
Cultivating Community
How discourse shapes the philosophy, practice and policy of water management in the Murray-Darling Basin
Amanda Shankland(Author)
Sydney University Press
Published on 1. September 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
290 pages
978-1-74332-977-1 (ISBN)
Description
In the face of escalating water scarcity, effective water management has become a central concern globally. The Murray-Darling Basin, spanning over a million square kilometres across four states and one territory, is a lifeline for Australian agriculture and rural communities.
Cultivating Community: How discourse shapes the philosophy, practice and policy of water management in the Murray-Darling Basin dissects the prevailing environmental discourses shaping water policy in the Murray-Darling Basin and assesses their implications for both the environment and for farming communities.
Drawing on five months of extensive field research among farmers and Murray-Darling Basin Authority officials, Dr Amanda Shankland presents a nuanced understanding of farmer perspectives within the broader policy discourse. By examining the interplay between environmental discourses and farmer knowledge, Shankland sheds light on how different ideologies shape policy decisions and, subsequently, impact water management practices.
Central to the book's contribution is the identification and analysis of four key environmental discourses prevalent in the Murray-Darling Basin: administrative rationalism, economic rationalism, democratic pragmatism, and green environmentalism.
Against the backdrop of looming water scarcity and the declining health of the Murray-Darling Basin, Cultivating Community challenges these dominant discourses by highlighting a new perspective, community centrism, which emphasises community-based cooperation and engagement in water management. By amplifying farmer voices and advocating for a more inclusive approach to policy deliberations, Cultivating Community paves the way for alternative futures in water management that prioritise social values alongside economic and environmental considerations.
Cultivating Community is a timely and indispensable resource for charting a path towards a more resilient and equitable water future in the Murray-Darling Basin and beyond.
Cultivating Community: How discourse shapes the philosophy, practice and policy of water management in the Murray-Darling Basin dissects the prevailing environmental discourses shaping water policy in the Murray-Darling Basin and assesses their implications for both the environment and for farming communities.
Drawing on five months of extensive field research among farmers and Murray-Darling Basin Authority officials, Dr Amanda Shankland presents a nuanced understanding of farmer perspectives within the broader policy discourse. By examining the interplay between environmental discourses and farmer knowledge, Shankland sheds light on how different ideologies shape policy decisions and, subsequently, impact water management practices.
Central to the book's contribution is the identification and analysis of four key environmental discourses prevalent in the Murray-Darling Basin: administrative rationalism, economic rationalism, democratic pragmatism, and green environmentalism.
Against the backdrop of looming water scarcity and the declining health of the Murray-Darling Basin, Cultivating Community challenges these dominant discourses by highlighting a new perspective, community centrism, which emphasises community-based cooperation and engagement in water management. By amplifying farmer voices and advocating for a more inclusive approach to policy deliberations, Cultivating Community paves the way for alternative futures in water management that prioritise social values alongside economic and environmental considerations.
Cultivating Community is a timely and indispensable resource for charting a path towards a more resilient and equitable water future in the Murray-Darling Basin and beyond.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Sydney
Australia
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
A5: Tankobon
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 148 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
391 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-74332-977-1 (9781743329771)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Amanda Shankland has a doctorate from the Department of Political Science at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. Dr Shankland specialises in research on social ecology, food sovereignty, water management, and rural development, and has spent her career working towards advancing the goals of ecologically sustainable agriculture through political reform.
Content
Acknowledgements
Significant events and developments
Measurements
Abbreviations
List of tables
Prologue: communities in crisis
Introduction
The Murray-Darling Basin
Theoretical approach
Administrative rationalism, economic rationalism and democratic pragmatism
Green environmentalism
Community-centrism
Policy alternatives
Conclusion
References
Index
Significant events and developments
Measurements
Abbreviations
List of tables
Prologue: communities in crisis
Introduction
The Murray-Darling Basin
Theoretical approach
Administrative rationalism, economic rationalism and democratic pragmatism
Green environmentalism
Community-centrism
Policy alternatives
Conclusion
References
Index