Improving the 'Rules of Engagement': Understanding how participatory processes are defined, experienced and implemented in Australian natural resource governance

Abstract

Community action in natural resource governance can provide a pathway for improved decision-making, increased on-ground activity and acceptance of government and industry legitimacy in managing natural resources. Increasing the role of community in the protection, restoration and management of natural resources is a stated priority of ecologically sustainable development (ESD) principles. Despite a proliferation of legal requirements for public participation and non-legal guidelines that promote community access to environmental decision making at both the international and national scale, implementation is often unsatisfactory and difficult to evaluate.