Impulses towards a multifunctional transition in rural Australia: Interpreting regional dynamics in landscapes, lifestyles and livelihoods

Abstract

The direction, complexity and pace of rural change in affluent, western societies can be conceptualised as a multifunctional transition, in which a variable mix of consumption and protection values has emerged, contesting the former dominance of production values, and leading to greater complexity and heterogeneity in rural occupance at all scales. Australia's generous supply of land and sparse investment in agriculture have facilitated local transitions towards enhanced consumption and protection values, enabling a clear delineation of emerging differentiated modes of rural occupance. These modes are described as: productivist agricultural; rural amenity; small farm (or pluriactive); complex multifunctional; marginalised agricultural; conservation; and indigenous. Within these seven modes, alternative trajectories can be identified, indicating variability in the intensity and type of resource use. Articulation of the multifunctional transition concept may enable a more informed means of developing new policy settings.