Learning to participate: responding to changes in Australian land and water management policy and practice

Rapid changes to resource and environmental management systems are occurring in Australia. These include increased emphasis on a whole-of- ecosystem approach, adaptive management, and community participation in decision-making. The need to respond to these rapid changes raises new educational challenges, which are being addressed in the Resource and Environmental Management program at Macquarie University through a round table exercise in environmental decision-making. Using an environmental flow allocation scenario, with a combination of face-to- face meetings and online tasks, this role-play activity requires students to assume a stakeholder role, formulate a position paper, question the views of other stakeholders, and negotiate to reach a consensus-based outcome. A key outcome is the learners' active engagement in an authentic task that exposes them to many of the uncertainties they will face in professional practice.