Abstract
Different sectors of society claim rights to use valuable coastal ecosystem resources. Conflicts over their use are therefore inevitable. In eastern Australia, government-encouraged development and drainage of coastal flood plains, principally for agriculture, resulted in accelerated oxidation of acid sulphate soils and export of toxic acidic drainage to coastal streams. Major impacts on infrastructure, ecology, fisheries and aquaculture resulted. In 1987/1988, all gilled organisms were killed in 23 km of the Tweed River estuary by acid outflows from canelands. This generated major conflicts among fishers, environmentalists and sugarcane producers farming the flood plain. Here, we describe the evolution of a collaborative learning approach to coastal flood plain management involving cane farmers, local government and researchers, and the institutional response to this fish kill. Existing knowledge in Australia was inadequate and efforts centred on providing information and options for better management and regulation of sulphidic estuarine areas and on mitigating impacts on downstream ecosystems. Farmers, researchers and local government officers working collaboratively generated information on the properties and management of sulphidic flood plains under the highly variable rainfall conditions common in Australia. This provided options for management that were rapidly translated into practice and underpinned mandatory best management guidelines for the NSW sugar industry. Increases in productivity and decreases in acid water discharge have resulted. Essential features of the collaborative partnership are analysed and the institutional response, which led to the adoption of Australia's national strategy for the management of acid sulphate soils, is described.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Title of host publication | Environment and Livelihoods in Tropical Coastal Zones |
Subtitle of host publication | Managing Agriculture-Fishery-Aquaculture Conflicts |
Publisher | CABI Publishing |
Pages | 107-125 |
Number of pages | 19 |
ISBN (Print) | 1845931076, 9781845931070 |
Publication status | Published - 3 Jul 2006 |