Capacity building for natural resource management: Lessons from risk and emergency management

This article examines capacity building measures used by the risk and emergency management (REM) sector in Australia relevant to natural resource management (NRM), and in particular to the regional delivery of two national NRM programs–the Natural Heritage Trust Extension (NHT2) and the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (NAP). Australia has recently formalised a network of 56 regional NRM bodies and boards. Together, they form an important part of governance in rural and regional Australia, and are widely perceived as needing capacity development to fulfil their responsibilities. Examining measures adopted in REM has particular relevance as the sector already has a significant presence in rural Australia, and mirrors NRM in many respects–notably responsibility largely rests at state or territory level, each with multiple agencies, and program delivery is highly reliant on volunteer networks. This article discusses 12 major measures, primarily as they may be applied to regional NRM boards, and identifies many valuable ideas that warrant trial within the NRM domain.