Australia’s desert heartlands: a vibrant future or a victim in decline?

Free public lecture at the Shine Dome, Gordon Street Canberra.

Dr Mark Stafford Smith
Science Director
CSIRO, Climate Adaptation Flagship

The lightly inhabited remote rangelands are the quintessential imagery of Australian advertising. When compared to their population, these lands are a disproportionate source of the country’s wealth, particularly through mining and tourism, and a source of the country’s angst in the form of land degradation, species loss and social troubles. Ecologically, they are dominated by poor soils and a highly variable climate. These conditions have been well managed for grazing purposes, but not so well managed when variability affects managing businesses, settlements, service delivery and governance processes. How should we manage a variable natural and social environment? What implications does this have for our nation? And what opportunities could there be to apply this knowledge to the benefit of the rest of the world?