I led a three-person team in coordinating the Sustainable Management of the Helidon Hills project in 1998-99. From its inception, the project sought to be different. The Helidon Hills represents a microcosm of the issues currently facing NRM planners all over Australia and internationally. These relate to the management of change across a broad front including industry development, conservation, natural resource management, community access to resources, cultural heritage, infrastructure development and tourism potential. The impact of any of these changes in the Helidon Hills area had the potential to significantly disrupt the rich heritage that is woven into the fabric of community and family life in the area, not to mention the threat to livelihood. Read the rest of this entry »