Mr Kip Werren, a researcher at the Ag Law Centre, is conducting a survey for the purposes of his Phd. He is seeking opinions from landholders (the primary decision maker on the property) with regards to their views on conservation funding. Kip is seeking the views of all Landholders and as such you do not have to be a primary producer to answer the questions. The questionnaire should not take more than 20 minutes. There is some initial reading with questions following.

Participation in this survey is voluntary. However, a high level of landholder involvement is needed for the survey to be a success and to accurately reflect the views of landholders. The confidentiality of any information you provide will be protected.

Click here for Conservation Funding Models Survey

The AgLaw Centre has developed an Exposure draft document on “Innovations in institutions to improve weed funding, strategy and outcomes”.

We welcome your feedback to this innovative research, comments are required by 30 April 2012. Click here to download, instructions for feedback are on the front page of the report.

Amanda Kennedy knew she was up against formidable odds in applying for one of the Commonwealth Government’s inaugural Discovery Early Career Research Awards.

But the young lawyer from the University of New England was not only among the 12 per cent of applicants from around the nation to be granted one of the awards, but also the only successful applicant in the field of law. “It’s amazing, really,” she said, “and it’s a real honour to have been chosen.”

Now, funded by her $375,000 award, she is about to embark on a three-year study of the role of the law in managing disputes over the use of natural resources.

Dr Kennedy (pictured here) is Deputy Director of the Australian Centre for Agriculture and Law (AgLaw Centre) at UNE. In that role, her research over the past three years has focused on aspects of natural resource law and rural social policy and, early this year, she coordinated an international colloquium at UNE – “Water Law: Through the Lens of Conflict” – that attracted participants from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Iceland, South Africa and the United States.

“My aim in this new research project,” she said, “is to investigate how conflicts over the use of natural resources develop, and how disputes might be managed more effectively through approaches that recognise the competing values of stakeholders and the influences on such conflict of both legal and other regulatory frameworks.

“The protracted conflict between farming and mining interests on the Liverpool Plains has been very much in the forefront of our minds here at the AgLaw Centre. That conflict escalated – in typical fashion – to litigation, taking a toll on those involved.

“The current applicable legislation tends to prioritise the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources, and mistrust abounds over the exploration licence process. The growing scarcity of natural resources, combined with the fact that different resource users are moving in closer proximity, means that such disputes are increasing in number. It is therefore of fundamental importance that systems for managing conflict over natural resources are effective. Any improvement in resolving such conflicts has to come from approaches recognising that stakeholders have divergent values and that the law is an actor in such conflict situations.”

Dr Kennedy will be studying cases of conflict in Australia – and also in the United States, where UNE’s partnership with Penn State University will facilitate her work.

The new Early Career Research Awards program, administered by the Australian Research Council with the aim of assisting talented young researchers to develop their careers, takes account of considerations such as the need for young women to have breaks in their careers for maternity leave. After graduating from UNE as a Doctor of Philosophy in March 2007, Amanda Kennedy’s first period of maternity leave was after the birth of her first daughter, Sarah, in December 2008. Her second daughter, Olivia, was born six months ago. “It was great to be applying for an award where I didn’t feel I had to make excuses for my time away from research,” she said.

An article on Amanda’s success was also published in The Australian newspaper: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/early-career-researchers-inaugural-winners/story-e6frgcjx-1226194517642

The Australian Centre for Agriculture and Law has made a submission on environmental law reform (with a focus on the rural sector) to the Future COAG Regulatory Reform agenda. Our submission can be downloaded here: COAG submission, rural regulation-1

The AgLaw Centre has a number of activities underway over the coming months that will contribute significantly to the next gen research:

• National regional NRM body survey: a national evaluation survey undertaken 5 years ago of the regional NRM bodies in Australia will be repeated during November 2011 to early 2012 to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the current regional NRM model. It is anticipated the survey results will be available in March 2012.

• ABARES metadata analysis: as part of our research and our collaboration with ABARES a metadata analysis on behavioural and other aspects of NRM will be undertaken, with meetings to be held in November to commence working with the data available. Access to the ABARES data provides considerable strength and synergies to our research.

• We are currently working on a RIRDC project to scope future institutional research for weeds, and for the CRC Invasive Animals in developing institutional research on feral animals.

• We recently presented a submission on rural environmental law for the COAG reference on environmental regulation reform. Our submission provides a catalyst to bring together a number of key concepts.

• Masters of Sustainability module development: new and redesigned modules are currently being developed for delivery in 2012. It is anticipated that these modules will form the base of the regional training packages for the case study regions for use from 2012 onwards.

• Interactive web page development: we are currently designing an interactive web interface for the case study regions and researchers to participate in and easily access documentation and updates.

Welcome to the first research update from the AgLaw Centre.

Our Centre provides innovative scholarship on laws and institutions affecting rural communities with a focus on reforms that will improve sustainable use of natural resources, and the quality of rural life.

The next generation rural landscape governance research will propose reforms to:
• Improve the sustainability performance of farming including conservation outcomes;
• Reduce the costs of achieving this, and
• Ensure that the costs and benefits are distributed fairly.

We commenced our three-year research during 2011 and are currently in the set up stage including recruiting the case study regions, the national steering group and PhD students.

The research has 4 core themes:
1. Behaviourally effective rules
2. Co-regulation
3. Over-arching legal architecture
4. Effective engagement
5. Risk Instruments

Researchers
The AgLaw Centre researchers Paul Martin (Director), Amanda Kennedy (Deputy Director) and Jacqueline Williams (Senior Researcher) provide the core research leadership in collaboration with Penn State University and Iceland Soil Conservation Service.
Three excellent PhD students have recently been recruited. Michael Forsyth commenced his research in July and his focus is on the theme of behaviourally effective rules. He has a law degree and an Honours degree (H1) in Psychology. He has lectured in research design and statistics, and has a farming background. Andrew Lawson will commence his research in January 2012 and his focus will be on co-regulation. Andrew has a background in law and science and significant experience in natural resource management. Tanya Howard will also commence her research in January 2012 and will focus on the theme of effective engagement. Tanya has a background in environmental education and has a wealth of experience with community engagement and communication. More details about our PhD students can be found at our web site: www.une.edu.au/aglaw

Workshops

The first workshops in the regions and Canberra were held in June, July and August. These initial workshops explored the issues and needs of the regions, the current governance challenges and future NRM model options. Synthesis of these workshop outcomes has been undertaken and meetings in October and November will consolidate the participative research program for the next 2 years. The Queensland case study of the Barrier Reef is no longer included and the AgLaw Centre is in discussions with other interested regions as case study participants. Paul Martin also attended a workshop in Canberra on September 28, with a focus on coordination of the various industry environmental BMP and certification schemes.

Canberra launch!

The official launch of the next generation rural landscape governance was held on 11th August at the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra. Richard Coleman from the Australian Research Council chaired the event with Paul Martin speaking on the strategic goals and challenges of the research followed by Andrew Campbell, Director of the Research Institute of Environment and Livelihoods who spoke of the provenance of the research building on past outcomes and work across Australia. Ted Alter from Penn State University provided the keynote presentation on the imperative of institutional innovation. Our industry partners were also represented with Andy Monk from Biological Farmers of Australia and Grant Pink from SEWPaC speaking on their perspectives as research partners.

Dr Mark Shepheard has recently won a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship from The Government of Canada Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

This will see Mark at McGill University, Faculty of Law for 2012-14, researching private obligations for natural resource stewardship in agriculture. This work comes directly out of his PhD research at UNE with the AgLaw Centre. Please see the following links for more detail:

http://banting.fellowships-bourses.gc.ca/media/result-2010-2011-eng.html
http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/news/item/?item_id=177385

Since completing his thesis in 2010, Mark has received an Endeavour Postdoctoral Research Award, which took him to Lincoln University in New Zealand to examine developments in water stewardship obligations. After graduating from UNE in April 2011, Mark received a short research grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation, which saw him visit the Department of Public and Rural Law at the University of Lucerne during June and July 2011. While there, Mark reviewed farmers water stewardship obligations. In May and June 2012 he will visit the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford as the recipient of a British Academy Short Research Grant that will form a case study as part of his postdoctoral research at McGill.

More information about Mark can be found at: www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=5790840&trk=tab_pro

‘Defending the Social Licence of Farming’

Book Launch by Hon Tony Windsor

Mining and Agriculture Forum

14th November Narrabri

The Hon Tony Windsor will officially launch the AgLaw Centre’s latest book ‘Defending the Social Licence of Farming’ at the Murray Darling Association event: ‘Mining & Agriculture: can they co-exist‘ Community and Local Government Forum on Monday 14th November at the Crossing Theatre, Narrabri.

Within this book authors from Australia, the USA, Europe and Iceland document the diverse issues associated with the ‘social licence to farm’. As resources become scarce and society’s expectations more diverse and demanding, farming can expect that social licence issues will become both more difficult and more important. This book will provide a useful stimulus for innovation and proactive policies to defend the social licence of the farm sector.

Both the book launch and the forum provide an opportunity to explore and discuss new policy approaches to the social licence of farming and rural land use conflicts.

Wanida Phromlah recently returned from a successful trip to Thailand where she presented a paper on ‘Reforming Governance for Sustainable Forest Management in Thailand’ at the 2011 Society of Interdisciplinary Business Research (SIBR) Conference on Interdisciplinary Business & Economics Research: Advancing Knowledge from Interdisciplinary Perspectives. The conference is hosted by the Society of Interdisciplinary Business Research and the Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University (Thailand). After presenting her paper, she fielded questions about the ownership on forest areas in Thailand; this issue was further discussed at the conference. Wanida’s paper is published in the eLibrary of Social Science Research Network (SSRN), and is being reviewed for publication by the journal Psychology Research (ISSN 2159-5542).

After the conference, Wanida interviewed a number of high ranking Thai officials on the topic of her thesis and gained useful cooperation from them. She also interviewed people who were directly involved in the day-to-day management of Thailand’s forests management issues in Thailand.

Picture: Wanida with the head of the Khoa Wong sub-district and president and the coordinator of Khoa Wong Forest Community standing in front of a display of forest products.

The AgLaw Centre’s next generation rural landscape governance research project has begun; the official launch will be at the Australian national Botanic Gardens in Canberra on 11 August 2011. The keynote address will be given by visiting Professor Ted Alter from Penn State University: ‘Next generation resource governance – the imperative of institutional innovation’. There will also be addresses by project partners: Australian Government (who provide ARC grant funds), Biological Farmers of Australia, and Cotton Research and Development Corporation.

The research, to be undertaken over the next three years aims to propose law and other governance reforms to:
1. Improve the sustainability performance of farming, including conservation outcomes
2. Reduce the costs (including opportunity costs) of achieving this, and
3. Ensure that the costs and benefits are distributed fairly.

The method to be used is ‘engaged scholarship’. Three regional case studies will feature: Tamar region in Tasmania; the Namoi region in NSW; and the Barrier Reef catchments in Queensland. The first regional workshop was held on 3 June 2011 in Launceston. Workshops in Narrabri, Canberra and Mackay are planned for July and August.

The principal investigators in this innovative project are Professor Paul Martin, Dr Jacqueline Williams and Dr Amanda Kennedy from the AgLaw Centre. A national steering group (of government, industry and NGOs) will provide project oversight. Four PhD scholars, all to commence in the next few months, will target their topics in the broader research agenda provided by this project. Partners in the case study regions are contributing significantly through in-kind support.  International partners include Penn State University, Iceland Soil Conservation Service and the EC Institute of Sustainability. It is planned to establish international case study regions to further the collaboration and extent of this innovative governance research.

For further information, please contact Jacky Williams: jacqueline.williams@une.edu.au