The impact of governance on environmental outcomes in Australian natural resource planning and management

Abstract

This study addresses the general research question of how collaborative governance has impacted on environmental outcomes in Australian natural resource planning and management. The thesis argues that the discrepancy between theoretical expectations and practical results of collaboration lies in the implementation arrangements of collaborative governance. Within these arrangements, collaboration does not occur in a 'pure' form but rather, it is mixed with other governance approaches, such as hierarchy and markets. Collaborative governance not only is 'impure', but also inconsistent, as it occurs within a multi-level setting of governing centres. This mix of governance approaches and levels lead to a range of tensions within the overall collaborative framework. As a consequence, collaborative governance fails to coordinate the different actors and levels of governance involved in environmental policy and planning to achieve improved natural resource conditions. In practice, some actors are excluded, authority or power-sharing is limited, responsibility sharing is not properly defined, and mixed implementation instruments generate conflict. This thesis focuses on the regional level of governance −represented by a set of Natural Resource Management (NRM) regions− in its interaction with federal and state levels of 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.