About The Tasmanian Sustainable Communities Network

The Tasmanian Sustainable Communities Network is intended to be a broad coalition of individuals, community networks and organisations in Tasmania. The intent of the TSCN is to pool information on sustainability and to make it more readily accessible.

There are many ways to define sustainability in a community context and there are many different ways for communities to promote more sustainable lifestyles for the people who live in them and a more sustainable future for their decedents. The sustainability of a community depends upon:

• Creating and maintaining a community's environmental health,
  
• Promoting economic well being;
• Promoting social equity; and
  
• Encouraging community members' participation in civic planning and its implementation.
  

For many communities this often involves engaging the whole community in something of a paradigm shift. Nevertheless, in the end we live in an and are part of an ecology rather than "the economy" that is often lauded as being the key factor of community life.

Communities that engage people and institutions with sustainability principles and a collective vision for the future and one that is an integrated approach to environmental, economic and social goals are more likely to be more successful.

Employment creation, effective energy use, sustainable housing and transport systems ,plus education and health systems that promote sustainability, are all complementary parts of the whole. Since all issues are interconnected they must be addressed as a system.

The process includes:

• Broad and diverse involvement of people in the creation of a collective vision for a future that they see themselves as having something invested in;
• The development of sound evidence based sustainability principles
• Taking stock of existing assets and resources – physical, environmental, social & cultural – and additional assets that would benefit the community;
• Setting clear and measurable short and long term goals;
• The development of community benchmarks to evaluate progress;
• Open and transparent communication;
• Early and highly visible outcomes; and
• The celebration of success
  

Sustainability is a process of continuous improvement in order that communities can constantly and consistently evolve while making changes to accomplish goals. To share information about initiatives and projects in your community please email TSCN with information that you wish to share and/or making a link with your project possible.

Click here to link to information about a proposal for a sustainability cooperative for the Tamar Region