Tragedy of the
Commons (3/8/00; 17/08/00) -case studies from Vietnam and the Philippines
These lectures
re-enforced the outright poverty experienced by so many people in the world;
and how for so many people good environmental management will be the only way
to avoid starvation. I got the sense of how important it is to be both flexible
and creative in offering solutions. For instance, the 'de-coupling' (eg. of
basic survival and resource use) and 'coupling' (eg. resource conservation with
eco-tourism) of interests to encourage less intensive use of resources.
In comparison to Vietnam
and the Philippines, Australia is remarkably politically stable, and we have a
relatively high degree of control over activities; so compared to many
countries we are very well placed to deal with environmental problems if there
is the will to do so.
Environmental Education (7/8/00) - guest lecturer David Eastburn
David's lecture
highlighted the importance of socio/cultural, as well as technical, considerations
in addressing environmental concerns. He emphasised the fact that participative
learning is most meaningful and affective for both social and environmental
sustainability. The success, popularity and continuation of the 'Special
Forever' program is testament to this. However, he demonstrated that
engineering solutions are administratively the most efficient and is
consistently favoured over other approaches, like education and community
involvement, by government departments. The fact that he lost his job in the
MDBC as a social scientist is a stark reality of this. This raises the
challenge that is underlying many 'conservation' agencies- a challenge that
those of us working in them in the future will have to confront and attempt to
work around. Proving the economic effectiveness of education; and 'slipping in'
such programs may be ways to attempt to get around people unwilling to invest
in non-technical projects.
Politics of the Environment (16/10/00) - guest lecturer Lorraine
Elliot
Lorraine provided the
large scale context of global environmental politics, which is the ultimate
framework which we are all operating within. She presented the depressing fact
that despite the existence of numerous working groups and committees, the state
of the environment is continually declining. Also, powerful global economic
'agreements' (eg the GATT)- that are increasingly pushing for deregulation of
world trade- can undermine efforts of the less powerful but arguably more
important environmental decisions. Indeed, it is reflective of the obsession
the current world order has with economic growth at all cost. If nothing else,
Lorraine's lecture made me realise the importance of working on small, local
scales and operating external to 'the system' to avoid excessive bureaucratic
and political delays and complications. Of course, for some issues the global
forum is essential- but it seems that we cannot rely on this to make meaningful
changes to environmental degradation and management. I also came to this conclusion
in my Special Topics report last semester, which touched on the potential for
the Earth Charter. Although I am still interested and am still involved with
the Earth Charter, there are many examples were such high level initiates and
rhetoric cause little change on the ground where it counts.
Australian Environmental Movement (30/10/00)
This was a very important
lecture that explained the various approaches NGOs can take in their efforts to
represent the environment (eg. through media actions, sitting on executive
boards, working/ not working with government). And unlike the popular
impression of 'Green Groups', they do not necessarily have a common goal, and
some have greater access to government than others. Again, this is a topic not
well covered by other courses that I have studied, but is an important part of
understanding the totality of environmental issues and solutions.
Environmental Economics (9/10/00)
Economics is the
current preoccupation of the vast majority of people in power, and certainly
money is one of the major factors people consider when making decisions. Thus,
putting environmental arguments in economic terms, and using economic
structures to achieve environmental ends may be one of the most pragmatic
routes to 'sustainability'. There are a plethora of economic
instruments/incentives that can be applied to various circumstances. However,
as Richard outlined in this lecture, it is necessary for economic instruments
to be just one approach among education, regulation and others. Most
fundamentally, many environmental services and benefits can not be well
represented in monetary terms. Also, the jargon used in economics eludes most
people, which means that it is hardly an approach that most people will feel a
part of. An uncertainty that still exists in my mind concerns how much of pure
environmental integrity is being sacrificed when adopting economic measures.
That is, although it may be accepted, is it low on substance?
History and National Park Management (10/08/00)- Libby Robins
Although I have
encountered some of Libby's arguments before, it is a topic that I am surprised
is not more often spoken about. That is, the idea of a National Park being a
pristine environment or 'wilderness' is by no means inevitable, and indeed, is
not necessarily ideal. In this lecture, it was good to hear the historical
details that lead to the formation of national parks. The most fascinating
aspect to this whole issue is the fact that the emphasis on national parks may
be a divergence from the more critical task of making all land areas ecologically healthy.
Sonya Duus- Supertut- Cultural Heritage
KEY ISSUES
· Cultural heritage is in some respects a troublesome,
value-ridden, anthropocentric, static, male dominated and euro-centric concept.
· Conflicts that exist include what white Australian’s
consider to be heritage and what Aboriginal people see as cultural heritage
(sometimes what we would call ‘wilderness’). There is also conflict over what
is natural and cultural heritage
· Besides the concept of cultural heritage, there is
also the practical application of cultural heritage conservation. In Australia
there exists a bureaucratic institution (The Heritage Commission) which
identifies, classifies and protects sites of cultural value
· The Commission is working to make the process more
participatory so as to accommodate community values as well as just (typically)
sites of architectural and ‘measurable’ value- is this working? Is it an
impossible task?
· Nonetheless, cultural heritage is a very important
part of forming our identity as Australians. (One could argue that the early
europeans effectively dislocated many Aborigines by over-riding/not recognising
the prior cultural heritage)
· Cultural heritage is important, but in considering
how we deal with it, we need to make sure it accounts for the many views that
exist in society
IDEAS- The first
part of the tutorial can be based around discussions
* Ask what (5) things
people consider worthy of conserving for their heritage value (personal
attachment)
-
classify these into
‘natural’, ‘cultural’ and maybe subdivide them into things that are classically
considered to be worthy of cultural heritage conservation and others
* Ask people to identify
conflicts (from the readings or from their own lives) that exist with cultural
heritage
* With the whole tut
group, attempt to establish a definition of cultural heritage
* Discuss any
uncertainties/ lack of clarification of issues in the readings
-
The second part of the tutorial could involve an
activity
* Divide the class into
groups representing women, indigenous people, ethnic groups, traditional
business developers, and representatives from the heritage commission
-
a hypothetical situation
where the site of the polling booth where women were first allowed to vote is
being considered for cultural heritage listing. It also exists on a Aboriginal
sacred area, and the area has become important to the local Italian community.
A developer also wants to clear it and construct a new restaurant (or
something). The Heritage Commissioners are at the meeting to come to a
decision.
·
Identify and discuss some
of the conflicts involved in the concept and conservation of cultural heritage.
Is cultural heritage worth conserving?
· Australian Heritage Commission:
www.environment.gov.au/heritage/
· Culture and Policy Journal:
www.gu.edu.au/centre/cmp/journal.html
· Habitat
-
‘Digging Up Trouble: how
Australia’s heritage is being undermined’ Vol. 25
No 1 February 1997 p 17-24
-
‘Cape York Peninsula: the
land needs its people’ Vol. 23 No4 August 1995 p 17-24