"Editorial" for Environment and History 4, no.2, Australia special issue (June, 1998)
There is an urgency and a fracture to Australian environmental history…
There is an urgency and a fracture to Australian environmental history…
Histories of environmentalism in Australia often overlook the 1950s, an era when scientific ecology dominated environmental activism…
This article argues that during the interwar period in Australia, contrary to assertions that social, political and economic pressures stifled environmental debate, there were a wide range of interests pushing for conservation, the development of National Parks and limits on development schemes.
This article traces contentious debates throughout the years leading up to and following the creation of the Australian Forestry School, between and among leading foresters throughout the British Empire born outside of Australia on the one hand, and, on the other, professionally trained foresters and Australian politicians who had been born in Australia.
Allan Curtis and Terry De Lacey analyze perceptions of the Australian grassroots movement “Landcare” through landholder surveys, thereby discussing wider concepts of natural resource management, stewardship and sustainable agriculture in Australia.
The paper examines the increasing trend of philanthropic bodies and private individuals to invest in the conservation of Australia’s biodiversity. This is seen as part of a more general Western trend in which Australian organizations are linked to bodies such as the large US-based Nature Conservancy.
Kamaljit Kaur Sangha and Jeremy Russell-Smith propose an integrated ecosystem services (ES) valuation framework for an indigenous savanna estate in northern Australia, describing how capabilities along with biophysical and socio-cultural ES benefits play a vital role for peoples’ well-being.
Looking at cases of Indigenous land and sea management in Australia, Austin et al. suggest four ways Indigenous groups and institutional investors can work together to establish meaningful criteria for ensuring effective conservation outcomes.
Based on 25 interviews with Australian environmental leaders, the authors assess the value and benefit of the World Heritage Convention and the UNDRIP in relation to Indigenous communities and cosmopolitanism.