Natural Resource Management in the News - Essay Example

Running head: NATURAL NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN THE NEWS ___________ ________________________ ________________ NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN THE NEWS Introduction           This paper has the primary objective to present a critique on a news items appearing in media pertaining to any of the varied issues relevant in natural resources management in Australia. This paper has chosen to critique on an article titled Conserving our feathered friends By DEAN INGWERSEN under the column AUSTRALIAN BIRDS in the Australian farm journal BUSH magazines July 2006 issue published under the auspices of Australian Governments Department of Environment and Heritage(copy of article enclosed at Annexure A). This article essentially engages in describing the activities undertaken by varied volunteers who form and contribute to the Threatened Birds Network (TBN) which is a community based program of the Australian Government’s Natural Heritage Trust and Birds Australia. Issue Issue at hand is the efforts taken up across continental Australia to identify and conserve the various species of birds that are threatened with extinction due to various imprudent measures impinging on the eco-environment in which such birds thrived. The article however, identifies clearing of forest areas as the major cause for removing sheltering and nesting areas of several birds and thus driving them to the brink of extinction. Location of the Issue The article identifies primarily land as the locational context of the issue. The issue, as far as the article is concerned, has the locale in rural Australia and in particular in the forest area-either cleared or facing clearing in or around such rural areas. However the article also identifies beach areas of Australia as the location peculiar to specific birds facing extinction. This implies that the focus of the article is birds found on land and facing extinction. Due to limited references to beach areas and birds found therein the article can also be considered as having the main emphasis of threatened birds in woodlands of rural hinterland of Australia. Parties involved in the Issue As already stated above the Australian government is the major actor playing an important role in resolving the issue through its National Heritage Trust and Birds Australia. Its instrumentality is the community based program Threatened Birds Network (TBN).From the tenor of the article it appears that the TBN involves the participation of both the professionals and community based volunteers .The former category are classed as regular recovery teams in the article. The volunteer category primarily comprises of private land owners or local land holders. Moreover the latter category has also been identified mostly as comprised of farmers. Though the articles states that," the volunteers come from a diverse background – students, farmers, scientists and retirees – but they all contribute to the conservation of threatened birds"(Ingwersen,2006). Natural resource management in Australia is multi-faceted, requiring input from community groups, individual landholders, and all tiers of government........ Community stakeholder trust is more readily gained by NGOs in situations where agencies are viewed from an adversarial perspective. While government expects increased levels of participation from ‘regional communities’ in the delivery of NRM, many agencies are reducing extension programs essential for building community capacity. Management and education extension is therefore an essential role for NRM NGOs". Roles of the involved parties No specific details are available from the article in respect of the activities and role of the Australian Government in relation to the issue at hand, except that the TBN community based program is being run under the auspices of Australian Governments National Heritage Trust and Birds Australia. In order to present a comprehensive view of the issue the article would have done well to highlight more of Australian Governments role in terms of funding and policy making efforts relevant to the issue apart from exhibiting clearly the nature and extent of Australian governments control and direction of the National Heritage Trust. In particular the article would have done well to highlight the extent of autonomy allowed to National Heritage Trust and specific efforts taken up to encourage volunteers participation. Similarly the article says that both the National Heritage Trust and Birds Australia are encouraging community participation through volunteers, however, it omits to mention the exact manner in which such active participation is brought about by these two institutions. In case of recovery teams structured work is hinted via media attributing the same work to volunteers. However, intriguingly, it is mentioned that volunteers bring in more skills and services then perhaps are possessed by regular recovery teams in relation to the task at hand. Article identifies that volunteers help by -" .......... searches of beaches for nests of Hooded Plovers and Little Terns, banding of Peregrine Falcons on cliff faces, searches for Black-eared Miners and Malleefowl in the Murray Mallee, population censuses of Western Ground Parrots, and radio-tracking of Orange-bellied Parrots and Regent Honeyeaters"(Ingwersen,2006). According to the article, volunteers, mainly private land owning farmers are contributing by accepting revegetation and reversal of clearing as beneficial policy stances and making available their lands for the practical implementation of such policies. Article cites a farmer volunteer as saying, “I prefer to look at trees, rather than empty paddocks. You could see the amount of clearing which had been done in the past, and we wanted to try to reverse it” (Ingwersen, 2006). Revegetation has been stated to bring about several benefits. As one study puts them," major aims include enhancing biodiversity values, restoring ecological systems, protecting and recovering species and encouraging participation throughout the landscape"(Bounceback,2006). Volunteers are also reported as collecting and nurturing seeds of habitat trees of endangered birds. Viewpoints Author maintains that due to TBN and its community approach in involving volunteers in increasing numbers conservation activities have benefited from the skills and services of volunteers. That many private landholders are also active participants in the network. Author also believes that reversal and revegetation has worked not only to benefit the birds, but it has also increased shelter belts and stabilized the soils in the paddocks of the farmers. Author believes that TBN efforts are a sort of dedication and inspiring. Only viewpoint of farmer volunteers are apparent from the article. Farmers view their involvement in birds conservation as incidental to their primary interest in reshaping the landscape of their holdings through revegetation and reversal. However it is clearly reported that once such reshaping of landscape has been brought about the involvement of farmer volunteers is nothing short of dedication. Importance of the Isuue "One-third of Australia’s woodlands and 80% of temperate woodland, the most threatened type, are cleared; less than 5% remains in some parts of southern Australia.......... More than one-third of Australia’s land bird species are woodland dependent and at least one in five of these is threatened and in decline...........In the Western Australian wheat belt over 60% are in decline..... Habitat loss is the single greatest threat to woodland birds and many other threats arise from or are exacerbated by it, such as the imbalance of Noisy Miners, predation by introduced foxes, cats, and salinity"(Olsen et al,2005). This at once brings to focus the importance of the issue. The continued clearing operations for modernized agriculture would result in decimation of woodland and disturb the ecodiversity of the habitats. Apart from making the birds extinct this would also work to alter the climate for the worse. This is aptly put by Olsen et al(2005) as ," Trees, under storey and litter not only benefit birds but improve ecosystem services that provide clean water, healthy soil, climate stability, natural control of diseases and resilience to drought". Thus an emotional attachment with landed species of birds, is in fact, a right emotion as it works to protect natures system. Assessment of the article As has been stated above the article has been silent on the funding, policy making role of the Australian government. In addition it has not traced organic linkages of control and direction of the two organizations running the TBN.Another drawback of the article is its silence on the role of other category of volunteers. For instance students and scientists are mentioned as volunteers however none of the notable contributions of these categories of volunteers are cited in the article. Similarly the article is lacking factual depth in the sense that it relies on no data-though it mentions that TBN has been running for a decade or so and has been a success. Some data pertaining to banding of falcons, for instance, would have clarified the issue much more. Similarly the article seems very limited in its geographical context and mentions clearly that quoted instances of TBN activities are from just one state viz.Victoria.In the same breath, article claims that TBN efforts are picking up across the country.However, no instances from other parts of the country are furnished. References Ingwersen, Dean. (2006) Conserving our feathered friends .Australian farm journal BUSH .July 2006.pp-16. Bounceback – revegetating South Australia. (2006). Australian farm journal BUSH .July 2006.pp-18-19. Olsen Penny, Weston Michael, Tzaros Chris and Silcocks Andrew.2005.State of Australia’s Birds 2005. Tait Jim, Graham J.K. and Green J. (2002).The Role of an Ecosystem Specific NGO in Coastal Wetland Management: Wetland Care Australia as a Case Study. Coast to Coast.pp 455-457. Annexure A THREATENED Bird Network (TBN) is a community-based program of the Australian Government’sNatural Heritage Trust and Birds Australia. The TBN is currently in its 10th year of operation, encouraging community participation in urgent conservation tasks for threatened birds by acting as a link between recovery teams and volunteers. As a result of the network, many conservation activities have benefited from the skills and services of volunteers. These have included searches of beaches for nests of Hooded Plovers and Little Terns,banding of Peregrine Falcons on cliff faces, searches for Black-eared Miners and Malleefowl in the Murray Mallee, population censuses of Western Ground Parrots, and radio-tracking of Orange-bellied Parrots and Regent Honeyeaters. The volunteers come from a diverse background –students, farmers, scientists and retirees – but they all contribute to the conservation of threatened birds. Many private landholders are also active participants in the network.Rob Heal, a farmer from the Victorian district of Moglonemby,runs a grazing property but decided early on that revegetation using indigenous plants would be required. “I prefer to look at trees, rather than empty paddocks. You could see the amount of clearing which had been done in the past, and we wanted to try to reverse it,” Heal said. In the process Heal has become actively involved with the conservation of the Grey-crowned Babbler, a threatened species now extinct through much of its former range in south-east Australia. Through the local friends of the Grey-crowned Babbler group, volunteers collect seeds of known habitat species, propagate them in a nursery, and then plant out areas to supplement and revegetate areas for the birds.“On our property we’ve quadrupled the width of a two kilometer long roadside remnant. Some of these trees are already two metres tall, and we hope that in the next few years the babblers will start to use it. The birds are close to the area already, so it shouldn’t be long,”Heal said. Not only do the birds benefit,but he has also increased his shelter belts and stabilised the soils in his paddocks. Such dedication can make a huge difference, and it is inspiring to see local landholders caring for threatened birds, not just in Victoria but right across the country. For more information on TBN or to get involved in the conservation of threatened birds visit or register on (03) 9882 2622, email or Birds Australia, 415 Riversdale Rd, Hawthorn East, 3123. Conserving our feathered friends By DEAN INGWERSEN Read More