Please join us this Wednesday, March 08, 2023, for another Knowledge to Action seminar, brought to you by the Center for Environmental Research, Education, and Outreach (CEREO) and WSU’s Rivers, Watersheds, and Communities (RWC) Program:
“Engaging for change: tools and tips for engaging with natural resource managers to create positive change”
Presented by Paul Ryan
Paul is the Director of the Australian Resilience Centre and will give a talk on how to engage with natural resource managers to create positive change. Paul has agreed to stay for an extra 30-minute discussion period after the seminar. Please join and discuss with Paul the challenges and tools for working with managers in the field of natural resources.
Link to register: https://wsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0vf-2vqjsiGNMtlJF_yBLQ8vhR62cp3Wtt
Seminar Overview:
Issues in natural resource management usually stem from a mismatch between the aspirations, values and decisions of differing stakeholders and institutions and the natural processes and dynamics that maintain and renew ecological systems. This mismatch, and resultant NRM issues, are founded in our history, institutions, funding and capacities. In this context, engagement is constrained by resources and capacity and the pursuit of multiple, potentially misaligned, objectives. As such, engagement frequently starts with a trust deficit. Establishing a shared understanding of the social and ecological systems of interest is a crucial step in moving towards sustainable outcomes. Engagement with multiple parties that seeks to understand these aspirations, values and decisions, as well as their potential mismatches with natural processes, will build a common foundation on which to base discussions and allow for exploration of possible pathways forward. In this session I will overview some of the approaches we use to build a shared understanding about systems and system change. I will highlight tools and approaches refined over two decades over 1,200-plus sessions engaging with more that 20,000 participants in rural settings from around Australia, Africa and South East Asia.