Abstract Type: Independent oral presentation
Abstract TitleA social license to operate theory for lethal control of crown-of-thorns starfish on the Great Barrier Reef
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Abstract
Outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) have been recorded in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) since 1962 and have considerable ecological and economic impact. Monitoring and control of COTS to predict, prevent and mitigate outbreaks is an important part of the ongoing protection of the GBR. We set out to develop an in-depth understanding of GBR community perceptions of COTS management and to synthesize these perceptions inductively into a social license to operate (SLO) theory. Based on 117 semi-structured interviews with 140 GBR community members, we developed a grounded theory of the primary domains SLO for COTS management on the GBR. Our results emphasize the need to distinguish between SLO and the preceding rights and responsibilities of GBR Traditional Owners. The primary domains of SLO we found for COTS management included community perceptions of (1) ethical responsibility; (2) knowledge and rationale; (3) management effectiveness; and (4) socioeconomic benefits. Except for the importance of socioeconomic benefits, the domains we identified differ from those found by previous studies of the mining and natural resources industries. Our grounded SLO Theory can be helpful for environmental managers to identify potential avenues to increase community support and social license for environmental management programs such as the culling of COTS.
Related Conference Topic Area
social license to operate
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Presenter Information
First Name Henry |
Last Name Bartelet |
Affiliation The Cairns Institute, James Cook University |
Author(s) Information
Author | First Name | Last Name | Affiliation |
1 | Gillian | Paxton | The Cairns Institute, James Cook University |
2 | Stewart | Lockie | The Cairns Institute, James Cook University |
3 | Vincent | Backhaus | The Cairns Institute, James Cook University |
4 | Lokes | Brooksbank | Traditional Owner Strategic Initiatives, Great Barrier Reef Foundation |