Abstract
Achieving “sustainable development” requires the exploitation without diminution of financial capital, manufactured capital, intellectual capital, human capital, social and relationship capital, and (particularly) natural capital. This requires effective natural resource governance, to guide human uses of the earth into sustainable patterns. Agriculture and rural communities are central to sustainable development because among other reasons: agricultural activities typically require natural environments; agriculture is resource dependent and fundamental to society; and rural people are frequently relatively poor. Good rural natural resource governance is thus a prerequisite for sustainable development.
Paul Martin—Program Leader Invasive Animals CRC ‘Effective Community led Action’
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Notes
- 1.
Jurisdictional boundaries are defined by nation or state, and organisational authority and power. Constitutions, the limits to the power of the state over private property or the interests of the citizen, and national sovereignty, limit government action.
- 2.
Selection of countries was based upon criteria to ensure a diverse sample, including developed and less developed countries, diverse climate and ecological conditions, and degrees of agricultural activity. The findings are considered to be consistent with other intelligence on agriculture and development.
- 3.
The ‘lucky country’ descriptor was used satirically in the opening lines of the final chapter.
- 4.
Australia enjoys a lower level of family income inequity than these countries, measured by the Gini coefficient at 30.3.
- 5.
Whilst most Aboriginal people now live in urban and inner regional areas, Aboriginal people are a higher proportion of the population of rural and remote areas. For most indicators, outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians worsen as remoteness increases.
- 6.
Based on the price the chicken grower receives compared to the retail price of a dressed frozen chicken. This value is much less when compared to other commodities as the chicken grower is essentially a contractor. The processor provides the chicken grower with the majority of the inputs required for the growing process.
- 7.
Low income does not mean a lack of wealth. Farming is capital intensive. The average wealth of farming households in 2009–10 was $1.3 million, compared to other households ($393,000). Income is the more relevant measure of welfare and of capacity to invest in stewardship.
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Acknowledgements
The research assistance of Dr. Amy Cosby and Roxanne Blackley is gratefully acknowledged. This paper is partly based on research with the support of the Australian Research Council (Project No LP110100659) and project partners: Australian Cotton Research and Development Corporation; Pennsylvania State University; Soil Conservation Service of Iceland; Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities; Tamar NRM, RDA Tasmania, the Tamar and Namoi region communities and the Invasive Animals CRC research program 4 “Facilitating Effective Community Action”.
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Martin, P., Williams, J. (2016). Next Generation Rural Natural Resource Governance: A Careful Diagnosis. In: Mauerhofer, V. (eds) Legal Aspects of Sustainable Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26021-1_30
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