Australia’s red centre: a vibrant future or a victim in decline?

Australia’s red centre provides a disproportionate source of the country’s wealth but also causes great angst due to land degradation, species loss and social troubles.

The region is renowned for its variability and the lessons learned from understanding how to manage uncertainty in Australia’s desert outback have implications for the rest of Australia and the world, according to Dr Mark Stafford Smith from CSIRO’s Climate Adaptation Flagship.

In an Australian Academy of Science public lecture entitled Australia’s desert heartlands: a vibrant future or a victim in decline, Dr Stafford Smith will describe the issues and implications around failing to adequately govern rural and remote areas.

Dr Stafford Smith will explore how plants and animals cope with uncertainty due to climate and how these lessons can be applied to managing grazing, small businesses, service delivery in small settlements, and governing rural regions.

Today’s lecture is the fourth in the Academy’s 2012 public lecture series on Caring for the Australian countryside: lessons from the past and present. The series will examine sustainable communities, mining, agriculture, culture and environment in country Australia.

Media are welcome to attend and record the lecture.