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Local knowledge and environmental management: a cautionary tale from Lake Ainsworth, New South Wales, Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2008

JOHN TIBBY ,
MARCUS B. LANE  and
PETER A. GELL
JOHN TIBBY*
Affiliation:
Geographical and Environmental Studies, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia
MARCUS B. LANE
Affiliation:
CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, Queensland, 4067Australia
PETER A. GELL
Affiliation:
Geographical and Environmental Studies, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia
*
*Correspondence: Dr John Tibby Tel: +61 8 8303 5146Mobile: +61 434 950 861Fax: +61 8 8303 3772 e-mail: john.tibby@adelaide.edu.au
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Summary

Local knowledge is increasingly seen as a critical information source for environmental management and habitat restoration, particularly in Australia. To assess the reliability of this information source, community perceptions of the salinity history of Lake Ainsworth (New South Wales, Australia) were investigated. Lake Ainsworth is a coastal dune lake classified as ‘permanently’ freshwater, although diatom evidence indicates a saline phase that ended in the 1930s. Local accounts of the Lake's history rarely reached consensus and local perceptions frequently contrasted with alternate evidence, including that derived from historical maps and aerial photographs. Given there was an inconsistent and unreliable local perspective about a relatively simple environmental issue, calls for environmental management and restoration to be based on local priorities should be viewed with scepticism.

Keywords

aerial photographsdiatomhabitat restorationhistorical mapslake sedimentslocal knowledgemanagement targetssalinity
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 34 , Issue 4 , December 2007 , pp. 334 - 341
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2008

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