A METHOD OF PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN GOVERNMENTS AND CITIZEN’S COMMUNITY GROUPS FOR ACHIEVING ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN THE LANDCARE MOVEMENT IN AUSTRALIA

Abstract

With regard to achieving environmental sustainability, it has long been recognized that partnership between citizens and governments is important for conservation and for solving environmental problems. It has also been recognized that what form that partnership takes makes a difference. However we are still in the process of seeking out a methodology for an ideal form of partnership between citizens and governments. This study will focus on the partnership between citizen's community groups and governments in an Australian community-based approach to natural resource management called Landcare, which has been recognized as a successful approach for natural resource management through multi-party partnership. In the Landcare movement, local voluntary groups care for the local environment, including such things as parks, creeks, forests and farms. In order to clarify the nature of the partnership between citizen's community groups and governments in the Landcare movement, documentation analysis and in-field research in the State of Victoria, Australia, were undertaken. The in-field research included observations through participation and interviews with individuals participating in the Landcare movement as volunteers or staff members. As a conclusion, the partnership between citizen's community groups and governments in the Landcare movement has been found to include respect for the voluntary and autonomous nature of the local groups that carry out the activities for improving local environments with informational, financial, technical, and motivational support from the state and federal government.