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Navigating the fiery debate: the role of scientific evidence in eliciting policy and management responses for contentious plants in northern Australia
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-24, 04:09 authored by Setterfield, SA, Rossiter-Rachor, NA, Vanessa AdamsVanessa AdamsAustralia’s vast tropical savannas contain outstanding biodiversity and cultural values. The region supports many industries, with broad-scale pastoralism being the most widespread. Hundreds of plant species were introduced into northern Australia to support the pastoral industry; some species have since been termed ‘contentious’ or ‘conflict’ species due to their perceived positive value for industry but negative impacts on non-pastoral values when they invaded non-pastoral landscapes. Heated political and public debate ensued about the appropriate policy and management response to these species based on people’s perceptions of values being altered by invasion by these species, and conflicting views on what constituted appropriate management actions to control their use and spread. Here we share our insights into the role of scientific evidence in progressing this debate, by quantifying the impacts of species on environmental, socioeconomic and cultural values. We reflect on the importance of science for underpinning evidence-based risk management tools, the outputs of which supported policy response by politicians and other policy decision-makers. We also assess the gap in translation from policy to coordinated on-ground action at the national scale, and provide our insights into the contribution that science can make to bridging this gap.
History
Publication title
Pacific Conservation BiologyVolume
24Pagination
318-328ISSN
1038-2097Department/School
School of Geography, Planning and Spatial SciencesPublisher
CSIRO PublishingPlace of publication
AustraliaRights statement
Journal compilation copyright CSIRO 2018Repository Status
- Restricted