepts. For example, they can be designed to allow students to participate in hypothetical decision making and to visualise the potential implications of their decisions under a range of scenarios. A review of the published literature revealed that several visualisation tools have been developed for use in science education, but few provide the option for students to participate in integrated environmental decision making. This paper presents a visualisation tool, called WINDSCREEN, that has been introduced into environmental science classes to enhance student learning. The tool focuses on water resources and requires students to think about how they would allocate available water supplies for social, economic and environmental uses. An overview of the challenges associated with water allocation decisions, together with the role that visualisation tools can play in environmental education are also discussed.
Watery places: Stories of environmental and community renewal
- Authors: Reeves, Jessica , Hames, Fern , Graymore, Michelle
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Located Research: Regional Places, Transitions and Challenges p. 281-302
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Not only is water essential to life, it also has the ability to heal; connecting ecosystems with community for mutual renewal. Here we focus on three regional centres in Victoria, Australia, where water systems have been severely impacted, causing vulnerability to environmental health and social fabric. Each case study shows fractured communities finding a connection to place through the vitality-not just the amenity-of water. The Black Saturday wildfires of 2009 left the community of Marysville devastated. The waterways also suffered from severely degraded water quality. Whereas people may choose to walk away, fish cannot. The first case study involves a partnership between state government authorities and community to move a threatened population of Barred Galaxias to safer waters, return them to their home two years later, rehabilitate habitat, and grow advocacy. This is a story of entwined ecological and community renewal. Maryborough, once a bustling regional centre, suffered from the double impact of economic downturn and the Millennial Drought (2000-2010). The drinking water quality decreased so significantly, that one of Victoria’s most disadvantaged communities no longer trusted what came out of the tap. An examination of this breakdown in trust enabled the local water authority to explore ways to rebuild confidence and reconnect people to town water. The Morwell River has been significantly modified by the coal mines and power stations of the Latrobe Valley. The closure of the Hazelwood Power Station in 2017 now provides an opportunity to give this river back to the community. This final study looks at the potential of ‘rewilding’ the Morwell River to return environmental and cultural heritage, and develop economic, social and educational outcomes. © The Author(s) 2020.