Reflections on collectively working toward sustainability: indicators for indicators!

Abstract

Abstract. A variety of indicators have been developed and applied by farmers and scientists for the northern cereal belt. A general overview is presented of 'What are we trying to monitor?' followed by some example concepts; erosion hazard, salinity hazard, nutrient balance, production efficiency and participatory learning. These examples illustrate the complexity of indicator application and their dependence on context, purpose and scale. Emphasis is given to providing a rationale for developing indicators that focus on 'soft' system status (e.g. behaviour) as well as 'hard' system status. The propositions put forward are that indicators need to be integrated with the development of improved management systems, and that land managers (and community) as a collective, are key to this process. Some frequently asked questions about indicator development and application are responded to. Some 'Indicators for Indicators' that we have found useful in aiding indicator development, particularly in participatory fora are presented.

Sustainability of rice production systems: an empirical evaluation to improve policy

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The components of resilience—Perceptions of an Australian rural community

“…This framework offers ideas for conceptualizing resilience: Do similar combinations of factors perhaps play a role in building or supporting a community's resilience? This question is addressed to some extent by Freebairn and King (2004) who developed a community system for assessing the sustainability of communities in Australia's Northern Cereal Belt, using the Five Capital Assets for Sustainable Development suggested by Pretty and Ward (1999).…”

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“…Meaningful interactive participation in the development of a set of indicators demands enduring and effective communication between researchers, policy-makers and 'user groups' (Kelly and Moles, 2002). As a way of ensuring the selection of appropriate indicators, community participation provides signifi cant benefi ts: it ensures that indicators accurately measure what is locally important and evolve over time as circumstances change (Carruthers and Tinning, 2003); it may build community capacity that help projects to continue after funding stops (Freebairn and King, 2003). Stakeholders are a viable source for identifying major sustainability issues at a local/regional level.…”