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Matching effort to threat: Strategies to increase the scale and effectiveness of revegetation in southern Australia
Author(s) -
Freudenberger David
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
ecological management and restoration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.472
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1442-8903
pISSN - 1442-7001
DOI - 10.1111/emr.12322
Subject(s) - revegetation , scale (ratio) , natural resource economics , business , environmental resource management , environmental planning , economics , ecology , environmental science , geography , land reclamation , cartography , biology
Summary The past 30 years of restoration activities in Australia has been mere cautious fiddling in the face of continental‐wide native habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation. A fundamental principle of conservation is to address threats at the scale of the threatening processes. This is still not happening for two reasons: we do not know how to effectively restore at scale, and if we did, there is no demand because it does not pay. The first problem of developing the technologies needed for large‐scale revegetation will largely be solved if we collectively demand revegetation at scale. Such a scale of demand by Australian governments (taxpayers) is only likely if a permanent Natural Heritage Trust is created for long‐term funding complemented by a price on carbon pollution. That will take a lot of political will. The other big opportunity is to create demand for large‐scale revegetation cofunded by farmers to improve their farm's long‐term productivity, resilience and economic viability. This requires sustained R&D supported by novel partnerships with the massive Australian agricultural market. Native vegetation must move from the margins to the mainstream if scale is to be achieved.