Research programs

CRC for Forestry > Research programs > Trees in the landscape > Communities

Communities (project 4.3)

Why have a Communities project?

Australia's forest industries are undergoing rapid change, as are the perceptions held about forestry by different groups. It is essential to understand the social and economic implications of ongoing change within the forest industry, as well as the impact of changes in rural and regional areas on the forest industry.

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Increasingly, many stakeholders at local, regional and national level want to be involved in and informed about forestry planning and management. Effective community engagement can be challenging, and research is needed to better understand what types of engagement are needed and what methods and approaches to community engagement are most effective for different stakeholders.

The CRC for Forestry is investing in research into the social dimensions of Australia's forest industries to ensure our forest and plantation management is socially as well as environmentally sustainable.

The four sub-projects of the Communities project are examining:

Outputs of the Communities project are:

Information enabling development of strategies to maximise the positive and minimise the negative impacts of commercial forestry;
Improved understanding of changes in community attitudes to forestry over time;
Practical community engagement strategies enabling effective dialogue between all stakeholders with an interest in the forest industry; and
Practical tools to assist informed dialogue between stakeholders.

Timeframe and research locations:

The Communities project will undertake time series research from 2006-2012. Currently, research is focussed in four regions:

Tasmania
South west Western Australia
The Green Triangle region of south west Victoria and south east South Australia
The upper Clarence catchment in northern New South Wales

Research activity of the Communities project is co-ordinated by Jacki Schirmer, and research is conducted at:

Australian National University - led by Jacki Schirmer
University of Melbourne - led by Dr Kathryn Williams
University of Tasmania - led by Professor Frank Vanclay
Southern Cross University - led by Professor Jerry Vanclay

Scholarship opportunities:

For an overview of scholarship opportunities with the Trees in the Landscape research programme, click here.

Contacts

Dr Jacki Schirmer
Project Leader
Communities
Tel: +61 2 6125 2737
jacki.schirmer@anu.edu.au

Fenner School of Environment & Society, Building 48

Australian National University, ACT 0200

New releases

INTERIM REPORT - Socioeconomic impacts of forest industry change: a baseline study of the Tasmanian forest industry

DOWNLOAD HERE

Findings of a recent study examining the socio-economic impacts of the recent downturn in the Tasmanian forest industry on industry businesses and workers are presented, as well as identification of which communities have experienced the most change in the forest industry. In addition, the vulnerability to future change of those dependent on the industry is examined, with recommendations provided regarding the design of assistance mechanisms.

Download the media release here.

Handbook for operational community engagement within Australian plantation forest management.

AVAILABLE NOW!

With community engagement (CE) now a major component of modern forest management, the Community Engagement handbook provides a comprehensive yet realistic overview of the underlying principles and concepts of CE, as well as practical guidance about how to undertake engagement, and real-world examples from forest industries.

The handbook can be downloaded here.

Recent Releases:

Structural adjustment assistance in the Australian forest industry: a review of recent experience and recommendations for best practice design of future structural adjustment packages

This report provides a comprehensive guide to the design and implementation of Structural Adjustment Packages (SAPs) in the Australian native forest industry. The report can be downloaded here.

Tasmania’s Forest Industry 2010: Trends in forest industry employment and turnover 2006 to 2010

This report presents results of new research on the extent and impact of the recent downturn in the forest industry in Tasmania between 2006 and 2010. The report is available as a full-length technical report (500 kB) or a summary report (4 MB).

News updates

New research

'Socioeconomic impacts of forest industry change' — Tasmania

The ‘Socioeconomic impacts of forest industry change’ study has been gathering the information required to analyse the social and economic impacts of the downturn on forest industry businesses, workers and families affected by these changes. The study was undertaken from February to June 2011.

The report from this study is anticipated to be available in July 2011.

Recent seminars

Seminars on carbon sequestration

Two recent seminars by Dr Lyndall Bull and Dr Jacki Schirmer have presented results of recent Communities research examining landholder views about planting trees for carbon sequestration. To download the seminar presentation, click here.

Communities reports

To view and download all available reports and presentations produced by the Communities project

Click Here

To view and download all available media releases

Click Here

Communities newsletters

Issue Three (May 2010)

Issue Two (October 2008)

Issue One (October 2006)

Meet the Communities project's students

Ms Nerida Anderson

Ms Melanie (Lain) Dare

Meet all the CRC for Forestry students.

Links

014. Study investigates changing land use in the northern New South Wales
http://www.scu.edu.au/news/media.php?item_id=1096&action=show_item&type=M
Media release 23 April 2008

Dr Jacki Schirmer on ABC Local Radio Hobart 27 June 2008
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/news/audio/news-audio/200806/20080627-news-forestry.mp3
Communities Project Leader Dr Jacki Schirmer discusses results from the Tasmanian Forest Industry Survey on The Morning Show with Tim Cox, 936 ABC Hobart, 27 June 2008.