Dealing with salinity in Wheatbelt Valleys - Department of Water

with Salinity in Wheatbelt Valleys Conference
Dealing
Prospects and Practical Options
Processes,
2. VIEWS OF AGENCY PERSONNEL AND RURAL LANDHOLDERS
Stack bar graphs, such as the figure featured below, were used to compare and contrast the views of
agency personnel and rural landholders. As these graphs involve multiple attributes, interpretation can be
time consuming. Hence, it was decided to provide a brief textual summary of the results.
Question 3.3 Over what timeframe should we be planning the shared
vision for?
Don’t know
50 yrs plus
50 yrs
20 yrs
10 yrs
5 yrs
SUMMARY OF RESULTS
% of people
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Agency 1 Rural 1 Agency 2 Rural 2
(these should be viewed in context with the general outcomes described above);
* At the outset of the conference, rural landholders rated the risk of salinity higher than agency personnel.
At the end of the conference, responses within the two samples were more closely aligned.
* For both surveys, rural landholders stated that the onset of salinity would be sooner compared to the
responses given by agency personnel.
* For both surveys, agency personnel rated the importance of offsite impacts on biodiversity higher than
rural landholders.
* A greater number of agency personnel disagreed with the statement that the options are currently
available to tackle salinity in wheatbelt valleys.
* For both surveys, a greater number of rural landholders believed that the costs of implementation were
limiting the uptake of suitable options. In comparison, a greater number of agency personnel attributed it
to uncertain outcomes.
* A greater number of rural landholders strongly agreed that a shared vision is needed for salinity in
wheatbelt valleys.
* In both surveys, agency personnel had a longer timeframe in mind for the vision.