ILWS - Institute of Land, Water and Society
Past Events 2007
2011 / 2010 / 2009 / 2008 / 2006 / 2005
Seminar: Trust in Business Relationships
The ERD group ran a workshop on Tuesday 27 November 2007 to showcase the results from David Dowell's Doctoral thesis which focused on the development of trust in business-to-business relationships and its effect on firm performance. Prof Louise Young (UTS) also presented 'Two decades of trust research' at this workshop. The workshop attracted 67 attendees from the Bathurst region, including over 40 representatives from Bathurst businesses. The workshop was a good opportunity for those in the community to hear research conducted by the university into business in their region.
E-CReW 2007
The ERD group hosted E-CReW ( Environmental and Resource Economics Early Career Researcher Workshop) in Bathurst from the 12-13 November. It was a great success attracting 65 participants and mentors from 7 countries. Mentors attending this year's E-CReW included Prof Michael Hanemann (University of California) head of the California Climate Change Centre, Prof Laura Taylor (University of North Carolina), Prof John Rolf (CQU), Prof Allan Curtis (CSU), Dr David Godden (DECC), and Dr Don Gunsekera (ABARE). Participants commented that they enjoyed the casual setting in which they where able to receive feedback on their research from leaders in the field. The continued success of E-CReW has ensured that it will be run again in the coming years.
Dr Rosemary Black
Book Launch
The launch of "Quality Assurance and Certification in Ecotourism" by Dr Rosemary Black (pictured, left) was held on Tuesday, 20 November, 2007 at CSU's Thurgoona campus.
Conflict in the Arctic: rem(a)inders of the Japanese invasion of Alaska
From Left: Major Graham Docksey and Assoc Prof Dirk Spennemann
Assoc Prof Dirk Spennemann's recent visit to the remote, uninhabited Kiska Island in the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia was the focus of an ILWS hosted event at the Bandiana Army Museum in Wodonga on Oct 25.
Sixty three people, including a number of army personnel and members of the region's RSL clubs, came along to hear Dirk's interesting lecture "Conflict in the Arctic : rem(a)inders of the Japanese invasion of Alaska " which was complemented by photographs that Dirk took during his trip. Dirk says he was amazed at the condition of the guns and other relics of the island.
"I was damp all the time but I was prepared and my equipment and cameras performed better than I expected," said A/Prof Spennemann. "But I loved it and aim to go back to do a joint project with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the US National Park Service working on all of the island's heritage, not just the guns. Even though the island has Aleut (the indigenous people of the region) heritage sites, it hasn't been inhabited since the mid 1800s which means you don't have a 'civilisation layer'. It's a military base pure and simple. That makes it unique."
Pictured at the Conference are Trevor Verlin, with CSIRO's Andrew Bennett and Paul Ryan (co-convenor)
Better Bush on Farms Conference
The Better Bush on Farms Conference was held at CSU's Thurgoona campus on Wednesday, 19 September and was jointly hosted by ILWS, CSIRO, the NSW Environmental Trust and the Conservation Management Network.
Around 140 people attended the conference to listen to the latest research findings of ILWS members and natural resource management agenices in southern NSW and Victoria, and to discuss issues relating to the implementation of on-ground incentive programs to protect native
vegetation on farms.
Cross-boundary farming - is it an opportunity to sustain Australia's farming activities?
A seminar on the opportunities and pitfalls of cross-boundary farming was held in Wagga on Friday, 7 September. Guest speaker David Brunckhorst of the University of New England presented his research from the Tilbuster Commons project.
Participants included conventional, hobby, and organic farmers, Ph.D. students, CMA's, councillors from Wagga, a property lawyer, representatives of the NSW Farmers' Association, the CWA and federal and state politicans. The forum sparked a great deal of interest - people had a lot of questions and participated in the different lively sessions.
During the discussions it became clear that there is a role for individual farm ownership, collective management and for sharing the resources. Such a system can contribute to more sustainable farming practices in Australia. The latest weather forecast predicts that the drought will continue. Therefore it is anticipated that increasingly farms may be taken over the large corporations and that the family farm will be in jeopardy. -contributed by Ingrid Muenstermann, Forum co-convenor
More information about the Tilbuster Commons project (external site).
Professor Sam Lake and A/Prof Robyn Watts
Drought: The Creeping Marauder and its effects on aquatic ecosystems
Prof Sam Lake 's talk in Albury at the Nowik Theatre on 4 July attracted an audience of 55, including people from catchment management authorities, the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre and La Trobe University. Prof Lake, who is a leading figure in Australian and international freshwater ecology, gave a fascinating presentation, describing our perceptions and types of drought; how it has shaped human history; its impact on aquatic ecosystems; and predictions of what we can expect as a result of climate change.
"We are very poorly set up to deal with drought," said Prof Lake (pictured left with CSU's A/Prof Robyn Watts) from Monash University's School of Biological Sciences. "As a result of climate change we can expect to have more dry periods, and ones that are more protracted and at present we know very little about what effects these might have on our river systems."
Prof Lake said Australia 's policy makers and natural resource managers tend to be reactive when it comes to droughts, when instead they need to be pro-active. "Knee-jerk reactions to drought are not the answer," he said. "We need long-term planning and strategies that protect rivers rather than sacrifice them."
Some of the changes he advocated included implementing new and on-going restoration programs for degraded systems; identifying and protecting those systems with biota which need to be conserved; removing and/or circumventing unnecessary barriers in waterways; investing in solar desalinisation; allowing the flood plains to be flooded; and altering farming practices to suit our variable climate.
5th Australian Stream Management Conference
Prof Peter Cullen gave the closing speech
The conference organising team
Held in Albury in late May, 275 delegates attended the conference over four days, including a day of field trips. ILWS Director Prof Allan Curtis said, "The conference was a success in terms of enhancing the knowledge and networks of a very enthusiastic group of practitioners. It has provided an excellent opportunity for the different practitioners to be exposed to the cutting edge science around climate change and the assessment of the ecological health of our rivers."
Prof Curtis said, "Despite the changes we are all facing there has been remarkable optimism especially when we have seen examples of innovative approaches such as the use of Market Based Instrument, the temporary sale of water, or large investments." A peer-reviewed conference proceedings publication of almost 100 papers is available by contacting Kris Gibbs.
Adaptive management workshop
Catherine Allan (Standing)
On the 18th and 19th of April a group of environmental researchers and managers gathered at the Lake Hume Resort to discuss the use of Adaptive Management. Adaptive Management is proposed as a way of addressing the 'wicked' problems (including climate change) currently faced by natural resource and environmental managers.
The workshop was convened by Catherine Allan and Allan Curtis from the Institute of Land, Water and Society, in Albury, and George Stankey from Oregon in the USA. Participants attended from Queensland, New Zealand, Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne. The key outcome from the workshop was a commitment to develop an accessible and useful book for would-be practitioners of adaptive management, and a framework and time plan for that development.
For further information contact Catherine Allan (pictured above, standing).
Innovations in rural and regional paramedic roles
A/Prof Peter O'Meara with Ric Bouvier, a retired general practitioner with a long history in ambulance education
Ambulance authorities and paramedics ". need to actively build partnerships and alliances with local communities and other health professionals if they are to achieve greater integration with rural communities and the health system." This recommendation to the National Rural Health Alliance came from participants in a workshop held before the 9th National Rural Health Conference in Albury on 7th March 2007. They also called for the allocation of sufficient resources to ensure that the needs and expectations of rural communities can be met on an equitable basis.
Workshop participants in the " Innovations in Rural and Regional Paramedic Roles workshop" were drawn from throughout Australia including Victoria, Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania .The workshop was organised to explore innovations in rural and regional paramedic roles that had been raised in the recently completed Beyond Emergency Response research project.
Workshop participants identified that future paramedic roles would extend in response to changes in the availability and roles of the rural health workforce. For instance, in those towns where medical practitioners are unavailable and nursing resources are stretched, paramedics could use their existing or new knowledge and skills to provide a range of primary health care and public health services to local communities. Practical steps were discussed in order to successfully integrate these extended paramedic roles into the health system. Two actions that can be taken are the establishment of the educational and legal frameworks that help facilitate a new vision for the future of paramedic practice in rural Australia . At a policy level, paramedics, ambulance authorities and rural communities need to participate in the process of influencing government policy and undertake further research into extended paramedic practice.
Future Frameworks for Regional Rail
A joint initiative between Engineers Australia Railway Technical Society of Australasia and Charles Sturt University.
The aim of the 'Future Frameworks' symposium was to explore the capabilities and frameworks for sustainable regional rail.
These frameworks recognise the benefits of an integrated and balanced approach between road and rail within regional logistics chains. The symposium was held in February, 2007 at Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga.