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ResearchOnline@JCU This file is part of the following reference: Benn, Karen Elizabeth (2013) The barriers to adoption of recommended fertiliser use practices by sugarcane growers in the Wet Tropics. PhD thesis, James Cook University. Access to this file is available from: http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/29590/ The author has certified to JCU that they have made a reasonable effort to gain permission and acknowledge the owner of any third party copyright material included in this document. If you believe that this is not the case, please contact [email protected] and quote http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/29590/ The barriers to adoption of recommended fertiliser use practices by sugarcane growers in the Wet Tropics Karen Benn Master Environmental Science Bachelor of Education Deafness Studies (post-graduate) Bachelor of Education Environmental Science School of Earth and Environmental Sciences School of Arts and Social Sciences Faculties of: Arts, Education and Social Sciences; and Science and Engineering James Cook University Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October 2013 Statement of Access I, the undersigned, author of this work, understand that James Cook University will make this thesis available for use within the University Library and, via the Australian Digital Theses network, for use elsewhere. I understand that, as an unpublished work, a thesis has significant protection under the Copyright Act and; I do not wish to place any further restriction on access to this work _____________________________ _____________________________ Signature Date Karen Benn _____________________________ Name ii Statement on Sources Declaration I declare that this thesis is my own work and has not been submitted in any form for another degree or diploma at any university or other institution of tertiary education. Information derived from the published or unpublished work of others has been acknowledged in the text and a list of references is given. _____________________________ _____________________________ Signature Date Karen Benn _____________________________ Name iii Electronic Copy I, the undersigned, the author of this work, declare that the electronic copy of this thesis provided to the James Cook University Library, is an accurate copy of the print thesis submitted, within the limits of the technology available. _____________________________ _____________________________ Signature Date Karen Benn _____________________________ Name iv Signed Statement on the Contribution of Others Nature of Assistance Contribution Names, Titles, Affiliations Intellectual Support Proposal writing Dr. Peter Thorburn, CSIRO Supervision Primary Supervisor Dr Lisa Law (2011-2013) Dr Janice Elder (2006-2011) Secondary Supervisor Dr Paul Nelson (2011-2013) Dr Joan Bentrupperbaumer (2005-2011) Industry Contribution Dr Peter Thorburn (2005-2011) Dr Emma Jakku (2055-2011) Data Analysis N/A Statistical Support N/A Cartography and GIS Map of Wet Tropics area Petina Pert, CSIRO (Figure 1) Editorial assistance N/A Financial Support Field Research SRDC Scholarship ($60,050) Stipend APA Top-Up stipend plus CSIRO Postgraduate International Conference Scholarship - Water for a Attendance support Healthy Country Flagship and Sustainable Ecosystems ($20,000) Write up grant N/A Data collection Research assistance N/A Interview design and N/A transcription _____________________________ _____________________________ Signature Date Karen Benn _____________________________ Name v Declaration on Ethics The research presented and reported in this thesis was conducted within the guidelines for research ethics as outlined in the National Statement of Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans (1999) and the James cook University Australia Statement and Guidelines on Research Practice (2001). The proposed research methodology received clearance from the James cook Ethics Review Committee (approval number H2403) on 28 June 2006. The final report was submitted on 16 February 2011. _____________________________ _____________________________ Signature Date Karen Benn _____________________________ Name vi Acknowledgements I began this journey as an experienced and mature environmental scientist with a great deal of certainty about science and a specific knowledge goal in mind. My knowledge and thinking have been challenged and I initially resisted delving into the knowledge/power relations that underpin this study. I am no longer the same person. I have changed the way I perceive environmental problems and observe new ways for resolving them. Many people have journeyed with me on my quest to understand and explain what was driving growers’ resistance to a particular recommended environmental practice. I must firstly thank the participants who agreed to be interviewed for this study and who gave freely of their time and were willing to speak candidly about their views. Without them this study could not have taken place. Tom Watters’ was the first cane grower I met in Cairns when I worked as a water quality officer for the EPA. Seeing Tom’s efforts and enthusiasm for sustainable farming created a pivotal moment in leading me to this study. I would like to thank my long-serving supervisor Dr. Janice Elder for providing positive supervision and support and introducing me to challenging environmental sociological theory. I would also like to thank her for continuing to supervise me after she moved interstate and suffered the loss of her newly finished home in the ‘Black Saturday’ Victorian bushfires of 2009. I extend my thanks also to Dr. Peter Thorburn of the CSIRO who supported my bid for a SRDC scholarship and also provided valuable supervisory guidance. I have enormous respect for Peter’s knowledge, wisdom and generosity of spirit. Thanks also to Dr. Emma Jakku of the CSIRO who also provided supervisory guidance and support during my candidature. I am deeply indebted to Dr. Lisa Law who kindly took on the primary supervisor role in the last crucial stages of my candidature. Without Lisa’s excellent critical feedback, guidance and kindness I could not have completed this thesis. Thanks also to Dr. Paul Nelson who as co- supervisor so generously shared ideas and experiences and encouraged me when I had moments of self-doubt. Two important people to thank are my PhD cohorts, Marilyn Anderson and Jennifer Gabriel, who provided critical feedback and intellectual stimulation and unstinting emotional support and camaraderie. I must also thank Greg Birchley for supporting me emotionally and financially during the last stages of writing up the thesis, when my finances were drained. vii I am indebted to Dr. Liz Tynan who guided me in the right direction when I needed it most during a change of supervisors and I am grateful to James Cook University support for the academic scholarship, without which I could not have undertaken this study. I also thank SRDC for having faith in me and awarding a generous scholarship and offering valuable support that made all the difference to the successful execution of this study. Thanks are also extended to the CSIRO Flagship scholarship award, which provided financial support and enabled attendance at an international conference that broadened my intellectual horizons. viii Contribution of Authors on the Co-Authored Paper I hereby declare that the published co-authored paper, which forms the basis of Chapter Five, was written mostly by myself. Editorial contributions by other authors comprise fifteen per cent by Dr Janice Elder, ten percent by Dr Peter Thorburn and five percent by Dr Emma Jakku. For this thesis I have removed the abstract and modified the introduction and conclusion sections. _____________________________ _____________________________ Signature Date Karen Benn _____________________________ Name ix Abstract The dominant scientific paradigm holds sugarcane growers’ cultivation practices responsible for the greatest amount of soil and nutrient run-off flowing from the Wet Tropics coast to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) lagoon. Despite strong encouragement from governmental agencies, coupled with proposed gains from reduced costs and increased levels of sugar content after reducing fertiliser use, sugarcane growers have been reluctant to alter their fertiliser practices – a situation that has puzzled Reef protection scientists. This study originally set out to understand grower’s reluctance, and involved eighty-two in-depth interviews with sugar industry representatives (growers, mill agents) from two case study areas in the Wet Tropics region and other stakeholders with interests in the industry’s environmental performance (scientists, policy makers). This qualitative methodology was used to interrogate participants’ values, interests and beliefs, which in turn motivated their actions and views regarding fertiliser usage. Ecological Modernisation Theory (EMT) provided the initial conceptual framing for understanding the way different sectors of the sugar industry responded to the recommended environmental practice. Yet through this EMT lens important economic, social and environmental issues emerged that suggested that the proposed benefits of the science and technology offered to the sugar industry were fraught with problems. Moreover, knowledge disputes about the validity and contested nature of the dominant science became an important component of the analysis – especially as these highlighted the power relations of different stakeholders. Foucault’s notion of the knowledge/power nexus and