Rolf Gerritsen

Inadequate contribution of commercial harvest to the management of feral camels in Australia

In central Australia feral camels constitute a growing environmental problem. The current control solution is population reduction to protect key environmental assets, mainly through culling by shooting to waste and some small-scale commercial harvest. From knowledge of the 2008 population and projected rates of increase, this paper simulates the effects on the population of a range of annually increasing harvest rates, and assesses the practicability of achieving commercial harvests at rates high enough to control numbers. We conclude that commercial harvest will not in the near future be a major tool for feral camel management, although it could generate economic benefits to some stakeholders, such as Aboriginal communities, and reduce local camel populations in targeted areas. In the short to medium term, large-scale culling is required to the point where the growing commercial harvest will provide a sufficient environmental control.

Examining the Effects of Ambient Temperature on Pre-Term Birth in Central Australia

Preterm birth (born before 37 completed weeks of gestation) is one of the leading causes of death among children under 5 years of age. Several recent studies have examined the association between extreme temperature and preterm births, but there have been almost no such studies in arid Australia. In this paper, we explore the potential association between exposures to extreme temperatures during the last 3 weeks of pregnancy in a Central Australian town. An immediate effect of temperature exposure is observed with an increased relative risk of 1%–2% when the maximum temperature exceeded the 90th percentile of the summer season maximum temperature data. Delayed effects are also observed closer to 3 weeks before delivery when the relative risks tend to increase exponentially. Immediate risks to preterm birth are also observed for cold temperature exposures (0 to –6 °C), with an increased relative risk of up to 10%. In the future, Central Australia will face more hot days and less cold days due to climate change and hence the risks posed by extreme heat is of particular relevance to the community and health practitioners.

A more effective means of delivering conservation management: a ‘New Integrated Conservation’ model for Australian rangelands

Desert ecology features long time-frames and extreme seasonal unpredictability. In addition, Australia’s arid rangelands have unique social, cultural, land-use and land tenure characteristics that influence appropriate conservation management. These circumstances have not been adequately incorporated into current conservation models, which rely on statutory control and (inadequate) grant funding. Application and management of the capital supposed to finance an effective response to the unique features of Australia’s rangelands thus remains largely divorced from actual circumstances. This paper briefly describes these unique features and the structure and characteristics of the capital currently applied in natural resource management. It then outlines a new conservation approach – the New Integrated Conservation model – to better match the actual natural, cultural and institutional ‘ecology’ of Australia’s rangelands. The model has three elements: a new fiscal ecology, multiplex governance arrangements and the incorporation of multiple objectives and mixed approaches into conservation management.

Impacts of the Alice Solar City Program on the Local Tourism Industry

The Alice Solar City (ASC) project was one of seven under the Australian Government’s Solar Cities Program. This paper investigates the actual and potential multi-dimensional impacts of the Alice Solar City project on the local tourism industry in Alice Springs. The results suggest that the ASC project was not a tourist attraction. There was a positive contribution from the ASC to the image of the town as well as significant impacts, both economic and non-economic, on the local community. The Solar City project made a positive contribution to the environmental sustainability of the whole tourism industry in the region. Nevertheless, the project had a minimal impact on attracting tourists or persuading them to extend their stay in the town. The indirect and/or non-economic impacts of the ASC possibly could have been turned into a positive contribution to the increase in tourist numbers and tourist nights, but this required a basic re-ordering of the town’s tourism “brand”.

Key Issues in Management of Indigenous Protected Areas

An Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is an area of land that the Indigenous traditional owners have entered into a voluntary agreement with the Australian Government. This arrangement is to promote biodiversity and conserve cultural resources in line with international standards. A successful IPA supposedly brings together traditional Indigenous knowledge and modern science for effective land management and environmental conservation. At present this idea is covertly contested. This paper reviews existing practice and research to identify the key issues in IPA management and to provide insights into future effective management