Alice Springs based consultancy

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• Alice Springs based consultancy
• Owned and auspiced by Arid Lands Environment
  Centre
• Projects - energy, water, housing, food, waste
• csat.com.au

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Staff Profile and Acknowledgments
Glenn Marshall BSc (Hons) Sarah Hoyal B Appl
Sci, M Soc Sci Steven Hunt DipElec, DipNRM,
BApplSci Jacinta Hill BA, BArch David de Vries
BSc (Hons), BNat, PhD
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Sustainability Giving Context-Making Connections

• Convention Centre completed in 2002 with 8.5 m
  from NTG.
• Uses 680,000 kWh p.a. (05/06) ? 84 households.
• The peak use for the CC is during winter, 1400
  kWh/d. 
• Electricity is generated from gas lt 2 km distant

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Why an ethical, non-profit, sustainability
consultancy?

• Provide independent synthesis of social, health,
  technical, environmental, policy and economic
  information.
• Bridge ideas between governments, business and
  civil society.
• Recruitment
• Public Benevolent Institution Status

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CSAT Attributes

• Keep clients happy
• Challenge clients to broaden vision
• Rigorous data collection/field work
• Detailed reports
• Holistic
• Triple bottom line outcomes - social,
  environmental, economic

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Central Australia Strengths

• Infrastructure - Cultural, recreational,
  transport
• Knowledge - Western and Indigenous
• Conservation Zones - Parks, Indigenous, Pastoral
• Water - Ground and rain
• Energy - Sun, gas
• Tourism Industry
• Government Support - Budgetary, power, water

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Central Australia Weaknesses

• Social - Violent colonisation
• Health - Non-Indigenous and Indigenous
• Knowledge - Staff turnover
• Perception - Harsh climate and culture
• Ecology - Severely disturbed
• Built Environment - Very energy dependent
• Water - Aquifers patchy and being wasted
• Energy - Gas being wasted, oil dependent
• Industry - Little agricultural or manufacturing
• Government Support - Dependency

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Central Australia - Opportunities

• Knowledge - Sharing Reconciliation
• Water - Conservation and reuse for food
  production
• Energy - Sun and gas
• Government - New policies e.g. Indigenous housing

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Central Australia - Threats

• Global Warming
• Peak Oil
• Perception
• Harsh Climate and Culture
• Global Warming

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• Strengths
• On-ground practical experience
• Mult-disciplinary
• Diverse income
• Weaknesses
• Too green
• Too thin
• Staff turnover
• Opportunities
• Link Resources to Wellbeing
• Demand for Sustainability Tools e.g. desertSMART
• Threats
• Perception of Central Australia

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• 2005 Public Meetings
• Developed Roadmap to a DesertSMART Town
• Clever desert strategies for waste, water, energy
  and the built environment in Alice Springs based
  on a convergence of government, business and
  civil society.
• DesertSMART working party includes
  representatives from Desert Knowledge Australia,
  Central Australian Tourism Industry Association,
  Brendan Meney Architects, CSAT, ALEC, Power and
  Water and the Northern Territory Government.

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• 2006 NTG funding to develop Built Environment
  project for Regional Partnerships Agreement
  application.
• Facilitate the connection of key national
  industry associations with the building, design,
  landscape, plumbing, mechanical and electrical
  business sectors of Alice Springs.
• Training and accreditation in sustainable
  building technologies
• Joint venture capacity for local industry
• Develop DesertSMART Brand

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Resilience in Desert Australia

• Central Australia has the human, biological and
  physical resources to become a resilient society.
  
• Thinking
• Long Term
• Holistic
• Healing
• The People
• The Land