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Landcare Languages: A communication Manual for Landcare
Landcare languages translates the key landcare messages into the principal languages of the landcare movement. It offers a set of tools to help all the players in landcare - farmers, graziers, scientists, economists, educators, administrators and politicians - understand each other when they talk about landcare. The languages range from fund-raising to economic planning, from solving on-the-ground problems to developing a national land policy. The messages are those which landcare people themselves have said are the most important - and which have proved the most difficult to get across. Those messages are careful stewardship of the land; cooperative partnerships between those who care for the land; and managing the land for Australia's long-term future.
These landcare messages involve us all. Landcare bridges country and town; conservation and development; local land ownership and national land policy. We cannot expect to understand each other, much less work towards the same landcare goals, until we can share our understanding of what landcare means in all its aspects.
The Landcare Communication Study which led to this manual was funded by the National Landcare Program, Department of Primary Industries and Energy. The aim was to find out what resources landcare participants need for effective communication and decision-making throughout the landcare movement. The study involved attendance at over 50 landcare events, interviews with more than 150 key landcare players and review of over 2000 writings on landcare. It identified a number of themes needing to be addressed in making landcare work, which in turn led to the research questions of the study: How can landcare participants communicate effectively at both the local and national scales? How can such a diverse set of stakeholders find common ground for meeting their own, their community's and the government's agenda?
Please note: Landcare Languages was written in 1995-96. Most of the contact organisations, names and addresses mentioned have changed. More up to date information for these contacts can be found elsewhere on the NLP website.
- Landcare Languages
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If you experience any trouble accessing the above files contact:
Natural Resource Management
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
GPO Box 858
Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: 02 6272 4350
Fax: 02 6271 4526
Email: National Landcare Program
A note about copyright:
Considerable time has been spent on clearing copyright of articles and quotes. If any article has been incorrectly acknowledged, please notify the National Landcare Program so that correct acknowledgements can be made.