Community Partnering for Natural Resource Management

Keith K¹*, Ross H¹*, George G²*, Allison J³*, Gorringe S³*

1. School of Natural and Rural Systems Management, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia
2. Burnett Mary Regional Group for Natural Resource Management, Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia
3. Centre for Rural and Regional Innovation, Gatton, Queensland, Australia

The success of regional natural resource management planning – the latest iteration of Australian government attempts to foster effective community management of natural resources – depends heavily on effective linkage between industry and community groups in targeted contractual agreements. Three forces are working heavily in favour of acceptance of new levels of accountable collaborative action. These are (a) The conditioning of community organisations (over the fifteen years since the Landcare Program commenced) to the need for monitorable outcomes and clear accountability for fund grants (b) Starvation of funds in the absence of firm Investment Strategies as community has tried to cope with changes in governance and support, and (c) the increasing realisation by industry that triple bottom line reporting and world market expectation of clean and green production have changed some of the previous ‘givens’ for industry strategy – no longer is profitability the only goal to be kicked.

Recent writings on corporate alliances and on organisations as communities, together with stakeholder research in association with Regional Natural Resource Management bodies in Queensland, show a need for alliances that go beyond competitive tendering on the one hand and low-expectation ‘hand-outs’ to community organisations on the other. This paper outlines a model for progression towards a new level of community-industry partnership agreements that can stand the test of accounting required for government funding while maintaining a social capital development philosophy which builds the partnership for future achievements. It also demonstrates how strengthening of community networks provides openings for collaborative ‘boot-strapping’ towards sustainability, regardless of the level of outside funds available.

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