No Survey, No Say!
Over-surveyed? Over-consulted and under supported? Over... it? We do hear you, or rather, we hear your silence when we get poor responses to our surveys.
We wish there was another way! But surveys are a foundational tool in natural resource management (NRM), where decision-making must be grounded in local knowledge, landholder priorities, and socio-economic realities.
In regions such as the Western Australian Wheatbelt, where landscapes are highly modified and community participation is critical to achieving environmental outcomes, surveys provide a structured mechanism to capture both quantitative and qualitative insights directly from those managing and working the land.
We recently closed the survey for our pilot project, Wheatbelt land-use paradigms – navigating new industries in the low carbon and natural capital era. Which was supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Climate Smart Agriculture Program. However, the survey wasn’t completed by as many people as we hoped, resulting in it not being “significant” at a statistical level. Nevertheless, we were still able to glean some highly valuable insights from the 30 community members that took part.
In the context of environmental market development in the Wheatbelt, responses indicate a generally low to moderate baseline understanding of biodiversity and biomass markets among landholders. This highlighted the need for targeted education and extension.
At the same time, there was a clear interest in diversification opportunities, particularly where they align with existing farming systems and offer additional income streams.
Importantly, the survey identified several consistent barriers to participation. These included uncertainty around market stability and pricing, complexity of contract requirements, and a lack of trusted, locally relevant information. As a grower-led project, the Paradigm industry report (due out later this year), will contribute to answering these concerns and other knowledge gaps identified in this survey.
Many respondents expressed a preference for practical, hands-on tools and case studies rather than high-level theory, underscoring the importance of initiatives such as the Paradigm industry report and workshop-based engagement. These are all factors of the project being rolled out over the next two years.
This reinforces the role of NRM organisations as regional-scale knowledge brokers, translating emerging market opportunities into practical, place-based solutions.
Collectively, these findings demonstrate that surveys are not just a data collection tool, but also a strategic asset that informs program design, strengthens engagement, and ensures that NRM initiatives remain responsive to the communities they serve.
So, thank you if you have committed time to complete one of our surveys. Please continue to do so, because it gives us the ability to better support you in the future.
Published eNews #413, April 2026