Institute of Advanced Studies

Questioning Hanrahan: Environmental optimism and realism in the 21st century

by Richard Hobbs, Australian Laureate, Professor of Restoration Ecology, The University of Western Australia

This lecture was held to honour the achievement of Richard Hobbs. Professor Hobbs is one of 15 Australian Laureates selected from a highly competitive field of national and international researchers at the peak of their careers. Australian Laureate Fellowships, administered by the Australian Research Council, support excellence in research by attracting world-class researchers and research leaders to key positions, and creating new rewards and incentives for the application of their talents in Australia.

About this Lecture
“We’ll all be rooned,” said Hanrahan in the classic Australian bush poem by John O’Brien. Hanrahan saw ruination in the vagaries of the Australian climate and its impact on the environment and human endeavours – no matter what happened, it was sure to turn out badly. Environmental thinking at the start of the 21st century often takes on a Hanrahanian feel, with predictions of species loss, ecosystem collapse, runaway climate change and the like. Often this leaves people despairing that the problems are too vast and intractable to do anything about and that we will, indeed, be rooned. However, there is another way to view our current situation, in which the many positive steps that can and are being taken to manage and repair our environment can be celebrated and encouraged.

The field of ecological restoration and the allied science of restoration ecology is undergoing a phase-shift in scope and level of activity both in Australia and elsewhere. Ranging from restoration of local patches of bush through to attempts to restore and revitalise entire regions, these efforts can add up to a large counter-current working against the negative influences we’ve all come to expect. Many challenges remain to be dealt with, including changing climates, altered species assemblages and many other issues, and there is increasing recognition that effective management and conservation of ecosystems in the future is likely to need cleverer and more purposeful interventions. All this sums to the potential for an optimistic view of the future tempered by a dose of realism concerning the challenges to be faced. Whether Hanrahan proves to be right or not depends on how we approach these challenges now and in the future.

About Richard Hobbs
Richard Hobbs leads the Ecosystem Restoration Laboratory in the School of Plant Biology at UWA, a dynamic research group engaged in a variety of projects. Originally from Scotland, he spent 3 years in California and has been in Western Australia since 1984, working with CSIRO and at Murdoch University before joining UWA in 2009. His particular interests are in vegetation dynamics and management, invasive species, ecosystem restoration, conservation biology and landscape ecology. He is the author of over 300 scientific publications and author/editor of 18 books. He serves or has served in executive positions in a number of learned societies and on numerous editorial boards and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the journal Restoration Ecology. He was elected to the Australian Academy of Science in 2004. His current research focuses on “Intervention ecology: managing ecosystems in the 21st century”.

This lecture was co-sponsored by the Institute of Advanced Studies and the University Club at UWA.

Wednesday, 21 October 2009