Keywords
collaborative research, decision support tool (dss), sustainability learning, sustainable landscape development, problem-oriented research
Start Date
1-7-2010 12:00 AM
Abstract
The Landscapes Toolkit, a spatially-explicit integrated modelling framework, was developed in collaboration with stakeholders in the Tully basin, Australia. The aim of the Toolkit is to assist local communities and government as well as natural resource management (NRM) organisations in assessing options for sustainable landscape development. The Landscapes Toolkit analyses and compares the outcome of stakeholderdefined land use and management change scenarios on water quality, biodiversity and economic performance by linking the respective disciplinary models. Experiences from applying the Landscapes Toolkit in the Tully basin, a catchment flowing into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, suggest that the modelling framework strikes a satisfactory balance between capturing the richness of social-ecological system processes, disciplinary science and the capacity of stakeholders to understand and compare scenario results. Therefore the Landscapes Toolkit offers a promising framework to support local communities, government and NRM organisations in making more informed decisions about sustainable landscape development. In this paper, I explore the potential contribution of the Landscapes Toolkit to the emerging field of transdisciplinary landscape research.
The contribution of modelling and stakeholder engagement to transdisciplinary landscape research: an exploration of the Landscapes Toolkit
The Landscapes Toolkit, a spatially-explicit integrated modelling framework, was developed in collaboration with stakeholders in the Tully basin, Australia. The aim of the Toolkit is to assist local communities and government as well as natural resource management (NRM) organisations in assessing options for sustainable landscape development. The Landscapes Toolkit analyses and compares the outcome of stakeholderdefined land use and management change scenarios on water quality, biodiversity and economic performance by linking the respective disciplinary models. Experiences from applying the Landscapes Toolkit in the Tully basin, a catchment flowing into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, suggest that the modelling framework strikes a satisfactory balance between capturing the richness of social-ecological system processes, disciplinary science and the capacity of stakeholders to understand and compare scenario results. Therefore the Landscapes Toolkit offers a promising framework to support local communities, government and NRM organisations in making more informed decisions about sustainable landscape development. In this paper, I explore the potential contribution of the Landscapes Toolkit to the emerging field of transdisciplinary landscape research.
